The excavation is underway in Nachne village of Madhya Pradesh where the experts have zeroed in on two mounds. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is excavating a site in Madhya Pradesh, hoping to find India's oldest temple. The digging is underway in Nachne village where the experts have zeroed in on two mounds. The excavation sites are just 30 metres away from two ancient temples- a Gupta-era Parvati temple- and close to Chaumukhi temple, built by the Kalachuri Dynasty. "We are carrying out this excavation with the objective of finding the oldest temple in India," ASI superintending archaeologist(Jabalpur circle) Shiva Kant Bajpayee told The Times of India. He added that the excavation work began on March 4 and would take 3-4 months to complete. Bajpayee informed that the oldest known temples in India are from the Gupta era (4th to early 6th century CE). He added that a majority of the earliest known temples of the country are in Madhya Pradesh- Temple No. 17 in Sanchi, the Nachne Parvati temple, Tigwa's Vishnu Temple and Bhumara's Shiva Temple. The excavation team hopes to find pre-Gupta-era temples. "If we are not able to find it here, we will continue our exploration in the area as it cannot be that only Gupta-era temples exist. There can be temples older than that," said Bajpayee. As per The Times of India report, the site has eight archaeological mounds. The excavation team has got permission to dig two mounds. Both mounds are nearly two metres in height and spread over 1000 sqm.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/archaeologists-dig-to-find-indias-oldest-temple-in-madhya-pradesh-101710558728643.html, April 1, 2024

100 years since its discovery, the Indus Valley Civilisation has remained an enigma. However, classical Tamil texts could hold the key to unraveling its mysteries. One of the defining moments in the history of India is the discovery and subsequent announcement of the Indus Valley Civilisation. On September 20, 1924, Sir John Marshall, a 48-year-old archaeologist with 22 years of experience as the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, announced the discovery of the IVC in The Illustrated London News to the world. It would not be an exaggeration to state that his announcement restored more than three thousand years of ‘missing’ Indian history, in a single stroke. Marshall’s excitement was evident in his words, “Our knowledge of Indian antiquities has up to the present taken us back no more than 2,500 years.

Now, in a single bound, we have doubled that period and found that 5,000 years ago, the people of Sind and Panjab were living in well-made cities.” The newly found civilisation was unique in several aspects, such as the uniform layout of the cities, the standard size of bricks, weights and measures, presence of female figurines (which Marshall termed as Mother Goddess), numerous seals and sealings featuring a uniform script, and the absence of any religious structures. The prevailing notion at the time was that Indian culture was indeed ‘inaugurated by followers of the Rigveda’ and it was an article of uncontested faith. Hence, Marshall’s announcement struck down like a thunderbolt. Marshall meticulously drew attention to the contrast between the Indus Valley Civilisation and Rigvedic culture, and argued against the possibility of a Vedic age preceding the Chalcolithic civilisation.

Nayanjot Lahiri describes the personality of John Marshall to be having ‘a bit of Sherlock Holmes’ and the analogy is quite appropriate. It required the inquisitive and liberal mind of Marshall to take cognisance of a material culture that was distinct from anything previously known and the implications of its discovery. Hundred years have passed since its discovery, and yet, IVC remains an enigma, as the reasons for its decline are still not known. Although, there are speculative research findings, we still have not deciphered the IVC script and we do not precisely know about the language or languages spoken there.

Some scholars have endorsed the view that IVC belongs to the Dravidians, while some others have argued that it is an Indo-Aryan civilisation. However, recent DNA-based findings push the enigma towards a Dravidian resolution. Among the early proponents of the Dravidian hypothesis was Sunithi Kumar Chatterji. As soon as Marshall made his announcement, Chatterji presented his ideas in the article ‘Dravidian origins and beginnings of Indian civilisation’ in Modern Review (1924). He compared the Indus Valley Civilisation with the excavations in Adichanallur and also outrightly rejected the possibility of an Indo-European and Sumerian origin. Then came along Father Henry Heras, who was also an early advocate of the Dravidian hypothesis. Two other important scholars who contributed to the Dravidian hypothesis are Asko Parpola from Finland and Iravatham Mahadevan from India.

