By IANS,
New Delhi : Many monuments of the Gupta dynasty era in the ancient archaeological site of Eran in Madhya Pradesh have been restored by the government, the ministry of culture said Tuesday.
The ancient site at Eran village in Sagar district is covered as a protected monument of national importance by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Eran was an administrative division of the Gupta empire (320-550 AD). In early coins and inscriptions, it appears as ‘Airikina’. The residents of the city were said to have donated generously to the Buddhist stupa of Sanchi. The oldest monument in the area dates back to 510 AD.
The first excavations at Eran were carried out in 1960-1961 to 1964-1965 and in 1987-1988.
The culture ministry said that conservation work at the site was carried out regularly and this year spent Rs.3.87 lakh on the restoration. The monuments are in good state of preservation, it added.
Antiquities of neolithic or New Stone Age, beginning 9,500 BC, and chalcolithic cultures have also been found in Eran. Chalcolithic or Copper Age extended from the middle of the fifth to near the end of the fourth millennium B.C.