VADNAGAR HERITAGE: 3,000 YEARS AND COUNTING

Study finds human settlement as old as 800 BCE here; evidence gathered makes Vadnagar the oldest living city within a single fortification unearthed so far in India

A joint study, initiated by IIT Kharagpur, has found evidence of human settlement and cultural continuity as old as 800 BCE (Before Christian Era) in Vadnagar — the Prime Minister’s native village — even after the collapse of the Harappan civilization and thus making it likely that the so-called Dark Age was a myth.

The study by researchers from IIT Kharagpur, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Deccan College gains significance as there’s no record of an advanced city-like settlement before 500 BCE.