Joint team calls it a major discovery

A joint team of professional archeologists and experts from Russia and Kashmir has unearthed first century Terractotta Pipes at a little known village of Ahan in Ganderbal district, marking it as the first such discovery in the Valley.

Experts call it a “major discovery”, saying prior to their findings, such pipes have been found in only Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia.

“These pipes are of 1st century Kushan period and could have been used for drainage or carrying water which we are yet to determine. But the discovery of such structures is very significant,” said DrAjmal Shah, Assistant Professor, Centre for Central Asian Studies (CCAS), Kashmir Univeristy and head of the project from Kashmir side. “Another important thing is the discovery of these pipes means that Ahan was an urban settlement and not a rural one which nobody knew till date.”

Ahan is a small village nestled between Ganderbal and Bandipora districts, near Sumbal. The joint team of experts from Russia and Kashmir is part of the project taken up to study ‘Migration Routes from Kashmir to Central Asia.’

An eight-member team from Russia has arrived in Kashmir to undertake the study at Ahan village and discuss the future course of action.

The village was chosen as it stands on the junction of two ancient routes—one connecting Kashmir with Ladakh and the other with Central Asia via Gilgit.

“The expedition has brought results beyond our expectations,” said Shah. “We discovered various subterranean structures, terracotta pipe, coins, pottery, terracotta tiles and so on. Majority of artefacts are 2000 years old.”

The findings of the 10-day Geophysical and preliminary archaeological survey were presented at a function at Kashmir University where Prof Natalia Polosmak, who is heading the project from Russian side, also delivered a lecture on “New Archaeological Investigations in Central Asia.”

The team made the discovery with the help of state-of-art machinery brought by the foreign team, Shah said.

The machines made the discovery of various structures without having to dig the site. Only a small test pit was dug, which further strengthened their findings. The Russian team also comprised of two geophysicists, two geodata experts, two land surveyors and a translator.

The project is a joint collaboration of the CCAS and the Institute of Archeology And Ethnography, Russian Academy Of Sciences. It is funded by Gerda Henkel Stiftung Foundation Germany.

With the major discovery being made at the preliminary stage, the team is confident of extended funding from Germany which will enable them to go for ground excavation. “Next year we are taking the project to the next level and expose the structure and make a clear picture of the entire area,” said Dr Shah.

The last time the area was excavated was in 1960s when some locals accidentally discovered terracotta tiles at the site. At that time renowned Historian Prof FidaHassnain had led the limited excavation.