<p>Chitradurga: Excavations at the archaeological site of Brahmagiri near Ashok Siddapur in Chitradurga district were initiated on Sunday. The site is being re-excavated after a gap of 78 years and is expected to reveal new insights into the ancient past of southern India.</p><p>Equipped with modern techniques, the team led by Superintending Archaeologist Bipin Chandra Negi of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Bengaluru Circle and Kathy Morrison Project head, UPenn (University of Pennsylvania), is carrying out horizontal excavation.</p><p>Prof Ravi Korishettar who has established a unique pre-history museum and an authority on pre-history at the national and international level initiated the excavation along with Negi and Morrison.</p><p>Assistant Superintending Archaeologists of ASI Raghavan and Ambele Anananova, Dr Mark, Dr Mariah, Dr Jennefer, and Mr Chad (all from University of Pennsylvania) are participating in the excavation.</p><p>The site was first excavated by M H Krishna of the Mysore Archaeological Department in the 1940s. This was a landmark excavation which revealed the stratigraphic sequence of Neolithic, Iron Age and early historic levels.</p><p>The excavation was carried out to locate the ancient town of Isila mentioned in the Ashokan Brahmi inscription engraved by Chapada from Afghanistan. </p><p>Later in 1946, Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler, the last British Director General of the ASI excavated the site to establish a relationship between the megalithic monuments and the Iron Age.</p>
<p>Chitradurga: Excavations at the archaeological site of Brahmagiri near Ashok Siddapur in Chitradurga district were initiated on Sunday. The site is being re-excavated after a gap of 78 years and is expected to reveal new insights into the ancient past of southern India.</p><p>Equipped with modern techniques, the team led by Superintending Archaeologist Bipin Chandra Negi of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Bengaluru Circle and Kathy Morrison Project head, UPenn (University of Pennsylvania), is carrying out horizontal excavation.</p><p>Prof Ravi Korishettar who has established a unique pre-history museum and an authority on pre-history at the national and international level initiated the excavation along with Negi and Morrison.</p><p>Assistant Superintending Archaeologists of ASI Raghavan and Ambele Anananova, Dr Mark, Dr Mariah, Dr Jennefer, and Mr Chad (all from University of Pennsylvania) are participating in the excavation.</p><p>The site was first excavated by M H Krishna of the Mysore Archaeological Department in the 1940s. This was a landmark excavation which revealed the stratigraphic sequence of Neolithic, Iron Age and early historic levels.</p><p>The excavation was carried out to locate the ancient town of Isila mentioned in the Ashokan Brahmi inscription engraved by Chapada from Afghanistan. </p><p>Later in 1946, Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler, the last British Director General of the ASI excavated the site to establish a relationship between the megalithic monuments and the Iron Age.</p>
