Peeling away the layers of hidden past, archaeologists have excavated remnants of a 16th century ‘summer palace’ and almost a kilometre-long tunnel in the vicinity of Golconda Fort and Qutb Shahi tombs here.
Under an US-sponsored project taken up in partnership with Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the excavations have unearthed the buried vestiges of ‘summer palace’, an accommodation block meant for maintenance staff of Qutb Shahi rulers. The archaeologists working on the project have dated the excavated site back more than 400 years.
“The palace had underground chambers which perhaps were designed to maintain cool environment and thus left a reference as a summer palace,” said K.K. Muhammed, AKTC Project Archaeological Director, who is involved in the project.
Interesting pieces that were dug up at the site here include Chinese pottery, glazed pottery and ‘Martabani’ pottery which has roots in southeast nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia. “This in a way underscores the trade links with China and south-eastern nations during those times,” he said. Other finds include ‘hookahs’, the presence of which point links to Portugal.
According to the archaeologists working on the project, there have been fewer and scattered references to the ‘summer palace’ where the staff were provided accommodation and also it being a place for ‘Tilawat-e-Quran’ i.e., recitation of Holy Quran. Describing it as a historic find, the archaeologists maintained that there was a lot more to be excavated here.
Another nearby dig has brought to light a tunnel buried below the garden layout between the Qutb Shahi tombs and the Golconda Fort. Mr. Muhammed said the excavation was still on at the tunnel which has emerged one kilometre long and around 3.25 metres wide.
It was unearthed after digging two metres below the surface and came complete with stone-floored pathways. “There have been few references to such a tunnel being there which was used in the event of death of rulers for bringing the body to the tomb area,” he said.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has received a grant of $1,01,612 from the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) and initiated excavation in September last. On Friday, Michael Pelletier, Deputy Ambassador, Embassy of the United States, visited the sites and observed the progress of excavation.
The project at Qutb Shahi tombs happens to be the second AFCP grant that the city has received with the first being $1,06,200 provided towards refurbishment of the garden tomb of Mah Laqa Bai at Moula Ali.
