12 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2800-year-old settlement discovered in Vadnagar, India

An excavation in Gujarat’s Vadnagar, about 900 km southwest of New Delhi, India, has found the remains of a settlement dating back 2,800 years.

The settlement as ancient as 800 BCE in Vadnagar has been uncovered by researchers from IIT Kharagpur, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and Deccan College.

The human settlement that goes back as old as 800 BC revealed the presence of seven cultural stages, said, officials. The findings thus imply that the “Dark Age” was a myth and that cultures continuously existed in the region without total annihilation during the last 5,500 years.

Researchers said some of their recent unpublished radiocarbon dates suggest that the settlement could be as old as 1400 BC, contemporary to the very late phase of the post-urban Harappan period.

The Dark Age refers to the time period between the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization and the appearance of the Iron Age, which included cities such as Gandhar in modern-day Afghanistan and Koshal in modern-day Uttar Pradesh in India.

The human settlement is contemporary to late-Vedic/pre-Buddhist Mahajanapadas or oligarchic republics,” the institute said in a press release.

ASI archaeologist Abhijit Ambekar, co-author of the paper, told PTI news agency, “Excavation in its several deep trenches revealed the presence of seven cultural stages (periods) namely, Mauryan, Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian or Shaka-Kshatrapas, Hindu-Solankis, Sultanate-Mughal (Islamic) to Gaekwad-British colonial rule and the city is continuing even today. One of the oldest Buddhist monasteries has been discovered during our excavation.”

Archaeologist Abhijit Ambekar added that the archaeological artifacts they found included pottery, copper, gold, silver and iron objects and intricately designed bangles. Coin molds of Greek king Appollodatus from the Indo-Greek rule at Vadnagar were also found, he added.

He also claimed that the remains discovered make Vadnagar the oldest living city within a single fortification unearthed so far in India.

“The earliest settlement period in Vadnagar started at least during 800 year BCE i.e., the early Iron Age or questionably the Late Vedic period and pre-dates both Buddhism and Jainism. This period continues into the Mauryan rule and ends with its fall around 150 year BCE. After the downfall of the Gupta Empire, large-scale de-urbanisation, drying up of water bodies, famines and population contraction across India occurred”, said Dr. Anindya Sarkar, Professor of Geology and Geophysics at IIT Kharagpur.

These findings provide valuable insights into the diverse cultural and historical layers of Vadnagar, highlighting its significance as a hub of civilization throughout the centuries.

The findings were published in a paper titled ‘Climate, human settlement, and migration in South Asia from Early historic to medieval period: Evidence from new archaeological excavation at Vadnagar, Western India’ in the journal ‘Quaternary Science Reviews’.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108470

Related Articles

A surprising discovery in Lublin countryside! Ancient figurines of Egyptian and Roman gods found

6 May 2023

6 May 2023

Two ancient figurines depicting the Egyptian god Osiris and a bust of the Roman god Bacchus were found in the...

6,000-Year-Old Settlement Was home to Europe’s first megalithic monument makers

22 February 2023

22 February 2023

Archaeologists in France unearthed the remains of a series of wooden buildings within a defensive enclosure that were built at...

Archaeologists uncover intact 16th-century quayside in the Belgium town of Leper

24 March 2022

24 March 2022

Excavations at Leper (Ypres), located in the West Flanders province of Belgium, have uncovered a 16th-century quayside. The find was...

Over 4 feet long sword found in a medieval grave in Sweden

29 December 2023

29 December 2023

An unusual and exciting discovery was made during archaeological research at Lilla Torg in the port city of Halmstad on...

An Elite Nubian Woman’s Burial, Dating Back 4,000 Years, Reveals the Oldest Evidence of Tumpline Use

15 April 2025

15 April 2025

A recent study analyzing 30 ancient skeletons from the Abu Fatima cemetery in Nubia, Sudan, has revealed that women in...

Discoveries on the island of Minorca shed light on the history of Roman conquests in the Balearic Islands

31 July 2021

31 July 2021

The University of Alicante Institute for Archeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH) Researchs discovered a collection of buried Roman antiquities going...

Medieval Rye: From Humble Weed to Powerful Staple – New Study Reveals Surprising Farming Secrets

27 May 2025

27 May 2025

Discover how medieval rye cultivation was far more advanced than previously believed. New research reveals intensive farming and fertilizing techniques...

China’s construction of the first archaeological museum which will house the famous Terracotta Warriors has been completed

19 April 2022

19 April 2022

Construction of the first archaeological museum in China’s northwestern province of Shaanxi, which will house the famous Terracotta Warriors, was...

A Viking ship discovered at Salhushaugen Cemetery in Norway

22 April 2023

22 April 2023

Archaeologists in Norway, a 20-meter-long Viking ship has been discovered using georadar on a mound previously believed to be empty....

Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of what may be one of the four lost Ancient Egyptian “Sun Temples”

31 July 2022

31 July 2022

A Polish and Italian archaeological mission, while conducting an excavation in the Abusir necropolis near Saqqara in Egypt, unearthed the...

Archaeologists identify three new Roman camps in Arabia

27 April 2023

27 April 2023

Through remote sensing analysis, archaeologists have identified three new Roman fortified camps throughout northern Arabia. Their study, released today in...

A 2,100-Year-Old Marble Statue of Mother Goddess Cybele Discovered in Ordu’s Ancient Kurul Castle

7 March 2025

7 March 2025

A breathtaking statue of the Mother Goddess Cybele, dating back 2100 years, was found at the historic Kurul Castle in...

The Celts’ Astronomical Secrets: The Chão de Lamas Lunula and the Coligny Calendar Connection

2 March 2025

2 March 2025

A groundbreaking study published in the journal Palaeohispanica has shed light on the ancient timekeeping practices of the Celts, centering...

Archaeologists Uncover Upper Part Colossal Statue of Ramses II

4 March 2024

4 March 2024

The joint Egyptian-American Archaeological Mission unearthed the upper part of the colossal statue of Ramses II (Ramesses), the lower part...

Spectacular Roman Mosaics Unearthed in Thalheim bei Wels: A Unique Discovery in Upper Austria

10 June 2025

10 June 2025

Archaeologists from the University of Salzburg uncovered three exceptionally preserved Roman mosaics during excavations A remarkable archaeological discovery has captivated...