Another Sarasvati civilization site to be excavated

October 11, 2005

Saturday , October 08, 2005

Another Harappan site to be excavated

Japanese varsity funding project in Kanmer; work begins in December

Bashir Pathan

Gandhinagar, October 7: The state archeological department is tying

up with Kyoto University of Japan and the ASI to explore yet another

Harappan site in the Kutch district. The site is in Kanmer village of

Rapar taluka. The othe major Harappan sites already excavated in

Kutch are Surkotda and Dholavira.

Excavation will begin this December, according to V.N. Maira,

secretary in the youth & cultural activities department. He said the

Japanese university had agreed to fund the project, and that the

state government had requested the centre to clear the way for

beginning work at the earliest. Maira said the site was first

discussed with Kyoto University by Dr Jeevan Kharakwal, an assistant

professor of archaeology at J.R.N. Rajasthan Vidyapith, Udaipur,

which will also lend support to the project.''

``Kyoto University readily agreed to fund the excavation,'' he

said. ``The Japanese want to get this project done purely from the

linguistic point of view. They are curious to decipher the script of

the Harappan civilisation.'' A team of experts from Kyoto University

has already visited the Kanmer site, and they are expected to visit

Gandhinagar on October 25 for discussion of project details with

government officials. Kanmer is 30 kms south-west of Surkotda, and

was discovered in 1985 by an ASI team. Preliminary explorations

suggest the layout of the settlement is similar to that of Surkotda.

It is also well-fortified.

``It seems Kanmer, Surkotda, and Dholavira might have been located on

the trade route between Sindh and Saurashtra. Kanmer may have been an

important admnistrative and commecrial centre controlling the

Harappan enterprises across the Rann in Saurashtra as well as the

central Gujarat mainland,'' says an expert study.

Meanwhile, the departments of culture and tourism in Gujarat have

decided to to adopt integrated and holistic approach for conservation

of monuments.

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