RAS question
Who excavated the Kalibangan site systematically in 1961-69?
Correct answer: (C) B.B. Lal and B.K. Thapar.
B.B. Lal and B.K. Thapar of the Archaeological Survey of India conducted the systematic excavations at Kalibangan associated with the 1961-69 field seasons.
Explanation
Kalibangan is important in RAS because it is a major archaeological site linking Rajasthan to the Harappan civilisation. B.B. Lal and B.K. Thapar of the Archaeological Survey of India conducted systematic excavations at the site during the 1961-69 field seasons. After Amlanand Ghosh’s 1951-52 explorations, the Archaeological Survey of India excavated Kalibangan for nine field seasons between 1960 and 1969, with B.B. Lal and B.K. Thapar among the named supervisors. These excavations revealed the pre-Harappan and Harappan phases, fire altars, and the famous ploughed field. Option C therefore matches the systematic excavation history, whereas the other names relate to the site’s earlier discovery or exploration, or to another Harappan site.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) R.E.M. Wheeler is associated with Mohenjo-daro, not with the systematic excavations conducted at Kalibangan during 1961-69.
- (B) Amlanand Ghosh identified and initially explored Kalibangan in 1951-52, but Archaeological Survey of India archaeologists B.B. Lal and B.K. Thapar carried out its systematic 1961-69 excavation phase.
- (D) Luigi Tessitori first noticed the Kalibangan mounds in 1917; his association is with the site’s initial discovery, not its systematic 1961-69 excavation.
Concept
This tests the Rajasthan History and Culture syllabus area on Harappan sites in Rajasthan, especially the distinction between discovery, exploration, and excavation. Kalibangan recurs in RAS because its excavators and archaeological finds are standard factual anchors for ancient Rajasthan.