Archeology

Allahabad HC directs ASI to clean Jama Masjid in Sambhal, no whitewashing

The Allahabad High Court on Friday directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to clean the premises of Jama Masjid in Sambhal but did not pass an order for whitewashing of the mosque. The order was passed by Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on an application by Committee of Management, Jama Masjid seeking permission for whitewashing and cleaning of the mosque ahead of Ramzan. On Thursday, the court directed the ASI to immediately inspect the mosque site and appoint a team of three officers who would submit a report in this connection by 10 am on Friday. According to the ASI report, the interior of the mosque has ceramic paint and there is no need to whitewash it at present. During the hearing on Friday, senior advocate S F A Naqvi, appearing for the mosque committee, submitted that they only want whitewashing and lighting work to be done. On this, the court asked the ASI to clean the dust and clear the grass on the premises. Naqvi assured the court that no hindrance will be cau

Tamil Nadu CM announces $1 million for deciphering Indus Valley script

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, has announced a reward of $1 million for researchers who decode ancient script of the Indus Valley Civilisation

Visuals: Centuries-old stepwell discovered during survey in UP's Sambhal

The stepwell, with an area of 400 square meters, is approximately 125 to 150 years old, according to Sambhal's District Magistrate Rajendra Pensiya

After 111 yrs, John Nicholson's statue stripped of national monument status

The statue is located near the Kashmiri Gate in Delhi, where Nicholson died during the 1857 rebellion

Sambhal: Normalcy back as schools reopen while internet remains suspended

Two days after violence broke out during a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque, life in Sambhal was gradually returning to normal on Tuesday with schools reopening and several shops selling daily essentials resuming operations. Internet services, however, remain suspended. Police and administration officials are continuing to closely monitor the situation, with personnel deployed at key intersections and Rapid Action Force teams stationed in sensitive areas. The authorities have imposed restrictions on the entry of outsiders and public representatives into Sambhal until November 30. Although the situation in most parts of the district appeared calm, the area around Shahi Jama Masjid remained deserted. Tension had been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the mosque was first surveyed on the court's orders following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple had stood at the site. On Sunday, a large group of people gathered near the mosque and started shouting slogans a

Puri Jagannath temple urges ASI to begin repair work on Ratna Bhandar

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has requested the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) authorities to immediately take up the repair, maintenance and conservation work of the entire Ratna Bhandar (treasury) in the 12th century shine in Puri. SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee on Saturday said the temple administration will extend all its cooperation to ASI in the repair and maintenance of the Ratna Bhandar. "We have received the report of the Ratna Bhandar's GPR-GPS survey conducted by the ASI", Padhee said. He said the SJTA has all along been careful about the stability and security of the temple. Earlier, the ASI had conducted the GPR-GPS survey of the 12th-century shrine's Ratna Bhandar (treasury) with the assistance of Hyderabad-based NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute). Padhee said the ASI has given a 45-page report on the survey. "There has been indication of damage done to the floor and wall of the Ratna Bhandar. However, the technical repo

Spy satellite images lead archeologists to site of historic battle in Iraq

Declassified 1970s-era U.S. spy satellite imagery has led a British-Iraqi archeological team to what they believe is the site of a seventh-century battle that became decisive in the spread of Islam throughout the region. The Battle of al-Qadisiyah was fought in Mesopotamia in present-day Iraq in the A.D. 630s between Arab Muslims and the army of the Sassanid Persian dynasty during a period of Muslim expansion. The Arab army prevailed and continued on its march into Persia, now Iran. A joint team of archeologists from the U.K.'s Durham University and the University of Al-Qadisiyah stumbled across the site while undertaking a remote sensing survey to map the Darb Zubaydah, a pilgrimage route from Iraq's Kufa to Mecca in Saudi Arabia built more than 1,000 years ago. The findings were published Tuesday in the journal Antiquity. While mapping the route, the team noticed that a site some 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Kufa in Iraq's southern Najaf province a desert area with scatter

Govt sends 10 geological sites' names to ASI for inclusion in heritage list

Names of 10 geological sites, sent to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for inclusion in the list of world heritage sites, are under scrutiny, the government has said. There are about 100 geo-heritage sites, out of which 32 have been recognised as National Geological Monuments. Unlike archaeological sites, there is no legislation to protect geo-heritage sites. But the Geo Heritage Sites and Geo-relics Bill, 2022, which aims to protect India's geological heritage, is under process, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao said. Speaking at an event here, Rao said that there are about 1,200 world heritage sites in the world, out of which 42 are in India and none of these are geological sites. "We need to work together," the secretary said and stressed on the recognition of at least two geoparks in coming years in India, Geological Survey of India (GSI) said in a statement. India, Rao said, has excellent geo-heritage sites like Lunar crater in Maharashtra, Bhedaghat in Madhya Pradesh, ..

