ASI spent over Rs 2.78 lakh on excavation of gold in UP: Govt

NEW DELHI: The Archaeological Survey of India ( ASI) had spent over Rs 2.78 lakh on excavations in search of suspected gold treasure at Daundia Khera village in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district.

"An expenditure of Rs 2,78,751 was incurred on the trial excavations at the site," Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.

An ASI team had started on October 18 the excavation work at the fort of Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh in Unnao to dig out a suspected gold treasure, which a seer had dreamed of being buried there.

The team worked on two trenches in search of gold but found nothing.

A month later, in November, the ASI decided to call off the work after the first trench proved to be a dud and a second trench also failed to reveal anything substantial.

Katoch, refusing to term the exercise as futile, said that the excavations conducted by ASI was part of routine.

"During excavations, black slipped wares, black and red ware, northern black polished ware, and associated red ware besides, terracota beads, bone points, glass bangles, iron nails, hopscotch, fragment of stone lion figure and animal bones were found from different levels (of the pits)," she said.

The Minister noted the excavations established that the antiquity goes back to circa first millennium BC.

She said the approval for excavation was granted by the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India, as the last date for submission of excavation proposals for consideration by the Standing Committee of Central Advisory Board of Archeology had expired on July 31.

She said the potentiality of the site was established because of the ruined fort datable to 18th century, the investigations carried out in 1860s and later, geo-physical survey undertaken by the Geological Survey of India.