The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started reopening trenches in Purana Qila that were excavated during the previous two excavation projects over the last decade. (Source: Hindustan Times)
- The current excavations aim to identify the “first occupants” of the site.
Key points
- ASI undertook excavations at the complex in 2013-14 and 2017-18, several decades after the agency’s then director general BB Lal led an exercise between 1969 and 1973.
- The findings and artefacts unearthed in previous excavations included painted grey ware from 900 BC, an earthen pottery sequence from the Maurya to Shunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput, Sultanates, and Mughal periods.
- Excavated artefacts such as sickles, parers, terracotta toys, kiln-burnt bricks, beads, terracotta figurines, seals and dealings that were excavated earlier are on display at the museum inside the fort complex.
- According to ASI officials, Purana Qila is the only site in Delhi that was continuously occupied over a 2,500-year span, starting from the Maurya to Shunga, Kushana, Gupta, Rajput, Sultanate, and Mughal periods.
About Purana Qila
- The present citadel at Purana Qila was believed to have been built under Humayun and Afghan Sher Shah Suri. Excavations point to traces from the 3rd century BC, the pre-Mauryan period.
- The fort was the inner citadel of the city of Din Panah during Humayun’s rule who renovated it in 1533 and completed five years later.
- The founder of the Suri Dynasty, Sher Shah Suri, defeated Humayun in 1540, naming the fort Shergarh; he added several more structures in the complex during his five-year reign.
- Purana Qila and its environs flourished as the “sixth city of Delhi”.
- A prominent structure of the Purana Qila is the Qila-e-Kuhna mosque built by Sher Shah in 1542 CE.
- Another prominent structure inside the Purana Qila is the Sher Mandal. This structure is believed to have been built by Sher Shah in around 1541 CE. After Humayun recaptured the throne, he is said to have converted this building into a library. The Sher Mandal is a compact octagonal structure built in red sandstone and sparingly decorated with white and black marble inlay. Emperor Humayun had a fatal fall on the steps of this very structure.
