While searching for the records of human civilisation since its dawn in the distant past the foot-prints of ancient cultures diverse, strange or analogous may be traced in lands separated by incredible distances across mountains, deserts, forests or the sea. After accepting the force of diffusion or influence one becomes obviously aware of the lasting value of old adventures related to organised attempts or individual aspirations. In fact, these accounts will build up history and give us scope to visualise a culture which could never remain alone secluded from others. What is more strange or significant than to find the same kind of a proto-historic pottery or terracotta in Bengal as also in Western India and Iran? These speak of the mind of nameless heroes and traders vaguely referred to in ancient ballads, poems and accounts of the East and West. The explorations in West Bengal now conducted by the State Directorate of Archaeology will throw light not only upon her prehistory since Quaternary by revealing her stone tools from topographic contexts from sheer obscurity but these will also bring glimpses of a forgotten civilisation in this country whose buried cities and towns are now ascribable to a chronological horizon in the end of the 2nd millennium B. C.
While this brochure may give an outline of some of the important recent archaeological discoveries in West Bengal the illustrations will represent a small fraction of the findings.
It is a pleasant obligation to convey my grate-ful thanks to Shri P. G. Addy and Shri D. Sen of the Government for their kindest patronage in our archaeological explorations in the field.
Thanks are also being conveyed to Shri Murary Dutt of Cameo (Private) Limited of Calcutta who took a sincere interest in printing and artistic layout of this publication.
Further, it is pleasant to recall the high technical and scholarly co-operation from various scientific organisations in our archaeological research and digging.
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