Events

• ❏ 2019, April 12. In this 2.5 hours workshop titled Language beyond Words, artist and archaeologist Dr Anagha Bhat interacted with 20 participants from the institute through a range of visual, verbal and performative methods of sensory engagement and knowledge generation with an aim to demonstrate the importance of rock art as an interpretative tool in archaeological research.


• Download the poster poster ↗      


• ❏ 2019, January 21–25. Conference-cum-Workshop on History, Science and Technology of Ancient Indian Glass
  With India witnessing the collapse of its traditional glass industry, over 20 world experts gathered to discuss nearly every aspect of the study of glass, from the origin of glass and faience to the manufacturing techniques developed at different times in South Asia, and the distribution of traded artifacts both within and far outside the region. The presentations also highlighted case studies of analytical techniques to probe the chemistry of ancient glasses. Craftspersons at this conference included glass-bead makers from Varanasi, stone-bead makers from Khambat and beading and mirror-stitching craftspersons from north Gujarat; speakers and over 50 participants were taken to two field trips, one of them to a workshop manufacturing hot-lead traditional mirrors.
• Download the book of abstracts ↗      


• ❏ 2016, September 15. In this Symposium on the Nagas, three experts discussed archaeological excavations undertaken in Nagaland and resulting cultural and historical linkages; ancient contacts of the Nagas through their burial practices and customs; and the ethnolinguistic diversity of Nagaland with the relationship between tribe, language and dialect.
•     Download the programme ↗


• ❏ 2016, September 13. Symposium on Regional Mahabharatas
  Three distinguished scholars presented fresh perspectives on regional Mahabharatas in Kannada, Telugu and Odia languages.
•     Download the programme ↗


• ❏ 2015, August 10–14. Short Term Course-cum-Workshop on History, Science & Technology of Stone Beads
  Archaeologists and other experts from several countries discussed the development of stone beads through the ages, including literary and epigraphical references, methods of typology, traditional manufacturing techniques, and scientific investigations into stone-bead making technology. Traditional bead-making craftsmen from Khambhat were invited to demonstrate their skills during the workshop and provided training to some of the over 80 participants from India and neighbouring countries. An outcome of the workshop was the publication of a high-standard book in 2017, Stone Beads of South & South-East Asia: Archaeology, Ethnography and Global Connections, edited by Alok Kumar Kanungo.
•      Download the programme ↗ | the full report ↗ | a journal report ↗      


• ❏ 2015, January 30–February 1. Graduate Student Workshop on History and Archaeology of Ancient India
  With the objective of giving a platform to young scholars, the workshop consisted of pre-screened paper presentations by over 20 postgraduate archaeology and history students from all over India. Two distinguished historians, Prof. Upinder Singh and Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri, delivered the inaugural and valedictory lectures respectively.
•     Download the programme ↗      


• ❏ 2015, January 15. Workshop on Maritime Gujarat and the Western Indian Ocean: Cultural Routes Through Time
  In this workshop organized by IIT Gandhinagar and Project Mausam (Ministry of Culture, Government of India), eminent historians, anthropologists and archaeologists explored cultural routes of the Western Indian Ocean, with a focus on India and Africa.
•     Download the programme ↗


• ❏ 2014, December 8–9. Workshop on Archaeometallurgy and Archaeology jointly conducted by IIT Gandhinagar and Archaeological Survey of India. Eight archaeologists and metallurgists highlighted fundamentals of, as well as recent research in, archaeometallurgy, its principles and techniques, using case studies from the Indian subcontinent. Over 30 professional archaeologists and students attended the presentations and discussions.
•     Download the programme ↗ | a poster ↗      


• ❏ 2012, August 23–24: Workshop on Indian Archaeology, Epigraphy and Ancient History.
  Eighteen leading archaeologists, epigraphists, ancient historians and scientists from across India gave presentations on their field of expertise, including recent findings, fresh discoveries and new areas of research, ranging from the Palaeolithic age to the Indus and Ganges civilizations and beyond. The workshop was attended by about 50 scholars, faculty members and students, and (some of whom are studying to become history teachers). It was followed by a brainstorming session chaired by Prof. Sudhir K. Jain, Director of IIT Gandhinagar, which concluded on the need to create at IIT Gandhinagar a centre for archaeological sciences, taking advantage of the Institute’s technological base.
•     Download the programme ↗ | a poster ↗

