LOCATION PROJECT
PUNE: Archaeologists from the Pune-based Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute have found artefacts and other ancient ruins dating back to the early historic era at Kotul, located in Ahmednagar district along the Junnar-nashik route.
A team of archaeologists recently concluded their excavation at a site in Kotul, the traces of which took them back nearly 2,000 years.
According to Pandurang Sabale, head, department of ancient Indian history and culture and archaeology, the excavation site was invented by him in the 2014-15 academic season after which geo-archaeological work was carried out in the Mula river basin. In the present 2021-22 field season, an archaeological excavation was carried out as part of the training of MA students in April at the site located in Akole tehsil, Ahmednagar district.
Sabale, along with other researchers, led the excavation at Kotul. At the site, researchers found 2,000 years’ old artefacts from the Satavahana era. The artefacts include a variety of pots, bricks, terracotta beads and objects, shell bangles, coins and metal objects, grain storage jars etc.
Large quantities of animal bones, skeletons and food grains too were collected. All these indicate that Kotul was an important settlement on the trade route even during the early historic era. “It was a host of artefacts like jewellery (beads) and earthen pots. The preliminary research suggests our findings date back to the early historic era,” Sabale said.
The Kotul excavation site, which measures approximately 0.75 x 1.25 square kilometre was discovered in 2014 while the research was completed in the first week of May this year. “The discovery at the excavation site suggests that Kotul was important in the trading scheme of things from the early historic to the medieval period,” said Sabale. Neighbouring Junnar has already been a part of the Deccan college research where excavation began in 2005 and large brick structures were found at the site. It is believed that these structures were used for different purposes during the reign of the Satavahanas.
Junnar was the first capital of the Satavahana dynasty that ruled the Deccan plateau region from the 1st century BC. The rulers from this dynasty had trade relations with ancient Rome and Greece and their munificence is evident in the form of cave temples and chaitya grihas that dot the landscape of the state.
Junnar has also been important because it is on the trade route that links the ports of western India with Konkan and the Deccan interiors. The famous Naneghat inscription in Junnar dates back to this dynasty. The hills and vales of the region are rich in artefacts from the era. Future studies will be conducted after looking at the potential character of the Kotul site.