Ancient artefacts of MSU’s archeology dept open to elements for over a month
Updated: Sep 29th, 2024
The 3000-year-old artefacts of The Maharaja Sayajirao University’s Archaeology Department have been reportedly lying outside the faculty premises for a month.
During the recent Vishwamitri flood, water entered the basement of the Archaeology Department, damaging historical artefacts.
Currently, these artefacts have been removed and placed outside. There is confusion about how and where to preserve this ancient heritage in possession of the university.
Since the establishment of the Archaeology Department, researchers and students have excavated hundreds of years-old artefacts from dozens of sites, including Vadnagar, Devni Mori, Shamlaji, Bagsara, Nagvada, Nageshwar, Prabhas Patan, and Sikarpur.
Many of these genuine artefacts are linked to the 3000-year-old Harappan culture and the Buddhist period, including clay and stone utensils, clay and stone jewellery, tools, stone weapons, statues, etc.
The basement of the Archaeology Department, which is 80 feet long and 40 feet wide, is used for storing these artefacts.
The artefacts removed from the basement are currently in plastic crates and have had to be placed in the department’s lobby as well as outside. Numerous times in the last month, these artefacts have been soaked in rain.
Sources indicate that the cleaning of the basement will continue for a few more days. After that, the basement will be whitewashed, treated for moisture, and the entrance sealed to prevent water from entering again.
Researchers excavated 50 sites in past
According to Prof Ajith Prasad, the former head of the Archaeology Department, since its establishment in 1953, researchers from the department have excavated at nearly 50 sites, including some in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The artefacts discovered here are brought to the faculty and are mostly stored in the basement. The artefacts are used for teaching archaeology subjects to students.
The water of the Bhukhi nullah – the tributary of Vishwamitri river that passes from the university campus took over the whole campus leading to flooding in the Archaeology Department’s basement.
This was the first time that floodwaters have reached the Archaeology Department. In the past, floodwaters had never entered the basement.
Amid complaints about inadequate security in the Arts Faculty, the Dean of the Arts Faculty has written a letter to the university registrar requesting the appointment of four additional security guards due to the artefacts being placed outside, to ensure that no unauthorised elements tamper with them.
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