Both of them took different approaches in their research. Asko Parpola studied particular symbols and signs such as the fish sign, bangle sign and the wild ass symbol, while Mahadevan took the direction of a bilingual analysis of the Indus script. He was the first one to publish a concordance for Indus scripts in 1977. Subsequently, he interpreted several signs of IVC and presented papers in several forums. Mahadevan’s concordance (IM77) has been digitised by the Indus Research Centre (IRC) of the Roja Muthiah Research Library and hosted online at indusscript.in.

As a conclusive decipherment of the Indus script still remains elusive, particularly in the absence of a Rosetta Stone-type bilingual aid, I decided to follow a different approach, to compare and contrast IVC’s social, material and cultural contexts with the Dravidian and Indo-Aryan paradigms with the help of ancient Tamil texts, Vedic and early Sanskrit texts and also cultural contexts specific or peculiar to the speakers of languages belonging to both the families. During a brief stint at IRC, researching the subject, I worked on a paper on the High-West and Low-East dichotomy of Indus Valley town planning, which I argued to be a Dravidian paradigm. As a Tamil student, I felt that Sangam literature would hold the key to unlocking the mysteries, as it is among the most ancient literature from the Indian subcontinent, with unique traditions. I argued that Sangam literature contains several memories of an ancient Tamil civilisation that have been carried forward, which might be related to the Indus Valley Civilisation. Besides, I have been positioning Comparative Onomastics as another field of research that could add strength to the Dravidian hypothesis. I placed verifiable, identical place name clusters that are common to the Indus geographies, Sangam Tamil texts and early Tamil epigraphy.

I call these identical place name clusters as the Korkai-Vanji-Tondi Complex (KVT Complex). Apart from this, I have presented multiple case studies from outside Tamil Nadu and microstudies involving certain social groups of Tamil Nadu. In the process, I located certain evidence from the ‘Dravidian Gujarat’ and the ‘Dravidian Maharashtra’ to connect the ‘missing links’ between IVC and ancient Tamil cultural, geographical contexts. In 2019, my book Journey of a Civilization: Indus to Vaigai was published.

Subsequently, I translated the book into Tamil, which was released in 2023. For the past five years, I have been delivering lectures in several forums, part of my efforts to create awareness about IVC and how Sangam Tamil texts could be used to unlock the enigmatic Indus riddle. History is not only important and inevitable but also inescapable. However, evidence-based history is the only way out. What needs to be secured is not merely the present and future, but the past as well. While the past cannot be undone, lessons can be learnt from it, lessons that can guide us in the present, in walking towards the future. I believe, the history of mankind is nothing but the sum total of human journeys and past migrations. When one reconstructs the past on a wider canvas such as the geography of India, one cannot afford to operate from self-made cocoons of insularity. Ancient Tamil traditions are rooted in pluralism. Urban life portrayed in Sangam texts paint a matured, cosmopolitan outlook. I can say that Sangam Tamil texts are the most urban literature India has ever produced, a literature par excellence. Tamil traditions display a vast knowledge of seas, foreign trade, emphasis on equity, spread of education and are essentially knowledge-centric, empowering and inclusive. These ideological ‘signals’ match ideological ‘inferences’ that can be drawn from the ruins of IVC.

India’s pluralism is not its frills but roots. It is not a ‘melting pot’ or a ‘salad bowl’. In the former, many identities are amalgamated into a new, singular one; in the latter, there is a choice of selection as to what goes into the bowl.

Hence, I call Indian pluralism to be a ‘rainforest pluralism’. In fact, the Indus Valley Civilisation itself portrayed such a pluralism, with layers of evidence pointing to peaceful coexistence. Ancient Tamil ideas are evidently rooted in similar narratives of inclusiveness and peaceful coexistence. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of IVC’s discovery, we at IRC are planning a series of events, such as seminars, exhibitions and conferences to disseminate information regarding the Indus Valley Civilisation to more people. We have been celebrating September 20 every year with a lecture, and this year too we will be organising a series of special lectures. Moreover, Tamil Nadu government has also announced, in its latest budget, that the centenary of IVC will be commemorated by organising an international seminar on the subject.

