Under Water Archaeology

Beginning of underwater archaeology in India can be traced back to 1981. Offshore explorations in the country generated a lot of popularity to this discipline. Thereafter, establishment of the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) in the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2001 marked a major step towards the development of the subject. Since its inception, the UAW is engaged in conducting underwater archaeological studies in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. The UAW is engaged in -

Documentation of underwater sites and ancient shipwrecks
Training of professional archaeologists, young researchers and students
Conduct of seminars to discuss various aspects and to bring awareness
Protection of underwater cultural heritage

UAW collaborates with other government organizations for the study and protection of underwater cultural heritage. Collaboration with India Navy (IN) has been a success. Protection of underwater cultural heritage and regulation of underwater activities aimed towards the cultural heritage is one of the main concerns of the UAW. Adoption of “Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage” by UNESCO in 2001 displays the global concern about the protection and management of underwater cultural heritage. UAW has initiated steps for the protection and preservation of the underwater cultural heritage.

Fieldworks

Over a period of time, UAW has carried-out a significant number of underwater archaeological explorations and excavations.

1. Excavation of Princess Royal

UAW in collaboration with the Indian Navy carried out an excavation of a shipwreck, Princess Royal, in Lakshadweep waters. The ship lying from 9 to 54 m depth on the outer slope of the coral reef was excavated systematically. The antiquities retrieved include iron cannon, glazed pottery, blue on white porcelain, nails, and objects of copper, etc. it is the deepest archaeological excavation, conducted so far in the country.

2. Exploration Off Mahabalipuram in the Bay of Bengal

The UAW carried out its first offshore exploration in the Bay of Bengal, off Mahabalipuram in November 2001. The coast areas between Saluvankuppam in the north to Sadrungpattnam in the south were explored. The underwater exploration was carried out in the area east of famous Shore temple and submerged rocks about 500 m off Mahabalipuram were also examined.

3. Offshore and Onshore Exploration in Elephanta Island

Offshore and onshore exploration was conducted in Elephanta Island during the monsoon to study the coastal changes and the deposition on the coast. The coastal area was explored and important features and ancient remains were documented and their position was fixed with the help of a Global Positioning System. The area around Mora-Bandar has strewn with remains of brick made houses, stonewalls and other remains and a large number of potsherds. Divers of the ASI carried out offshore exploration in near-shore the area to a distance of about 100 m from the high-water line. A number of amphorae sherds found here indicate towards the maritime trade from this ancient port.

4. Exploration in the Bay of Bengal

In continuation of previous work, the UAW in collaboration with Indian Navy carried out underwater exploration to search ancient sites and shipwrecks in the Bay of Bengal. INS Darshak, a survey ship was used for conducting underwater archaeological explorations on Tamilnadu and Pondicherry coast off Kaveripattinam, Pondicherry, Arikamedu and Mahabalipuram.

5. Exploration Off Kaveripattnam

The survey boats carried out an acoustic survey to locate the ancient shipwreck, which was earlier noticed by the Survey ship of Indian Navy along with a series of anomalies. The area was explored to locate this historic shipwreck and access its archaeological importance. Diving was carried out to a depth of 20 m.

6. Exploration Off Pondicherry

A number of naval battles took place off Pondicherry resulting in the sinking of a number of ships. Preliminary information collected by UAW through local sources during its previous fieldworks suggested a few shipwrecks in the area. Diving was carried out to a depth of 22 m at two probable shipwreck sites. Survey boats also carried out a side-scan sonar survey in the area to study bottom features.

7. Exploration Off Arikamedu

Divers also explored in the Ariyankuppam river on the bank of which is situated famous archaeological site Arikamedu. The riverbed was very shallow and covered with fine clay and thick mud. Hard patches on the riverbed are covered with barnacles. Due to shallow depth diving in certain areas can only be carried out during the high tide. Rising water, however, provide sufficient depth for diving but working on a muddy bed is very difficult as the visibility is badly affected as the turbid water does not move out due to rising tide.

