Ancient potteries, coins excavated near Bhadra

Months after Archeological Survey of India (ASI) started the excavation work near Bhadra fort — as part of its restoration — the process came to a halt when workers at the site discovered potteries and different figures under the ground.

After much debate and analysis of the excavated artefacts, the ASI cleared the air and stated that the potteries belonged to the era of Ahmed Shah or even before.

According to the ASI, this is probably the rarest, most interesting and one of the best structures excavated in recent times relating to the Ahmed Shah era, where potteries, coins, clay figures and the original foundation stone of the Bhadra fort were also unearthed.

During the restoration process, the ASI demolished an old wall adjoining the fort, as it was recently constructed and did not match the original structure.

Speaking to dna, a senior ASI official said: “We removed the wall as it was constructed by the PWD nearly 30-40 years ago. But during the digging process, we excavated many figurines, clay toys, pottery and coins of the British era. We also discovered that the foundation stone was much deeper than the ground level.”

With this, it is clear that the ground level during Ahmed Shah’s rule used to be much deeper than what it is today and so is the fort, the official added.

Hundreds of potteries and clay figures of various sizes were unearthed during the excavation, depicting the art and interesting colour combinations used in pottery during those times. “A close examination of the items indicates that they are not of the Mughal era, but much before that. The texture on the pottery reflects the year in which they were used. Generally, every 200 years, the soil and style/design of pottery changes, with which we can determine that they existed during Ahmed Shah’s rule or maybe even before the period,” said the official.

The city came under the Mughal influence after 1673 AD, before which Ahmed Shah I founded the city in 1411 and the coins and earthen pots are believed to belong to early 15th century. The 500-year-old coins and earthen pots would provide great insight on the civilization existing during those times.

Talking about one of the Chinese earthen pots found, the official said, “Among the pottery, we also excavated one old Chinese pottery, which indicates the trade, Chinese influence and the local culture during Ahmed Shah’s rule.” With such fascinating articles excavated, ASI plans to protect the structure (foundation wall) and the figurines. 

Senior conservator of ASI for Ahmedabad, Arif Agharia said: “The structure will be kept open for the public after covering it with an acrylic sheet to protect the foundation stone from sunlight and rain. Also, we will keep the display of earthen pots and clay toys open for public at ASI office and will be available for research purpose. The broken pottery will be preserved using the same amount and quality of lime and will be kept for our records.” However, there are no plans to submit the figurines to any local or national museum.