The state’s archaeology department has taken tremendous initiative in excavating the past at Keezhadi, Porpanaikkottai, Adichanallur, Sivakalai and other locations. Keezhadi has heralded a new era of archaeological consciousness.

‘Aadhan’ spelt out on potsherds in Tamizhi script has turned a household name now. The findings also coincide with what is documented in Sangam literature. The C14 tests have pushed the age further backwards. The graffiti and markings on the pottery resemble some of the signs found in the IVC. Further research is going on to identify the similarities and patterns. I wish for all those who seek knowledge to stand at the Keezhadi museum, holding a copy of the Sangam Tamil corpus and harappa.com pulled up on their devices, and draw their own conclusions. Tamil Sangam texts are the most reliable source material to unravel the mystery of the Indus Valley Civilisation, as well as the genesis of Tamil traditions. These two ancient riddles of Indology, though concerning two different geographies and timelines, are indeed the two sides of the same coin. The writer is an honorary consultant at the Indus Research Centre, Roja Muthiah Research Library, Chennai R Balakrishnan

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2024/Mar/29/the-harappan-centenary-through-a-sangam-lens, April 2, 2024

Numerous Indian monuments have been lost forever. So much so that not even a photo is available of them in the public domain. We are talking about monuments that are thousands of years old. In one case, parts of an 8th Century temple have been looted to be used in homes. If not for Aurangzeb, his brother Dara Shikoh would have ascended the Mughal throne in Delhi. At least their father, Shah Jahan, believed so. After the death of Emperor Shah Jahan in 1658, Dara Shikoh was killed on Aurangzeb's orders and his body, tied to an elephant, was paraded along the roads of Shahjahanabad. Just like the memory of Dara Shikoh, his grave was lost too. Until a municipal officer discovered the grave of Shah Jahan's liberal heir apparent among many marked and unmarked Mughal graves in Delhi in 2020. Sanjeev Kumar Singh, an engineer at South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), attracted praise from the likes of Irfan Habib, BR Mani and KK Muhammad, for the find.

Singh laboured tirelessly for 4 years to trace Dara Shikoh's grave. However, the lost-and-found story of Dara Shikoh's grave is a rarity. Numerous Indian monuments have gone missing or are lost from their physical existence forever. So much so that not even a photo is available of them in the public domain. Some have even been erased from public consciousness. Many locals could not point to Delhi's Barakhambha cemetery, a monument that was recently declared untraceable or 'lost'.

HISTORIC MONUMENTS WIPED OFF FROM INDIA'S MEMORY

The Barakhamba Cemetery in Delhi, once on the list of 'Monuments of National Importance', was not the only one that had been delisted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the caretaker of India's historical monuments. Along with it, a Kos Minar in Faridabad's Mujessar village in Haryana, Gunner Burkill’s tomb in Jhansi, a cemetery at Gaughat in Lucknow, and the Telia Nala Buddhist ruins in Varanasi were removed from the list of monuments of 'national importance' because they were untraceable. They are among the 18 monuments to be delisted from the ASI's list of 3,693 centrally protected monuments because their location, or their current physical state, is not known. In fact, the Centre told Parliament last year that a total of 50 monuments were untraceable. In the case of the Telia Nala Buddhist ruins, a part of a deserted village in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, not even a photo is available in the public domain. A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in 2022 noted that houses had been built on the historical site.

MONUMENT MATERIALS USED TO BUILD HOUSES
It was a similar tale of loss in Uttarakhand's Almora. The ASI couldn't find the 8th century Kutumbari temple. The temple came under ASI protection in 1915. Over time, the temple's condition deteriorated and only ruins of the structure remained. Mysteriously, around the year 2000, the ruins of the temple could no longer be found. In 2018, the temple was put on the "untraceable" list of the ASI. The ASI later found that the remains of the temple were taken away by villagers to build their houses. As per a survey by the Dehradun circle of the ASI, the temple has now become a part of courtyards, verandas, doors of the houses of the locals. Around half a dozen houses in Dwarahat were found to have some or other part of the temple. Such incidents are, however, not isolated, said Nakul Chhabra, who organises heritage walks and awareness campaigns through his initiative 'Delhi Roots'. Chhabra said during one such walk, he found a heritage enthusiast carrying a 2,000-year-old brick dating back to the Kushan age along with him. "He said it was from a mound near his village in Mewat. It could have been from an abandoned old building, roughly dating back to the 1st century to 3rd century CE. He even told me that people from nearby villages come there to pick up bricks to build their houses," Chhabra said.

