09-10-2008, 03:27 AM
Deccan Chronicle, 10 Spet., 2008
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hyderabad is before Christ
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Hyderabad, Sept. 9: <b>Hyderabad</b> is not 400 years old as claimed by historians but <b>was populated even 2,500 years ago, say archaeologists.</b> Excavations by the State Department of Archaeology and Museums have unearthed implements of the New Stone Age as well as Iron Age burials in Hyderabad. âThe history of Hyderabad goes back to the Neolithic Period,â said Prof. P. Chenna Reddy, director of archaeology.
The department has discovered an Iron Age site studded with Cairn Circles, also called megalithic burials, close to the entrance of Ramoji Film City on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway. Similarly, New Stone Age implements were recovered from Kethepalli village. The burials, according to Prof Chenna Reddy, are spread over five acres and date back to 500 BC.
âWe need systematic archaeological excavations to evaluate the details of these burial sites,â he said. Hyderabad, Secunderabad and surrounding areas harbour a good number of Iron Age sites and similar burials were discovered at Moulali, Hashmathpet, Kothaguda Botanical Gardens and Lingampalli in earlier decades. The burials at Moulali were excavated in 1935 and the ones at Hashmathpet were opened by Birla Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute during 1978. Both the places yielded Iron Age implements and pottery.
The department reopened the burials at Hashmathpet and recovered artefacts, including iron implements, human bones and pottery. Buoyed by the success, it took up excavation at Hayatnagar on the Vijayawada highway and discovered the megalithic burials. âWe will continue excavations at the new site as it has great potential,â said Prof. Chenna Reddy. âWe need to protect these sites before the real estate boom eats into them, erasing all their history.â Apart from him, Mr Aleem, conservation assistant and Mr A. Janardhan Reddy, assistant stapathi, took part in the excavation.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hyderabad is before Christ
Â
Hyderabad, Sept. 9: <b>Hyderabad</b> is not 400 years old as claimed by historians but <b>was populated even 2,500 years ago, say archaeologists.</b> Excavations by the State Department of Archaeology and Museums have unearthed implements of the New Stone Age as well as Iron Age burials in Hyderabad. âThe history of Hyderabad goes back to the Neolithic Period,â said Prof. P. Chenna Reddy, director of archaeology.
The department has discovered an Iron Age site studded with Cairn Circles, also called megalithic burials, close to the entrance of Ramoji Film City on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway. Similarly, New Stone Age implements were recovered from Kethepalli village. The burials, according to Prof Chenna Reddy, are spread over five acres and date back to 500 BC.
âWe need systematic archaeological excavations to evaluate the details of these burial sites,â he said. Hyderabad, Secunderabad and surrounding areas harbour a good number of Iron Age sites and similar burials were discovered at Moulali, Hashmathpet, Kothaguda Botanical Gardens and Lingampalli in earlier decades. The burials at Moulali were excavated in 1935 and the ones at Hashmathpet were opened by Birla Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute during 1978. Both the places yielded Iron Age implements and pottery.
The department reopened the burials at Hashmathpet and recovered artefacts, including iron implements, human bones and pottery. Buoyed by the success, it took up excavation at Hayatnagar on the Vijayawada highway and discovered the megalithic burials. âWe will continue excavations at the new site as it has great potential,â said Prof. Chenna Reddy. âWe need to protect these sites before the real estate boom eats into them, erasing all their history.â Apart from him, Mr Aleem, conservation assistant and Mr A. Janardhan Reddy, assistant stapathi, took part in the excavation.
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