Bid to find main gateway to Nalanda

8 Jan 2008, 0422 hrs IST,Pranava K Chaudhary,TNN

PATNA: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started
excavation work at Ghorakatora mound near Giriyak — located between
Biharsharif and Nawada on NH-31 — in Nalanda district to find the
main gateway to the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara.

The contour map has been prepared and camp pitching work started
last week. Archaeologists feel that the excavation would throw fresh
light on the existing ancient Nalanda site.

ASI superintending archaeologist ASI, Patna Circle, P K Mishra told
TOI: "Excavation of this site is essential as it may reveal some
hidden glorious past of this site. It may also prove to be a bigger
structural site than the Nalanda Mahavihara, after excavation." It
is centrally protected mound under ASI, Patna Circle, Patna.

Keeping this in view, ASI excavation branch (Patna) has decided to
excavate the site, Mishra said. "The excavation at Ghorakatora mound
will be taken up in grid pattern and it will be a horizontal
excavation," he added.

Besides discovering the main entrance gate, the excavation is likely
to throw more light on the dating of Lord Buddha, the place of
Buddha's relics buried somewhere near Rajgir and antiquities of pre-
Buddha period, Mishra said.

It is a massive mound measuring about 900 metre (north-south) x 500
metre (east-west) x 40 to 50 feet in height, first noticed by
Francis Buchanan. There is a tomb of Hasan-Hussain at the northern
portion of the mound, according to local residents.

At the centre of the mound was a small square fort with bastion at
the four corners. The ceramic found there is red ware, black slipped
ware, northern black polished ware and black and red ware potsherds.
Some antiquities have also been collected such as terracotta beads
and a fragment of Sunga plaque.

It indicates that site may date back to chalcolithic culture leading
to northern black polished ware culture, Sunga-Kushana times up to
mediaeval period.

The burnt-brick structures were running west to east exposed at the
western periphery of the eroded mound due to weathering. Many
terracotta ring-wells have also been noticed. It seems to be a
structural site and might be connected with the ruins of Nalanda
Mahavihara, said an archaeologist.

The river Panchana, which flows west of the site, also connects with
motorable road leading to Tapovan, Jethian and Rajgriha.