Bibek Debroy, the head of the committee that submitted the report 'Monuments of National Importance -- The Urgent Need for Rationalisation', explained the ill-fate of the Indian monuments using a quote by Oscar Wilde. Quoting Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest', Bibek Debroy wrote in The Indian Express in 2023, "ASI’s monumental performance transcends both misfortune and carelessness. The agency has lost 24 monuments. They are untraceable."

MONUMENTS TURNED INTO CATTLE SHED, HORSE STABLE We are losing monuments that are thousands of years old and are part of the nation's identity, history and heritage. Just like Dara Shikoh's grave, the Tamluk Rajbari (palace), believed to be established in the 5th century BC by the Mayuradha dynasty, is at its last stage of disappearance in Bengal. A horse stable overgrown with weeds is what lies at the site that had a major contribution to India's struggle for Independence, as per a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report. The rajbari was a refuge for our freedom fighters. In fact, in 1938, Raja Surendra Narayan Roy cut down an entire mango orchard within the rajbari to create space for a meeting of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and other revolutionaries. Legend has it that the site is also linked to the swayamvar sabha of queen Draupadi in the epic Mahabharata. In Delhi, cattle sheds abound in Zamrudpur village, near Lady Shri Ram College, which houses a lot of gumbads, baradaris, and gumtis dating back to the late mediaeval period. However, there have also been instances where structures on the verge of being wiped out from history have been restored and declared monuments of 'national importance'. The Anang Tal baoli, a stepwell believed to have been built a thousand years ago by King Anang Pal II, who is considered as the founder of Delhi, was declared a monument of national importance in 2022.

Delhi was then referred to as Dhilli or Dhillika. The move came after the CAG, in a review report, found that sewage from nearby areas was being discharged into the reservoir and the remains of the structure were in a neglected state. However, restoration work is yet to be started. The heritage stepwell holds immense historical significance and an excavation carried out by the ASI between 1992 and 1995 revealed a sequence of two cultural periods -- the Rajput period and the Sultanate period (11-12th century). BR Mani, former Additional Director-General of ASI, in his book 'Delhi, Threshold of the Orient: Studies in Archaeological Investigations', said that a notable feature of the tank was the presence of incised mason marks like a swastika, a trident on the stone blocks used in the reservoir's construction. These marks were found in Madhya Pradesh's Bhojpur temple, from the same period, as well as in the stone slabs in the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, the first mosque to be built in Delhi using rubble masonry, near Qutub Minar, Mani said in his book.

'HISTORICAL MONUMENTS CAN GENERATE EMPLOYMENT'
But, what leads to these monuments going 'missing'? A New Delhi-based archaeologist, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told IndiaToday.in that lack of public awareness about our built heritage and culture was a major reason for the degradation of monuments and historical sites in India. "People need something to connect to a structure or a site, until then, it is just a public place ready to be encroached upon. Several mediaeval monuments are under encroachment in the Delhi-NCR region. If a national capital fails to protect these structures, what do we expect from the suburban and rural areas?" the archaeologist said. Nakul Chhabra, who organises heritage walks, said during his visit to Pinangwan in Haryana's Nuh district, he found that villagers had dug up an unknown tomb thinking there might be valuable things under the cenotaph.

In 2013, the CAG had surveyed 1,655 protected monuments, comprising 45% of the total 3,693 monuments, and found 92 missing. It was more than 2.5 times the number being provided by the Culture Ministry since 2006. Apart from reasons like encroachment, urbanisation and shortage of manpower to monitor the structures, the CAG report has also pulled up the Culture Ministry for negligence while the monuments go "missing". An example of this is the story of British brigadier General Nicholson's statue, which was a protected monument near Delhi's Kashmere Gate at the time of Independence in 1947. The statute was gifted by the then Indian government to Ireland in the 1960s, but the ASI was unaware of the transfer, and it continues to be on its list of protected monuments. To prevent further monuments from going 'missing', Vineet Bhanwala, the founder of Heritage Haryana Foundation that engages in heritage walks, said it was important for the government to engage the locals and raise awareness about them.

