At Museum Expo, a glimpse into ASI’s excavation process

Visitors to the ongoing International Museum Expo 2023 at Pragati Maidan will get the chance to don an archaeologist’s hat and get familiar with the excavation process that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) undertakes at various sites through hands-on activities. Focusing on the discovery of the past through antiquities, ASI’s pavilion at the Expo was a big draw on Thursday after the exhibition was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The three-day expo will continue till Saturday from 10am till 8pm.

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To give a practical demonstration of the excavation process, ASI has created two trenches of 10x10 dimensions filled with dummy artefacts buried under pits of sand. Visitors take turns getting into the trench and uncover the layers of sand surrounding the artefacts under the guidance of ASI officials.

While giving a tour of these trenches, the ASI official explains how the digging process helps uncover different layers that are assessed for the presence of cultural material. On cue, excited visitors, armed with shovels, brushes, and dustpans, enter the trenches and start digging.

Subhangi Mohapatra, a visitor, participated in the excavation exercise along with her college friends. Mohapatra entered the pit carefully, making sure that her clothes did not get soiled. “The experience of entering the pit and using tools to unravel different layers was interesting. Initially, we were using the tools with force and digging deep. However, the instructor told us that we need to carefully remove the sand to unveil different layers. I learned that one needs to go from one layer to another and if we dig deep at one go, we will end up missing the materials that we may find on top,” said Mohapatra.

Chandrasekhar Singh, an ASI official guiding the participants, said that the activity was aimed at introducing young minds to archaeology through hands-on learning. “While undertaking excavations, we create trenches and divide them into quadrants. As we unravel the layers, we find pottery and artefacts. The layers are then dated which helps us determine the culture and the period during which it might have developed,” said Singh.

After excavations, participants are asked to fill out a form and share details of their “findings”. The ASI also hands out participation certificates post completion of the free activity that last for anywhere between 15-30 minutes, depending on the footfall at the registration counter.

Replicas of a gamut of objects ranging from pottery, stone tools, terracotta objects and sculptures sourced from different archaeological sites are also exhibited at the ASI’s pavilion. The International Museum Expo has over 75 objects from over 25 museums and institutions across India.

A key attraction of the Expo is a walk-in conservation lab where experts from government and private institutions demonstrate how preventive and curative conservation processes are undertaken. Visitors were seen teeming at various stalls as experts gave them a demo of various conservation processes. At the ASI’s mural conservation and preservation lab, experts from the ASI facility at Aurangabad explained how conservation measures are undertaken at the centrally protected Ajanta Caves, famous for its Buddhist mural paintings and sculptures.

For demonstration purposes, a replica of a damaged mural is first placed in front of an infrared (IR) reflectograph. Under the IR light, the original mural hidden under layers of dust can be seen on a screen. This is followed by the projection of a handheld x-ray fluorescence (XRF) over the mural to identify the chemistry of the material. Once identified, mud and mortar required for restoration is prepared using locally available compatible material.

“We are introducing visitors to the mural conservation process. We want them to understand how archaeological materials are preserved through multiple processes,” said S Vinodh Kumar, deputy superintending archaeologist chemist, ASI.

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The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) stall gives visitors a dive into the preventive conservation of Khampti manuscript. The manuscript from Lohit district in Arunachal Pradesh was sent to IGNCA in a soiled and creased condition. Conservationists at IGNCA treated the document and repaired it. A copy of both the damaged and repaired manuscripts was displayed. Many visitors were seen making enquiries about the ways through which one could submit historical books for repairs.

“The process looks quite interesting. Seeing both the damaged and the repaired manuscript is fascinating. My family has some historical books and I’ll try to get them repaired now,” said Naveen Kumar, a visitor.