Yavatmal, Apr 24 (PTI) Researchers from the Nagpur University claimed to have found remains of a nearly 3,000-year-old civilisation along with its houses in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district which they believe date back to the Iron Age.

A team from the Nagpur University’s Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology conducted excavations at Pachkhed village in Babulgaon taluka here in 2023-24, Head of the Department Dr Prabash Sahu told PTI.

There is a mound outside the Pachkhed village which is an archaeological site, wherein they found around 8.73 metres of cultural deposits during the excavation last year, he said.

“We divided these deposits into four periods…period one-Iron Age, which was divided into sub periods. The cultural sequence of the findings starts with the Iron Age on the basis of pottery and artefact remains found. It was followed by the Satavahana period, the Medieval period, and then it (the location which has been found) was used as a watch tower during the Nizam era,” he said.

The research team found structural remains wherein there are circular houses with limestone floors having wooden posts at their periphery, Sahu said.

“In the evidences which we recorded, we found a complete house plan having a chulha (mud stove), pottery, iron objects, beads of semi-precious stones, terracotta beads and bone objects,” he said.

These findings are most probably from the Iron Age about 3,000 years old, Sahu claimed.

The samples have been sent to the Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, which carries out AMS dating, to ascertain the time period to which they belong, and it will be known by May-June this year, he said.

“Once we get the dates of these findings, we will be able get the proper chronology,” he said.

Sahu said he will be able to corroborate the 3,000-year-old time period claim once he receives the sample results. PTI CLS GK