Discovery off Indian coast

[dasa]

Lost civilisation from 7,500 BC discovered off Indian coast

 

Archaeologists have found a civilisation dating back to 7,500 BC off India's western coast.

 

The find is 5,000 years older than any previously unearthed civilisation in the subcontinent.

 

Researchers uncovered pottery, beads, sculptures, a fossilised jaw bone and human teeth at the Gulf of Cambay site.

 

Previously, the oldest known civilisations were the Harrapan and Indus Valley communities - which date from around 2,500BC.

 

Murli Manohar Joshi, minister for human resources and ocean development, told The Times of India: "The findings buried 40 metres below the sea reveal some sort of human civilisation, a courtyard, staircase, a bathroom or a temple."

 

Researchers used carbon-dating techniques. The find was made by the Indian ocean development and archaeology institutes.