Gujarat: Remains of 2800-year-old settlement found in PM Modi's village Vadnagar

Mehsana: A joint study by the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) has discovered evidence of a human settlement that is as old as 800 BCE (Before the Christian Era) at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's village in Vadnagar, Gujarat. Professor of Geology and Geophysics at IIT Kharagpur, Dr Anindya Sarkar on Tuesday said that the study of deep archaeological excavation at Vadnagar also indicates that the rise and fall of different kingdoms during this long 3,500 years and recurrent invasions of India by Central Asian warriors were driven by severe change in climate like droughts.
"The team have been working in Vadnagar with the ASI for the last 4-5 years. A very old Buddhist monastery was also unearthed... ASI has been working from 2016-2023 and has excavated up to a depth of 20 mtrs... The history of Vadnagar goes long back," Sarkar said. He further asserted that Vadnagar is the only archaeological site in India where early to medieval history is completely preserved and whose precise chronology is now known. "It is also the oldest living fortified city in India with continuous habitation from 800 BCE. Seven cultural layers have been unearthed, the oldest layer dates back to 2800 years or 800 BCE," he added. Sarkar further added, "Some of our recent unpublished radiocarbon dates suggest that the settlement could be as old as 1400 BCE or 1500 BCE contemporary to the very late phase of the post-urban Harappan period." He further said that it suggests a cultural continuity in India for the last 5,000 years and the so-called Dark Age may be a "myth". "Our isotope data and dates of the cultural periods at Vadnagar suggest that all these invasions happened precisely when the agrarian Indian subcontinent was prosperous with stronger monsoons but the Central Asia was extremely dry and uninhabitable with recurrent droughts from where almost all the invasions and migrations happened," added Sarkar. Meanwhile, Archaeological Supervisor Mukesh Thakor said that more than a lakh remains have been unearthed so far. "Excavations in Vadnagar have been going on ever since PM Modi was the CM of Gujarat. More than a lakh remains have been unearthed so far. The reason why it is a live city is because the water management system and water level are good," Thakor said. He further said that around 30 sites have been excavated in Vadnagar so far... People of different faiths- Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism lived here in harmony. Researchers from IIT Kharagpur, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Deccan College are working together.