He said that most centrally protected monuments lack fencing, making it easy for cattle to graze, and miscreants to occupy them in the dark and engage in anti-social activities. "I have seen several havelis with beautiful intricate murals in Bhiwani and Hisar painted over in the recent past. The locals must be made aware of the perks of tourism as a source of earnings. If the local youth get employed in tourism and related activities, the anti-social activities will vanish as well," Bhanwala said. India, one of the world's oldest civilisations, boasts a wealth of historical structures. If this "historical wealth" is not preserved, the country's monuments may get lost in time.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2011117, April 3, 2024

Ministry of culture has identified 17 monuments that it has proposed to remove from the list of monuments of national importance. The list has been placed in public domain till May 8 for public objections and suggestions. Spread across several states, these range from Barakhamba cemetery in Delhi to a copper temple in Arunachal Pradesh's Lakhimpur. The list of monuments include Inchla Wali Gumti in Delhi; a Kos Minar in Mujessar village in Gurugram and another one in Shahabad in Karnal; inscription in the fort of Bachhaun in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district; a 12th century temple in Baran locality of Kota district of Rajasthan; inscription in a fort in Nagar locality of Jaipur and Dwarahat Kutumbari in Almora district of Uttarakhand. A cluster of eight monuments that are proposed to be removed from the list are from Uttar Pradesh. They include a banyan grove that was cited to be of great antiquity containing traces of ancient buildings in Ghazipur, Gunner Burkill's Tomb at Rangoon in Jhansi, cemeteries and tombs in Lucknow and Telia Nala Buddhist ruins that form part of a deserted village in Varanasi among others.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/17-monuments-may-lose-tag-of-national-importance/articleshow/108443865.cms, April 4, 2024

UNESCO established the Intangible Cultural Heritage List with the aim to highlight the significance of the cultural heritage and raising awareness among people about its beauty and importance. UNESCO’s list consists of traditions and living expressions. India is globally known for its diverse culture, rich heritage, and glorious history. Its beauty lies in the serenity of lush green vegetation and the wide range of rituals and cultural performances that take place across the nation.

Considering its value and global importance, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has listed some cultural performances and rituals of India on its Intangible Cultural Heritages list. UNESCO established the list with the aim of highlighting the significance of cultural heritage and raising awareness among people about its beauty and importance. UNESCO’s list consists of traditions and living expressions. Intangible cultural heritage means the representations, knowledge, skills, expressions and practices that communities follow. Additionally, the artifacts, instruments, objects, and cultural spaces associated with the rituals are also considered as Intangible cultural heritage.

List of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages in India The list mentioned below consists of the Intangible Cultural Heritages in India recognised by UNESCO. A total of 14 cultural heritages of India have been listed on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. The data has been taken from the official website of UNESCO.

https://www.news9live.com/knowledge/list-of-intangible-cultural-heritage-elements-in-india-2483770, April 5, 2024

A six-week orientation programme will be held for students and young professionals from April 14 to May 18. The International Council on Monuments and Sites, India (ICOMOS), Deccan Heritage Academy Trust (DHAT), and Salarjung Museum, in collaboration with Woxsen School of Architecture and Planning, JBR Architecture College, and Telangana Sculptors and Artists Association have planned a slew of activities for World Heritage Week in Hyderabad, starting April 14. A heritage walk will be held from Charminar to Chowmahalla on Sunday, April 14, at 7 am to spread awareness on the heritage and architectural styles and to trace the city’s cultural history. Commemorating 50 years of the Venice Charter on the occasion of International Day for Monuments and Sites, a six-week orientation programme will be held for students and young professionals from April 14 to May 18. Expert lectures, workshops, and heritage site visits will be held. On completion of the programme a ‘Voice of Heritage Badge’ will be given to the trainees. An exhibition on Hyderabad’s heritage and heritage work will be held at Salarjung Museum on April 18.

https://www.siasat.com/hyderabad-icomos-plans-host-of-activities-during-world-heritage-week-3006388/, April 12, 2024

A necropolis of 500 graves led to the discovery of this site. A team of archaeologists has unearthed a 5,700-year-old Harappan settlement at Padta Bet in the Kutch region of Gujarat. In 2018, the excavation of a nearby archaeological site at Juna Khatiya, which had over 500 graves, was key to the discovery of the Padta Bet settlement. When the Juna Khatiya site was excavated, the archaeologists guessed that this must have been a burial site, and set out to find any nearby settlements, where the Harappan people might have lived. They found a settlement site on a nearby hillock called Padta Bet, about a mile away from the mass burial site of Juna Khatiya.

