Uttarakhand: ‘Lost’ city under Almora? ASI plans to explore

ALMORA/DEHRADUN: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started exploring possibilities of excavation at Gevad valley, located on the banks of Ramganga river, in Almora district, Uttarakhand, in the belief that an ancient city may be buried underneath its soil. A team of ASI experts has already surveyed the valley and the exercise to unearth the "lost habitation" may begin soon, officials said.

Manoj Saxena, superintending archaeologist, Dehradun circle, told TOI on Wednesday, "Our survey reports are quite convincing. An advanced survey is currently underway for further study of the valley falling under the Chaukhutia area. A proposal for excavation is being prepared."

When asked what led ASI to believe that there was an ancient city beneath Gevad valley, the ASI official said, "The area, spread over 10 km along Ramganga, consisting of flat land, has numerous temples dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries which were built by Katyuri rulers. Presence of the cluster of centuries-old temples indicates that there must have been a civilization there even before the temples were built."


Dr Chandra Singh Chauhan, regional state archaeological officer, said, "We have recently found several small 'devasthanams' (small temples) which are one to two feet in height. Earlier also, in the 1990s, a survey was conducted in the said area by the department of ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology of Garhwal University in which a temple of Vakratundeshvar (Ganesh) built in the 9th century and seven other temples of Nath Sampraday were found which show that human habitation existed in the area."

Professor Rakesh Chandra Bhatt, who was part of the team that conducted the survey in 1993, said, "During the excavation, we found secondary burials, chambers and big jars in which remains of the dead were kept. We also found painted pottery and bowls which are similar to the pottery found in the Gangetic Doab in Meerut's Hastinapur and Ahichchhatra in Bareilly, dating back to the 1st- 5th century BC."

He added, "Although we could not find any human settlement there at that time, our findings indicate that a lost city is waiting to be discovered. This could be a major breakthrough for ASI."

Notably, a huge Shivling -- 1.2m in height and about 2 ft in diameter -- was found some time back in the same area. On November 26, TOI had reported that the "rare" Shivling is from the 9th century as per archaeologists' estimates and it belonged to one of the temples by Katyuri rulers which later disappeared.