The remains of an ancient site, said to be around 3,500 years old, have been discovered along the Kosi river in Bihar.

The site, located at Naugachhia in Bhagalpur district, around 260km east from state capital Patna, has come as a surprise find for historians and archaeologists because the area had never yielded such antiquity till now.

Located near Guwaridih village under Bihpur circle, a portion of the site was exposed due to erosion of a huge mound spread across 25 acres by a stream of the Kosi during monsoon this year. It has yielded items like terracotta pottery, burnt bricks, brick walls, brick structures, copper and iron tools, punch-mark coins, beads of terracotta and semi-precious stones, ornaments, animal fossils, triangular bricks, weights and other objects in significant numbers.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar flew to inspect the settlement on Sunday after it became a talking point among the locals, historians and archaeologists. He gave instructions for an intensive exploration of the place and its adjoining areas to unravel the spread of the particular culture, its connections with other archaeological sites and civilisations.

Nitish Kumar examines the relics

“I had asked a team of experts to visit the place after one of our MLAs informed us. The team recently submitted a small report saying it seemed to be an ancient archaeological site. I have come to visit the place and at first glance it does seem to be a very old one going back to thousands of years,” Nitish told reporters.

“A branch of the Kosi river is eroding the site. I have asked the water resources department to divert the flow of the river to preserve the site. Our experts would explore the place and the adjoining areas to understand its expanse and value. If they confirm its importance, we will excavate and conserve the entire area and we will also acquire land from the villagers if needed,” Nitish added.

Experts said that more similar sites could be found in the vicinity because the area is dotted with mounds. Extensive exploration would reveal whether it was an urban settlement or something else, they said.

Bihar Heritage Development Society executive director Bijoy Kumar Choudhary, who accompanied the chief minister, said that the settlement seemed to be going back to the chalcolithic (Copper Age) period.

“The site’s antiquity is going back to the chalcolithic period, which in Bihar is considered to be around 1500 BC. The punch-mark coins of copper indicate that the site existed around the 6th century BC. The potsherds indicate that it continued till the Kushana period and later in the first few centuries of AD. We are going to intensively explore the place on the chief minister’s instructions,” Choudhary said.

He said that the discovered site could be connected to the Anga “Mahajanapada” (one of the 16 important states in ancient India). He also said that the enthusiasm of a local villager — Avinash Chaudhary — was of much help as he collected and protected many of the antiquities found at the site.

Recently, a 2,000-year-old archaeological site was found at Chanan in Banka district in the state. It is currently located in the bed of Chanan river. Nitish has instructed the water resources department to divert the course of the river.