The team has found residential structures, pots, dishes, and even semi-precious stones like carnelian and agate at the Padta Bet site. They believe that a river once flowed nearby and that the residents engaged in animal husbandry. They dated the site to 5,700 years ago, placing it in the early to late Harappan periods.

The team of archaeologists investigating this site is an international collaboration between the University of Kerala, Kachchh University, Pune’s Deccan College, and Central University of Karnataka in India; Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology, Spanish National Research Council, and University of La Laguna in Spain; and Albion College and Texas A&M University in the United States. Read more here.

https://indiacurrents.com/kutch-gujarat-harappa-settlement-archaeology/, April 12, 2024

Archaeologists from the Department of Archaeology have discovered an earthen pot containing a hoard of 3,730 lead coins at the Buddhist site of Phanigiri, located in Suryapet district, India. The deposit dates from the Ikshvaku dynasty, also known as the Solar dynasty or Sūryavaṃśa, one of the two major Kshatriya dynasties in Hindu Puranic and epic literature. The dynasty ruled the Andhra region, Krishna River Delta, and Godavari river on the east coast, with their power base centred on their capital of Dharanikota (present day Amaravati). Excavations at Phanigiri, a Buddhist complex dedicated to Gautama Buddha, recently uncovered an earthen pot containing 3,730 lead coins with a depiction of the elephant symbol on one side and the Ujjain symbol on the reverse.

The Ujjain symbol consists of a cross connecting four circles/orbs, and was used on coinage by various ancient dynasties and kingdoms of India. The symbolism of the Ujjain is open to speculation, with some scholars suggesting that it represents the junction of four roads, or that it might represent the Damaru’ of Lord Shiva, or the four temples of Lord Shiva with the temple of Lord Mahakaal in the centre. According to the Department of Archaeology, the coins date from between the 3rd and 4th century during the Ikshvaku dynasty period. Alongside the coins, the team also uncovered stone and glass beads, stucco motifs, limestone sculptures, shell bangle fragments, a wheel from a child’s toy cart, and various ceramics.

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/earthen-pot-containing-3730-lead-coins-found-at-phanigiri/151414, April 13, 2024

Archaeologists from the Department of Archaeology have discovered an earthen pot containing a hoard of 3,730 lead coins at the Buddhist site of Phanigiri, located in Suryapet district, India. The deposit dates from the Ikshvaku dynasty, also known as the Solar dynasty or Sūryavaṃśa, one of the two major Kshatriya dynasties in Hindu Puranic and epic literature. The dynasty ruled the Andhra region, Krishna River Delta, and Godavari river on the east coast, with their power base centred on their capital of Dharanikota (present day Amaravati). Excavations at Phanigiri, a Buddhist complex dedicated to Gautama Buddha, recently uncovered an earthen pot containing 3,730 lead coins with a depiction of the elephant symbol on one side and the Ujjain symbol on the reverse.

The Ujjain symbol consists of a cross connecting four circles/orbs, and was used on coinage by various ancient dynasties and kingdoms of India. The symbolism of the Ujjain is open to speculation, with some scholars suggesting that it represents the junction of four roads, or that it might represent the Damaru’ of Lord Shiva, or the four temples of Lord Shiva with the temple of Lord Mahakaal in the centre. According to the Department of Archaeology, the coins date from between the 3rd and 4th century during the Ikshvaku dynasty period. Alongside the coins, the team also uncovered stone and glass beads, stucco motifs, limestone sculptures, shell bangle fragments, a wheel from a child’s toy cart, and various ceramics.

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/earthen-pot-containing-3730-lead-coins-found-at-phanigiri/151414, April 12, 2024