NAGARDHAN EXCAVATIONS

Jan. 27, 2020

Recent archaeological excavations at Nagardhan, near Nagpur have provided concrete evidence on the life, religious affiliations and trade practices of the Vakataka dynasty that ruled parts of Central and South India between the third and fifth centuries.

About:

Nagardhan is a large village in Nagpur district, about 6 km south of Ramtek taluka headquarters.
Nagardhan served as the capital of the Vakataka kingdom.
It is the first time clay sealings have been excavated from Nagardhan. The oval-shaped sealing belongs to the period when Prabhavatigupta was the queen of the Vakataka dynasty. It bears her name in the Brahmi script, along with the depiction of a conch. The presence of the conch, scholars say, is a sign of the Vaishnava affiliation that the Guptas held.
An intact idol of Lord Ganesha, which had no ornaments adorned, too was found from the site. This confirmed that the elephant god was a commonly worshipped deity in those times.
Researchers found animal rearing to be one of the main occupations. Remains of seven species of domestic animals — cattle, goat, sheep, pig, cat, horse and fowl — were traced in an earlier study by the team.