Recent Excavations at Purana Qila

Illustrated lecture by Dr. Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, Director, Archaeological Survey of India
 
Chair: Shri B.M. Pande
 
Purana Qila, prevalently identified as the ancient site of Indraprastha, has revealed a continuous habitational deposit of 2500 years. The site was initially excavated in the seasons 1954-55 and 1969-73 by Dr. B.B. Lal. The continuous chronological sequence begins with a pre-Mauryan period, excavated for the very first time in the Archaeological Survey of India’s excavations conducted under the supervision of Dr. Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, in excavation seasons 2013-14 and 2017-18; and presently in 2023. Important finds from the recent excavations include a ring well of Mauryan period, a house complex of the Kushana period, seals and sealings of the Gupta period, Vaikuntha Vishnu image of Rajput period, a miniature intricately carved image of Ganesha in soapstone, a circular terracotta plaque of Gaja Lakshmi, and, coins of different periods, etc.