By Maitreyee Handique
New Delhi, September 3 – In what could be its biggest excavation project in recent times, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is formulating a conceptual plan to resume excavations in Nalanda, one of the world’s ancient seats of learning located in modern Bihar, after a gap of two decades.
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Excavations were first carried out in Nalanda in pre-independent India between 1915 and 1937. The second time around was between 1974 and 1982. Both these excavations yielded concrete evidence of the existence of grid-locked back-to-back Buddhist prayer halls and stupas in Nalanda Mahavihara, the unique monastic university centre set up by King Kumaragupta of the Gupta dynasty between 413 AD and 455 AD.
But this time, the ASI has asked the Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Agency to conduct an aerial survey to determine the extent and influence of Nalanda and throw more precise hints of possible structures buried deep under the earth. “The remote sensing will give us some analysis of the buried remains. Ground penetrating radar will also be used to scan the ground,” said C Babu Rajeev, ASI’s Director General.
According to sources, Minister of Culture and Tourism Ambika Soni had visited Nalanda last month and gave her signal to carry out the exploration project.
Located 15 km south of Biharsharif, the headquarters of Nalanda district, and 95 km from the state capital, Patna, the Nalanda site harks back to the pre Mauryan era. Literary evidence point to human settlements way back to the 6th century BC — Lord Buddha preached here and his famous disciple, Sariputra, was born here. Strategically located along the caravan route with connecting trade links to Nepal and Tibet, the university later attracted students like Fa-Hien, Hieun Tsang and I-Tsing from China.
While the explorations have so far been restricted to an area of 1.5 sq km, the aerial survey will throw light on a wider radius of 16 sq km. According to a report prepared by Patna’s ASI branch, existence of mounds in several places point to a thriving civilization.
Evidence of redware potsherds, stupas and burnt bricks had been recovered from a scattering of neighbouring villages like Baragaon, Machhardiha and Juahfardih. One of the identified mounds could also possibly be relics of monasteries and stupas, as well as gates, pillars from the medieval period. A total of 14 new sites have been identified for excavation, including Rukministhan, Kul, Arichak, Bhadari, Nanana, Begampur and Machhardiha. Most of these places are inhabited by villagers, the rest is used for farming.
