Gevad valley
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A lost city under the Ramganga’s banks?
Status in 2023
Pramod Dalakoti & Pankul Sharma, Dec 21, 2023: The Times of India
A lost city under Ramganga’s banks?
Pramod Dalkoti & Pankul Sharma | TNN
Almora/Dehradun : The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is exploring the possibilities of excavation at Gevad valley, located on the banks of Ramganga river in Almora district, Uttarakhand, in the belief that an ancient city may be buried underneath its soil. Experts have surveyed the valley and the exercise to unearth the “lost habitation” may begin soon, officials said.
Manoj Saxena, superintending archaeologist, Dehradun circle, told TOI Wednesday, “Our survey reports are quite convincing. An advanced survey is currently underway for further study of the valley. A proposal for excavation is being prepared.”
When asked what led ASI to believe there was an ancient city beneath Gevad valley, the official said, “The ar ea, spread over 10km along Ramganga, consisting of flat land, has temples dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries which were built by Katyuri rulers. Presence of the cluster of centuries-old temples indicates there must have been a civilization there even before the temples were built.”
Dr Chandra Singh Chauhan, regional state archaeological officer, said, “We have recently found several small ‘devasthanams’ (small tem ples) which are one to two feet in height. Earlier also, in the 1990s, a survey in the area by the department of ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology of Garhwal University found a temple of Vakratundeshvar (Ganesh) built in the 9th century and seven other temples of Nath Sampraday which show human habitation existed here.”
Professor Rakesh Chandra Bhatt, who was part of the team that conducted the sur vey in 1993, said, “During the excavation, we found secondary burials, chambers and big jars in which remains of the dead were kept. We also found painted pottery and bowls similar to the pottery found in Gangetic Doab in Meerut’s Hastinapur and Ahichchhatra in Bareilly, dating back to the 1st-5th century BC.”
He added, “Although we could not find any human settlement there at that time, our findings indicate that a lost city is waiting to be discovered. This could be a major breakthrough for ASI.”
Notably, a huge Shivling — 1.2m in height and about 2ft in diameter — was found some time back in the same area. On November 26, TOIhad reported that the “rare” Shivling is from the 9th century as per archaeologists’ estimates and belonged to one of the temples by Katyuri rulers which later disappeared.