Biggest of its kind, 2700-year-old cult temple unearthed by archeologists

Archaeologists made a momentous discovery when they unearthed the largest of its kind cult temple at necropolis of Sasso Pinzuto in Tuscany, Italy

SC to consider petition relating Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex dispute

On April 1, the top court issued notice on the plea challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court order directing survey by the ASI at the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex

ASI completes survey at Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar

The ASI has to submit the report to the Indore High Court on April 29, but the ASI has submitted an application seeking 8 more weeks for the survey

ASI continues survey of Bhojshala complex; mosque body raises objection

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) continued the survey of the controversial Bhojshala/Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district for the third day on Sunday. The Kamal Maula Mosque Welfare Society President Abdul Samad, one of the parties in the court, told reporters that he has submitted some of his objections to the ASI via e-mail on Saturday. "Our objection is that the ASI should not include in the survey the objects put up inside Bhojshala after 2003. I have sent my objections through e-mail," he said. Samad said three ASI teams were working inside the complex. "I am the only person from the (mosque welfare) society who is inside during the survey. My objection is that the ASI team should work at one place and not at three places," he said. On Sunday morning, a team of the ASI, accompanied by senior police and local administration officials, reached the disputed complex in this tribal-dominated district. Petitioners from the Hindu side - Ashish Goyal

Google Doodle celebrates Mexican archaeologist Alfonso Caso's 128th b'day

Google Doodle is celebrating the 128th birthday of Mexican archaeologist and anthropologist Alfonso Caso. Here's all you need to know about him

Gyanvapi case: Allahabad HC rejects Muslim side's maintainability plea

The Allahabad High Court dismissed petitions of Sunni Central Waqf Board and Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, and allowed suits seeking restoration of temple at Gyanvapi

ASI submits survey report on Gyanvapi Mosque to Varanasi district court

The report was shared in a sealed cover and the same will be shared with the petitioners on December 21

House panel recommends having provisions in AMASR Act to fix accountability

A parliamentary panel has recommended to the Centre that in the upcoming amendment of the AMASR Act, "strong provisions" may be incorporated for fixing accountability of government officials to ensure necessary steps are taken timely for tackling encroachment of centrally protected monuments. The department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, in its report, has also strongly recommended that provisions to "empower the local bodies for the protection of historical monuments" and to make them accountable may be incorporated in the amendment of the AMASR Act that is being worked upon by the Culture Ministry. 'Three Hundred Sixty Third Report on the Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/ observations of the Committee contained in its Three Hundred Twenty-Fourth Report' on 'Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India', was presented in both Houses last week. The sites under the Archaeological Survey

Gyanvapi mosque complex: ASI again seeks more time to submit survey report

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Tuesday sought three more weeks from the district court here for submitting the scientific survey report of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The court will hear the plea on Wednesday. The district court of Varanasi had asked the ASI to submit the report on the Gyanvapi Masjid complex by November 28. On Tuesday, the ASI sought an extension of three weeks, saying it needed more time for the assimilation of information generated by different experts, counsel for the Hindu side Madan Mohan Yadav said. In its application, the ASI said that its experts are working on various types of data collected by archaeologists, surveyors and other experts, etc. "Assimilation of information generated by different experts and different tools is a difficult and slow process and it will take some more time to complete the report for final submission. "The court is therefore requested to give three more weeks to ASI to submit it," Yadav said quoting the applicati

ASI's 'Adopt a Heritage 2.0' seeks corporate support to preserve monuments

The ASI on Monday launched the 'Adopt a Heritage 2.0' programme seeking collaboration with corporate stakeholders in preservation of monuments. Besides, a user-friendly mobile app, named 'Indian Heritage', which will showcase the heritage monuments of India, was also unveiled. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has 3,697 monuments under its ambit. These monuments not only exhibit the rich cultural heritage of India but also play a significant role in fostering economic growth, the culture ministry said. Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy, who attended the launch programme virtually, urged all entities to come forward and help in better upkeep and rejuvenation of India's rich cultural heritage, in line with the vision of 'Virasat Bhi, Vikas Bhi'. The 'Adopt a Heritage 2.0' programme seeks to foster collaboration with corporate stakeholders through which they can contribute to preservation of these monuments for the next generations, he said. The process for selection wi

Highest Shiv shrine Tungnath tilting by 6-10 degrees; ASI keeping an eye

The ASI is working towards finding the root cause of the damage and will explore if it can be repaired immediately

Prepare plan for monument restoration at Mehruali archeological park: L-G

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Saturday visited the Mehrauli archaeological park and directed officials to prepare a plan for the restoration of monuments such as the Balban tomb, the Jamali-Kamali mosque and the Rajaon ki Baoli. The plan, he said, should be made at the earliest with fixed timelines for the works to be done under it, according to officials. Saxena, who was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi and Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, also issued directions to sort out scattered carved stones and relics at the park to be displayed at a museum, they said. The park in Mehrauli also houses the iconic Qutub Minar, besides the Balban tomb, the Jamali-Kamali mosque and the Rajaon ki Baoli. "The restoration and beautification of these places has to be done in coordination by the ASI (Archeological Survey of India), the DDA (Delhi Development Authority) and other authorities concerned in a time-bound manner," Saxena said. Some parts of t