Visit to copper ore mines at Ambaji, Gujarat

In a preliminary study based on lead isotope ratios, Dr. Randall Law concluded that the copper used in artefacts from the Harappan sites of Dholavira and Shikarpur (both in Kutch, Gujarat) originated from Ambaji in Gujarat’s Banaskantha District, in the foothills of the Aravalli Hills. In preparation for an experimental smelting exercise using traditional techniques, on 2nd January 2016, Prof. J.M. Kenoyer [link to Visiting Faculty page], Dr. V.N. Prabhakar and Dr. Alok Kanungo of Archaeological Sciences Centre visited copper ore sites at Ambaji. Further, they also visited the historical sites around Ambaji and found evidence of dumping of slags in antiquity. Two localities with such slag activities were identified, of which one is located close to a local shrine. The Ambaji copper ores are chiefly sulphates and can be easily identified from the green stains on the rocks. Prof. Kenoyer collected such samples, which were taken back to IIT Gandhinagar for smelting (see under Experimental Archaeology in the Research page).

• ❏ 2024, August 30. Dr. Dr. Dennys Frenez: Special Lecture Series: Crafting a Writing System: Advances in the Genesis and Evolution of the Indus Script.
•     Special Lecture poster ↗
• ❏ 2018, January 22–24. Dr. Yann-Pierre Montelle: Lecture series: “Human Evolution: of mosaic, hybrids, and braids | Homo faber: ubiquitous needs and cognition | Homo aestheticus: But is it Art?”
•     poster & abstracts ↗
• ❏ 2017, September 15. Prof. Gwen Robbins Schug: “Climate Change, Health, and the Biocultural Experience of Resilience in the Indus Age of South Asia”
•     poster & abstract ↗
• ❏ 2017, August 8–13. Prof. Lynn Meskell & Prof. Himanshu Prabha Ray: Lecture series: “Mobilizing the Materiality of Heritage: India and the World”
•     poster ↗ | schedule & abstracts ↗
• ❏ 2017, February 2–3. Prof. Gary Warrick: Lecture series: “Indigenous Archaeology in Canada” and “Ancient Structures in the New World”
•     poster ↗
•     “First Peoples of the Americas”
•     poster ↗
•     "The Classic Maya Collapse - A Civilization in Ruins”
•     poster ↗      


• ❏ 2016, September 6. Prof. B.B. Lal: “How Deep are the Roots of Indian Culture? An Archaeologist Inquires”
•     poster ↗      


• ❏ 2016, April 18. Dr. Dennys Frenez: “Beyond Meluhha: Evidence for Harappans out of the Greater Indus Valley”
•     abstract ↗
• ❏ 2016, January 12. Prof. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer: First Indira Foundation Distinguished Lecture: “Scientific and Technological Contributions of the Indus Civilization: Their Relevance for the Present”
•     poster ↗
• ❏ 2016, January 4–7 & 13. Prof. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer: Lecture series: Five Special Lectures on Archaeology
•     poster ↗
• ❏ 2015, July 13. Prof. Nalini Rao: “Lothal and Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilization”
•     poster ↗
• ❏ 2015, March 12. Prof. Jan Kock: “East of Suez: Glass Beads, Bangles, Mirrors and More from India”
•     poster ↗
• ❏ 2015, February 1. Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri: “Archaeology and the Study of the Indian Past: Challenges and Possibilities”
• ❏ 2015, January 30. Prof. Upinder Singh: “Dissatisfaction and the Writing of History”
• ❏ 2015, January 8. Prof. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer: “Stone Beads of the Indus Civilization: Technology and Trade”
•     poster ↗      


• ❏ 2014, November 10. Dr. Benjamin T. Valentine: “Telling New Stories with Old Bones: Understanding Harappan Migration through Archaeological Bone Chemistry”
•     abstract ↗
• ❏ 2014, March 11. Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri: “Emperor Ashoka Between Archaeology and Texts”
•     poster ↗
• ❏ 2013, October 18. Dr. R.S. Bisht: “Dholavira: A Unique Harappan City”
•     poster ↗
• ❏ 2013, October 17. Dr. V.N. Prabhakar: “An Overview of the Harappan Civilization and the Application of Stable Isotope Analysis in Archaeology”
•     poster ↗
• ❏ 2013, August 6. Prof. Vibha Tripathi: “Tracing the Growth of Iron Technology in Ancient India”
•     abstract ↗

• ❏ 2019, February 1. Smt. Usha Sharma, Director General, Archaeological Survey of India.
•     


• ❏ 2019, January 15. Shri Navin Doshi, philanthropist and benefactor of IIT Gandhinagar.


• ❏ 2017, October 7. Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Human Resource Development, Government of India.
•     


• ❏ 2017, October 7. Shri 2016, September 6. Prof. B.B. Lal, doyen of Indian Archaeology.
•