Underwater Archaeology a New Field to Explore
It was ancient... as fragile as a dream just ready to evaporate in a puff of white at a touch. For Alok Tripathi, former superintendent with the UAW (Underwater Archaeological Wing) of the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), coming across a piece of cloth dating back roughly 2,000 years during one of his underwater dives in France, was a defining moment.
He had chanced upon the remains of a shipwreck and the piece of cloth he recovered suddenly seemed to tie him to a past where ancient seafarers and bold adventurers had sailed to explore new worlds, battled and lost their lives to the sea. There were innumerable stories waiting to be told, and he decided he would dedicate his life to discovering them.
Tripathi used all his ingenuity and skills to bring the delicate fabric to the surface, exposed it, and took it to the archaeological wing of the institute in France where he was training. "The director was so impressed he made me an offer to work under conract. I refused without giving it a thought because I wanted to come back to India and work here."
And why not? Given the fact that India has an ancient maritime history, a 7,516 km long coastline, 117 islands, 1,55,889 sq km of territorial waters and a 20,13,410 sq km exclusive economic zone, there is a need now for people willing to take the plunge and discover the lost treasures.
Though knowledge of ancient as well as medieval history is necessary, it pays to have a background in science, says Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, deputy superintending archaeologist, UAW, who has done his masters in ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology from Ujjain after getting a BSc degree. "From using chemical solutions for preservation and cleaning material we collect from trenches during excavation, to supervising use of machines for digging, knowlege of science helps."
Tripathi, who is now professor and head of the department of history at Assam University, is one of the pioneers of underwater archaeology in India and also a trained diver - something of a rarity in this country.
Underwater archaeology has developed slowly and the UAW was set up only in 2001. Tripathi, who did his BSc and masters in archaeology from Jiwaji University in Gwalior, "willingly" volunteered for advanced training in diving in France after joing the ASI. The first underwater exploration that was done in India was that of the Princess Royal, a British ship belonging to the 18th or 19th century which had sunk off the coast of Lakshadweep.
Says Tripathi, "It was lying 264 metres deep. The ministry of culture, under which the ASI comes, ordered its examination and I had to go down and collect samples and materials from the ship. We had to identify and date it and then we did the excavation in collaboration with the Indian Navy." He adds, "Working under water is not easy. It is a slow process. What takes one year on land will mean 10 years under water."
People can be drawn to this profession if better pay scales and service conditions are offered. "Promotions are on the basis of seniority and not according to the hard work one puts in. The salaries of those who work on land and under water are the same - some incentives should be given to those risking their lives diving," he adds.
Author: Ayesha Banerjee (HT Horizons)
Date: 4th November, 2010
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