Older civilisation than Indus found

Vadodara, Jan 21: Recent excavations in parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Pakistan have made the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) believe that a developed civilization possibly existed in the region in the 6th millennium BC, assumed to be older than the Indus valley civilisation.

According to ASI Director Dr B R Mani, the civilisation, believed to be much older than the Indus civilisation of the second and third millennium BC, stretched from Iran in the west to North Bengal in the east.

Dr Mani, who is here to attend a two-day international seminar on 'Magan (the present Oman) and Indus civilisation,' said till now the Indus and Harappan were considered to be amongst the world's earliest civilizations, but the relicts found during the recent excavations provided some evidence regarding existance of about 7,000-year-old civilization.

''Excavations at Lahuradeva site in Uttar Pradesh, Mehergadh in Pakistan and Haryana have led to recovery of pottery, cultivated rice and other artefacts dating back to that period,'' the ASI director said, adding that further research and excavations were on not only by the ASI but also by concerned state agencies and different universities.

Bureau Report