Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan seeks ASI takeover of Barpali excavation site

BHUBANESWAR: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday requested his colleague and Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy for exploring the Barpali site in Bargarh district by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

In a letter to the Union Culture Minister, Pradhan sought the personal intervention of Reddy for the excavation and preservation of a recently discovered 2,000-year-old post-Mauryan site at Barpali in western Odisha by students of the History department of Gangadhar Meher University, Sambalpur.

“I learned that around 60 students, research scholars and faculty of the History department started the excavation on May 31, 2022. The site, which is spread over 17 hectares, has yielded numerous priceless artefacts and antiquities dating back to the post-Mauryan period which was about 2,000 years ago,” the letter said.

He said the findings indicate that the site was a well-established early trade centre and further digging could reveal even more startling revelations. Such a grand archaeological finding is both rare and extremely vulnerable.

“Considering the immense historical value and undiscovered potential of this newfound archaeological site, I seek your personal intervention in directing officials of the ASI to take over the Barpali excavation site for better exploration, examination, analysis and security of the priceless antiquities and historical wealth,” Pradhan said.