Pradhan requests Union Culture Minister for excavation of post-Mauryan site at Barpali

New Delhi: Drawing the attention of Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy about a post-Mauryan site at Barpali in Bargarh district, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today wrote to him for excavation and preservation of the site with the help of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

In a letter, Pradhan sought the personal intervention of Reddy for a directive to the ASI to take over the excavation and preservation of the 2,000-year-old post-Mauryan site at Barpali.

“Such a grand archaeological finding is both rare and extremely vulnerable. Considering the immense historical value and undiscovered potential of this new found archeological site, I seek your personal intervention in directing officials of the ASI to take over the Barpali excavation site for better exploration, examination, analysis and security of the priceless antiquities and historical wealth,” Pradhan’s letter read.

The Union Education Minister also mentioned about a petition he received from Bargarh-based Aswini Kumar Sarangi informing about the discovery made by the History department of Gangadhar Meher University.

Around 60 students, research scholars and faculty of the History department of the university started the excavation on May 31, 2022. The site which is spread over 17 hectares has yielded numerous priceless artefacts and antiquities dating back to the post-Mauryan period. The findings indicate that the site was a well-established only trade centre and further digging could perhaps reveal even more startling revelations, the letter wrote.