8. Exploration Off Mahabalipuram

Previous underwater explorations have established that there are submerged structures near Shore temple. Divers carried out extensive diving near submerged features to the east and north of shore temple in 6 to 10 m depth. Side-scan sonar survey conducted at a depth of 10 m shows a series of anomalies. Straight joins, angular cuts on some of the submerged rocks and stone blocks indicates some kind of human activity. A huge trough-like feature at about 3-4 m depth is worth mentioning. Surfaces of all the submerged rocks and stone blocks are covered with barnacles. Due to poor visibility, it was difficult to observe the surface of these features clearly. The site would be thoroughly investigated incoming field season. Underwater archaeological investigations here would be very useful for the study of shoreline change in the area.

9. Exploration off Dwarka

An exploration was conducted offshore and onshore in Dwarka, Gujarat, to understand the submerged archaeological remains. The coastal areas were examined during low tide where sculptures and two stone anchors were discovered. Based on explorations, underwater excavations were carried out in 2007. The objective of the excavation was to know the antiquity of the site, based on material evidence. In this offshore excavation, the ASI’s trained underwater archaeologists and the divers of the Navy searched the sunken structural remains. Findings like submerged remains, circular structures, scattered architectural members and stones were studied and documented. Apart from underwater excavations, an area near the Dwarkadheesh temple was excavated. The entire area was full of successive structures; therefore, due care was taken to document all the features through drawings and photography. Different areas separated by structures were marked and documented in detail. The excavation yielded many antiquities which include terracotta objects, beads, fragmented bangles, copper rings, iron ingots and pottery.

10. Exploration at Loktak Lake

UAW in 2009 focused the attention on the north-eastern part of India. Considering it, exploration in and around the Loktak Lake in Manipur was carried-out in 2009. The objective of the exploration was to find evidence of old settlements in the lake. Dwellings on floating islands in the lake are known to be quite an old tradition. These dwellings were made of organic materials which deteriorate very fast, and it is difficult to find their remains on land. But at the same time, these organic materials get preserved when buried underwater. The remains of ancient dwellings in the lake could only be found through underwater archaeological investigations. Another objective of the exploration was to study ancient sites around the lake to study the changes in the lake and its impact on communities around the lake. The floating dwellings, namely, phumdi (floating huts/ islands) were also examined and documented. Ethno archaeological aspects were emphasised during the exploration to understand the culture and society.

11. Exploration at Elephanta Island

Based on previous studies and evidence of foreign pottery, offshore exploration around Elephanta Island in Maharashtra was carried out to explore the possibilities of locating ancient port sites and shipwrecks. Divers of the Indian Navy along with the team of UAW explored the entire area using technologies like sonar scanning surveys. Samples were collected for further examination and documentation. Besides, explorations around the nearby villages - Rajbandar and Morabandar were carried out wherein foreign potteries like glazed ware, Chinese porcelain, roman amphorae along with semi-precious stones, copper coin, etc. were discovered.

Training

From time-to-time, training courses on different aspects of underwater Archaeology have been organised by UAW. Eight Assistant Archaeologists from different Circles of the Archaeological Survey of India, three archaeologists from Department of Archaeology, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra, and one research scholar from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam participated in this training programme. The course included lectures on different aspects of Underwater Archaeology, traditional boat building, diving, navigation, maritime law, archival researches, chemical preservation etc., practical demonstrations and film shows on important Underwater Archaeological investigations around the world.

International Seminar on Marine Archaeology

UAW collaborated with Indian Navy in organizing an International Seminar on marine archaeology on the theme “A Marine Archaeological Perspective of the Indian Ocean: A Gateway to the Continents”. The seminar was attended by the delegates from France, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States of America, and India.

Underwater archaeologist of UAW participated in Asia-Pacific regional workshop on the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural heritage which was held at Hongkong. The workshop aimed for Implementation of the Convention in the Asia-Pacific Region workshop and was attended by delegates from 25 countries.