Archaeologist B B Lal who led excavation at Ramjanmabhoomi site dies at 101

“In the passing of Prof B B Lal Ji, we have lost one of the brightest minds who has contributed significantly towards our archeological excavations & endeavours and trained archeologists for over 4 decades,” said Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy in a condolence message posted on Twitter.

Considered India’s senior-most archaeologist, Lal was actively involved in archaeological research and writing till the age of 100. He was trained by Sir Mortimer Wheeler at Taxila in 1944, after which he joined the Archaeological Survey of India and served as its Director-General from 1968 to 1972. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in the country, last year for his contributions to the field of archaeology. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2000.

Born in 1921 in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi, Lal developed an interest in archaeology after completing his master’s degree in Sanskrit from Allahabad University. He worked extensively on archaeological sites associated with the Harappan civilisation and the Mahabharata. He has also served on several UNESCO committees and is best known for his theory of a temple-like structure underneath the now-demolished Babri mosque.

“Archaeological investigations had clearly established that there was a temple at the site before the construction of the mosque, and we were happy that the Supreme Court took due notice of this fact in pronouncing its judgment,” he had said in an interview to The Indian Express in the wake of the Ramjanmabhoomi case verdict in 2019.

In his message to the new generation of archaeologists, Lal had said in an interview: “My advice to all the field-archaeologists is: (i) Define your objective clearly and then after due exploration choose your site for excavation; (ii) Be entirely objective in your analysis of the data obtained. No subjectivity should be allowed to creep in; (iii) Try to publish your results as early as possible; (iv) Keep your eyes and ears wide open.”

In 1990, B B Lal wrote of the ‘pillar-base theory’ on the basis of his excavations at Ayodhya. He claimed to have found temple-like pillars which would have formed the foundation of the Babri Masjid. Lal’s findings were published in the right-wing magazine Manthan. His theory was later recognised as the interpretive framework of the court-appointed excavation team at Babri in 2002.

In a career spanning over five decades, Lal excavated several landmark sites, including Hastinapura (Uttar Pradesh), Sisupalgarh (Odisha), Purana Qila (Delhi) and Kalibangan (Rajasthan). From 1975-76, he investigated sites like Ayodhya, Bharadvaja Ashrama, Sringaverapura, Nandigrama and Chitrakoota under his Archaeology of Ramayana Sites project. He also worked on over 50 books and 150 research papers published in national and international journals. Some of his most notable books include, ‘The Saraswati Flows On: The Continuity of Indian Culture’ published in 2002 and ‘Rama, His Historicity, Mandir and Setu: Evidence of Literature, Archaeology and Other Sciences’ published in 2008.