Monsoon break for ASI's Purana Qila excavation

NEW DELHI: Six months after Archaeological Survey of India started their excavation project at Purana Qila, it's now drawing to a temporary closure. With monsoons arriving in Delhi, open trenches will be covered and excavated again only by October-November.
One of the main discoveries in the excavations has been a 3-4th century BC ring well that was unearthed several weeks ago; the first such finding in a monument in Delhi.Various other artifacts that were found will all be placed at the site museum in Purana Qila, said sources.
The project started in January-end and 14 trenches have been dug. Officials said that, when the site is reopened towards the end of the year, more trenches will be excavated to continue research on the earliest settlements in the site. "This is the only site in Delhi where there is evidence from the Mauryan period to the Mughal, all in a regular sequence without any break," said assistant superintending archaeologist Vishnu Kant. The discovery of the ring well sparked much excitement as no such discovery has been made in a Delhi monument so far.
According to officials, 18 rings have been exposed to far with each ring being 18cm wide. "
Evidence shows that the ring well was used to draw fresh water and the depth of the ring well went till the water level of that time," said a source.
Purana Qila has been two excavations in the past?one in the 1950s and one in the early 1970s. The latest excavation project is being undertaken on the southeastern side of Sher Mandal, 20m away from the spot where one of the earlier excavations took place.
Apart from the ring well, other unique findings are a rare 12th century sculpture of Vishnu and a sealing (stamp impression) in terracotta from the Gupta period with Brahmi script.
These apart, ASI also discovered typical pottery from the Kushan and Gupta periods, structures from the Rajput and Kushan periods, copper coins which are yet to be deciphered, terracotta human figurines, micro-beads made of semi-precious stones and glass, ear studs of terracotta and charred grains of wheat and rice.
"The Rajput structures are made of stone, while the ones from the Kushan period are made of burnt brick. Human figurines in terracotta are also an important finding as one usually comes across such figurines of animals rather than humans," said an official.