Page 12 - Jul-Sep 2017
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DID yOU KNOW?
The Bengal Regulation of 1810
AMAZING ARCHAEOLOGISTS legislation in India. The legislation
was the first ever antiquarian
allowed the Government to
An archaeologist works as an investigator to preserve the remains of
ancient cultures for us to understand our link to the past. intervene whenever the public
buildings were under threat of
roCKstAr oF ArChAeoLoGY misuse.
iNterVieW Abdul M. Saim, VIIA, Sunway Senior
Dr. V.s. wakankar was Secondary School, Rampur
a renowned indian With AN
archaeologist. The ArChAeoLoGist
bhimbetka Caves famous for
its rock art were discovered Dr. Praveen Kumar Mishra - Director, archaeological
by Dr. V.s. wakankar in 1957- survey of india
58. his work earned him the Q. What sites have you worked at?
title 'the Pitamaha of rock
art in india'. in india he discovered and documented a. i have excavated sites at Dholavira (gujarat),
some 4,000 decorated caves. shravasti (uttar Pradesh), lal Kot (Delhi) and sisonia
Dr. wakankar conducted many archaeological surveys; he (Madhya Pradesh)
explored the Chambal and Narmada rivers and the basin Q. What is a day like in the excavation camps?
of saraswati. a. The excavation camps are similar to army camps. a
he established the wakankar indological Cultural day starts at 8 am and goes on till the evening. usually
research Trust in ujjain, india. he was also awarded the there are discussions on the work done during the day.
Padmashree award. life in the camps is very different from normal civil
life. For water we often used the canal water or it was
Braj Basi lal was the Director-general carried to the camp. when i worked at Dholavira, we
of the archaeological survey of india carried water from a distance of 1.5 km.
from 1968 to 1972. he was part of the Q. What did you excavate at these sites?
excavation team to the indus Valley.
he unearthed many painted grey a. we managed to excavate all kinds of artefacts from
ware (Pgw) sites in the indo-gangetic ancient structures to pottery, ornaments and seals.
Divide and upper Yamuna-ganga Q. How do you decide where to excavate?
Doab. he was awarded the Padma
bhushan in 2000. a. we use many different methods to decide the sites
K. Pravallika, VIII, Little Angels School, Visakhapatnam for excavations. The explorations and excavations
team and state departments do village to village
K.K. Muhammad is a committed survey. sometimes special surveys are undertaken. For
archaeologist. in 2012, he was example, surveys are done on special historical routes.
the regional director of the Occasionally we accidentally find antiquities during
archaeological survey of india road building or agricultural activities.
(North). his major discoveries and
excavations were the buddhist
stupa of Kesaria built by emperor ACtiVitY: MY iNterVieW
ashoka, buddhist stupa in rajgir
and the buddhist archaeological site in Kolhua, Vaishali. 1. why did you decide you decide to become an
archaeologist?
he has won many national and international awards for
his work. he also escorted Former american President 2. what is your favorite part of the job?
barrack Obama and his wife to historic monuments like 3. what is the most difficult part of being an
the humayun’s Tomb in Delhi. archaeologist?
Anany Singh, VIII D, Scholars Home, Dehradun
4. what sites have you worked on?
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