Archaeologists find stupa and artefacts during excavation at Parabhadi Hill in Jajpur

Bhubaneswar: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has uncovered the Buddhist stupa during the ongoing excavation at the Parabhadi hill in the Jajpur district of Odisha.

Informing about the excavation Dibishada B Garnayak, head of Bhubaneswar circle said, “A stone-built structure of a stupa is coming out during the excavation at the site. It looks like a 7th -8th-century stupa but it could be earlier than that. After a detailed analysis only we could confirm the period of the stupa.”

The excavation will continue for a few more days and after that, we would start the conservation work of the stupa, he informed.

Lamenting that major destruction has happened to the site, Garnayak said, “It is an important historical site and its protection is necessary. Unfortunately, another small stupa which existed has been completely damaged due to stone mining,” shared Garnayak.

During the excavation, the archaeologists found a few broken Buddhist sculptures, statues and other artefacts from the site.

“There are sculptures, caves, and existing stupa, so we are expecting to unearth some more important findings from the site,” he shared.

A team of archeologists started the excavation at the Parabhadi site on February 17 which is likely to continue till March.

Located close to the popular Buddhist site Lalitgiri, the Parabhadi hill was earlier selected by the Odisha government in 2021 for stone mining for the beautification of Puri. Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has been given the lease to carry out the mining. However, locals have been opposing the decision due to its historical significance.

“Due to historical ignorance, the site has been destroyed. We can put an effort to conserve the remaining findings. Conservations of the site is the main purpose for carrying out the excavation,” informed Garnayak.