Ancient craft village discovered during excavation near Varanasi

A 4000-year-old urban settlement has been discovered by a research team from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in a village located 13 km from Varanasi.
The team experts told the press that the the site found at Bambhaniya is one of the ancient craft villages as per the old Hindu texts. The BHU team revealed that these discoveries date back to very old human settlements near Varanasi that could have grown into a sub-centre of the holy city. A temple made between the 5th and 8th century AD has also been found.

As told by BHU’s Professor A K Dubey who works in the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, potteries as old as 4000-years-old, and walls which are 2,000-years-old have been found.
Dubey also said that it is a pertinent discovery because of its proximity to Varanasi, and it is likely that the unearthed site could have been an urban settlement.


As per the BHU team, the surface materials at the site hint at the possibility that the unearthed structure could be between 3500 to 4000-years-old. The 5-metre cultural deposit revealed is similar to the ones discovered in Sarnath.

B R Mani, Former Additional Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), attended the initial survey. However, this is not the first time that a crafts village has been unearthed in India. Previously, places like Tilmapur, Sarnath, and Ramnagar, among others, have been discovered.

The team has also come across a pillar with a two-line text in Kushan Brahmi script dating back to 3500-4000 years. The complete excavation will reveal the final picture, as told by Mani.