GUWAHATI, April 3 � The State Directorate of Archaeology has found a ceramic tradition, similar to that of the Ambari Archaeological Site, while conducting excavations at the Mahadeoshal Archaeological Site in Nagaon district.
Meanwhile, the Directorate has discovered a unique brick-built temple plinth during the excavation activities conducted at Gordoul Archeological Site in Sontipur district. The temple plinth is datable to 7 Century AD. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is extending technical assistance to the Directorate in conducting excavations at the site.
The discovery of a ceramic tradition assumes significance due to the fact that it further confirms the State�s trade links with other South East Asian countries. This also gives an indication of the prosperity of the State during that time. The Mahadeoshal Archaeological Site is located near the bank of the Brahmaputra.
The Archaeological Directorate has found other antiquities also at the Mahadeoshal site and all the artifacts found at the site would be displayed in the proposed in-situ archaeological museum at Mahadeoshal site. The museum is under construction, said sources in the Directorate.
The Directorate, which has now been elevated to a Class I Heads of Department by the State Government following the recommendations of the State Finance Commission, fulfilling a long standing demand, has been laying much emphasis on uplift of the status of the archaeological sites and monuments in the recent years, besides the above excavations.
The State Government has also been coming forward with generous assistance utilizing the awards of the Twelfth Finance Commission. The works undertaken by the Directorate in the recent years include the renovation of the Madan Kamdev Archaeological Site near Baihata Chariali.
Protection of the Kachari era rampart at Purana Maibong in N C Hills district, further exposition works at Deoparvat Archaeological Site in Golaghat district, construction of protective boundary walls at Raidingiya temple in Dibrugarh district, Pingeleswar ruins in Kamrup district have also been undertaken by the Directorate.
Moreover, protective boundary walls have also been provided by the Directorate to the Buddhist temple at Titabor in Jorhat district, Kakoijana Shiva Mandir in Bongaigaon district, Dirgheswari temple in Kamrup district, Maghnowa temple in Lakhimpur district and Sankhadevi and Gostol sites in Nagaon district, said the sources.
The Directorate has proposed to excavate the Gostol and Kakoijana Archaeological Sites during the current year. The Directorate has also completed audio-visual documentation of the 94 archaeological sites preserved by it.
