Excavations at Kalibangan were started during the field-season of 1960-61 by the present writer, as the Director of the School of Archaeology (now designated as Institute of Archaeology). During the following field-season he was away in Egypt, leading an Indian team which carried out excavations at Afyeh and Tumus in Nubia, under a UNESCO project. However, excavations were continued at Kalibangan by Shri B.K. Thapar, as Superintendent of the Excavations Branch of the Survey. By the 1962-63 season the writer was back from Egypt, and the work continued up to the field-season of 1967-68. During 1968-69, however, Shri Jagat Pati Joshi, as Superintendent of the Excavations Branch, also joint hands in the direction of the Excavations. With this season, which was ninth in the series, the fieldwork came to an end. While going through this volume, the reader may find that the technical reports on pottery, metallic objects, animal bones and plant remains sent to us by the respective experts, have been included here in toto, though the material belongs to both Early and Mature Harappan levels. This has been done to present a composite picture. In presenting this report to readers, so many years after the excavations, we feel really small, may even ashamed. The only umbrella under which we can cover our heads is the saying Better late than never’. We hope that the academic community will accept this much-belated report for whatever it is worth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR B B Lal
An archaeologist of international repute, Professor B.B. Lal was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India. His excavation at Kalibangan in Rajasthan has brought to light a prosperous city of the Harappan Civilization. The excavations at Hastinapura, Indraprastha, etc. have established that there was a kernel of truth in the Mahabharata, though the epic is full of interpolations. The excavations at Ayodhya, Sringaverapura, etc. have shown that the Ramayana too has a basis in history. In 1961, he conducted excavations in Egypt, which threw valuable light on Egyptian prehistory. He has published over 150 seminal research papers, variously in India, USA, UK, France, Italy, Egypt, Japan, etc. Amongst his recent books are: The Earliest Civilization of South Asia (1997); India 1947-97: New Light on the Indus Civilization (1998); The Sarasvati flows On: The Continuity of Indian Culture (2002); The Homeland of the Aryans: Evidence of Rigvedic Flora and Fauna and Archaeology (2005); Rama: His Historicity, Mandir and Setu (2008); How Deep are the Roots of Indian Civilization? Archaeology Answers (2009). In 1982, Mithila Visvavidyalaya conferred on Professor Lal the title of Mahamahopadhyaya. In 1994, he was awarded D. Litt. (Honoris causa) by Institute of Archaeology, St. Petersburg, Russia. The same year he was elected President of World Archaeological Congress. In 2000, the President of India honored him with Padma Bhusana.
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