Archaeologists have unearthed 4,000-year-old relics including stone tools, jewel beads and earthenware in a village on the banks of the Narmada river in Bhopal.
The relics found in the Harda district of Bhopal belong to the Chalcolithic age, also known as the copper age, when ancient human settlers began using metals like copper. This period dates back to about 4500 and 3500 BC.
The relics discovered in the region show evidence that ancient humans settled on the banks of Narmada some 4,000 years ago, according to archaeologists.
They discovered stone beads, plaques, bowel, dish, spouted jar, jewels made out of stone and ivory as well as game pieces made from terracotta. These findings suggest that settlers built houses and settled in colonies near the river, reported Daily Mail.
"One of the most remarkable things about the find is that we have found one earthen pot and a mound of 150X200 metres in village Birjakhedi. The more we are digging the surface, the more treasures are being found. Some even have figures of aquatic creatures on them," Pankaj Rag, commissioner, archaeology department, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
"Some of the discovered remnants like pot and jar were found intact with their bottom end stuffed in the mud," said archaeologists DK Mathur and Dr OP Mishra. They took days to remove the mud covering the pot.
These findings are possibly the biggest discoveries ever made on the banks of Narmada. Archaeologists are still doing excavation work at the site and have restricted entry to visitors.
Researchers would use carbon dating technique to confirm the period that the relics belong to.
