ASI resumes excavation work at Barabati after 15 years

ASI resumes excavation work at Barabati after 15 years

With the aim of finding the maritime trade link between South-east Asian countries and Barabati fort of the medieval period, ASI has resumed excavations at Barabati after a gap of almost 15 years. A fragment of a shattered medieval sculpture was discovered by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) during excavations at the Barabati fort in the Cuttack district of Odisha. According to official sources, the artifact might be from the 13th or 14th century.  Dr D Gadnayak is the superintending archaeologist from ASI at the site.

The Barabati fort was built in 987 CE by Markata Keshari of Somavanshi dynasty as a stone embankment in order to protect Cuttack. In 1915, Barabati fort was declared as an ASI protected monument. ASI undertook excavation work at the site for the first time in 1989. The last time the site was excavated was more than 15 years back in 2007. 

“A trench has been created in the northeast direction of the remains of the pillared hall of the fort. During the excavation of the trench on the day, a broken part of a sculpture was found which could date back to the 13th to 14th century if the style of the fragment is taken into consideration”, Gadnayak said. “The trench appears to have two to three metres of deposits and the sculptural fragment was dug from the spot”, he added.

With this excavation ASI is hopeful of unearthing some interesting facts about the fort that was hitherto unknown to all.