Archaeologists unearth 5200-yearold Harappan settlement in Gujarat's Kachchh district

VIZHINJAM: A team of archaeologists, led by Assistant Professors of the Archaeology Department at Kerala University, Dr Abhayan GS and Dr Rajesh SV, discovered the remains of a 5200-year-old Harappan settlement at Padta Bet in the Kutch district of Gujarat.

Among the finds on the hillsides of Padta Bet are circular and rectangular buildings built in sandstone, pottery, artifacts and animal bones.

According to the researchers, these findings indicate the settlement of the Harappan people in the region from about 3200 to 1700 BC. Many of the potsherds belong to the Harappans, which have not yet been fully documented. One of the two storage jars below the floor level of a building is a rough red vessel.

Stone beads in carnelian and agate, copper artifacts, lithic tools, cores, debitage, grindstones, hammer stones, remains of cattle and sheep and shell fragments have also been found.

Archaeobotanical samples have been collected to further identify the uses of plants. A man was found buried under a pile of stones on the hillside.

Foreign universities like Deccan College PGRI (Pune) and KSKV Kachchh University (Gujarat) are collaborating with Kerala University on the research program.