Indian Civilisation '9,000 Years Old'(At Least)

[Guest guest]

Indian Civilisation '9,000 Years Old'

 

FROM BBC NEWS

 

ENGLAND, Jan 17 (VNN) — By Rajyasri Rao in Delhi

 

Marine scientists in India say an archaeological site off India's

western coast may be up to 9,000 years old.

 

The revelation comes about 8 months after acoustic images from the

sea-bed suggested the presence of built-up structures resembling the

ancient Harappan civilisation, which dates back around 4,000 years.

The area has been subject to a great deal of archaeological interest

due to its proximity to another ancient submerged site - Dwaraka.

 

 

 

 

The Harappan civilisation is the oldest in the subcontinent.

 

Although Palaeolithic sites dating back around 20,000 years have been

found on the coast of India's western state of Gujarat before, this

is the first time there are indications of man-made structures as old

as 9,500 years found deep beneath the sea surface.

 

Search impeded

 

Known as the Gulf of Cambay, the area has been subject to a great

deal of archaeological interest due to its proximity to another

ancient submerged site - Dwaraka - in the nearby Gulf of Kutch.

 

Harappan remains have been found in India and Pakistan

 

But investigations in the Cambay region have been made more difficult

by strong tidal currents running at around two to three metres per

second.

 

They impede any sustained underwater studies.

 

Marine scientists led by the Madras-based National Institute of Ocean

Technology said they got around this problem by taking acoustic

images off the sea-bed and using dredging equipment to extract

artefacts.

 

A second round of investigations was conducted about three months

ago.

 

'Glorious past'

 

The Indian Minister for Ocean Technology, Murli Manohar Joshi, told

journalists the images indicated not only symmetrical man-made

structures but also a paleo-river, running for around nine

kilometres, on whose banks all the artefacts were discovered.

 

Experts say submerged pottery may offer a clue

 

Carbon dating carried out on one of these artefacts - a block of wood

bearing the signs of deep fissures - suggested it had been around

since about 7,595 BC.

 

Mr Joshi said his ministry planned to set up a multi-disciplinary

group to look into what this discovery really meant and what relation

it might have to other ancient sites in the area.

 

Critics say the minister, who has been in the eye of a storm recently

for attempts to Hinduise school history textbooks, may well be

presenting these archaeological discoveries as proof of India's

glorious and ancient past.

 

But others say only further scientific studies can tell whether such

a claim can be made at all.

 

Story URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/