Eminent archaeologist B B Lal passes away

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Archaeologist Braj Basi Lal, who led an excavation at the Ramjanmabhoomi site in the mid-1970s and was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2021 passed away on September 10.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India between 1968 and 1972.

• He has worked extensively on archaeological sites associated with the Harappan civilization and the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

• He has also served on several UNESCO committees and was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India in the year 2000.

• He is best known for his theory of a temple-like structure beneath the now-demolished Babri Masjid.

• He was born in 1921 in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

• He developed an interest in archaeology after completing his post-graduation in Sanskrit from Allahabad University.

• During more than 50 years, he worked on more than 50 books and 150 research papers published in national and international journals.

अतिरिक्त जानकारी - 

His findings in the Ramjanmabhoomi site in Ayodhya :

• Lal commenced a project in 1975 titled, ‘Archaeology of the Ramayana sites’.

• The project was funded by ASI, Jiwaji University, Gwalior and the Department of Archeology in the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

• Under this, five sites related to Ramayana were excavated, including Ayodhya, Bharadwaj Ashram, Nandigram, Chitrakoot and Shringverapur.

• Under his leadership the ASI had proved the existence of an ancient temple at the site.