Author: Manu Pubby
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: August 18, 2007
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/210993.html
They may not look like much, but a few limestone
"building blocks" recovered from the seabed off the Gujarat coast
by the Indian Navy hold the key to solving the age-old mystery of the mythical
city of Dwarka.
Marine archaeology experts say that samples
collected during a recent underwater excavation under the supervision of the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will give definitive proof to establish
the antiquity of the site and help "put together a genuine history of
our country"
Recorded in Mahabharata as the capital of
Lord Krishna's kingdom, mythology holds that the island of Dwarka was swallowed
by the ocean. Traces of structural remains detected off the Saurashtra coast
close to 40 years ago triggered speculations that the city of Dwarka had been
rediscovered.
A 21-member team of ASI experts and Indian
Navy divers have now conducted the first scientific undersea survey near the
present day Samudranarayana Temple at Dwarka and found building blocks of
various sizes. The samples are now being sent to various labs across the world
for carbon dating to establish their antiquity.
Experts have refused to comment on the nature
of the ruins, saying it would be premature to speculate on the origin. "They
are structural remains but we cannot interpret them to say what structures
were present at the site. They are limestone blocks that were part of a structure,"
Alok Tripathi, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI said.
However, he ruled out the possibility of the
structures belonging to the Harappan civilization due to the nature of building
material found and said that the remains could not be placed into any definitive
period going by the design style.
Details of the excavation will now be discussed
by an international group of experts at a seminar on the Maritime Heritage
of the Indian Ocean in the Capital on August 23-24.