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This is the settlement mound at Golbai Sassan. The path from the village to the river cuts through the middle of the mound. You can see an open trench on the left hand bank, surrounded by workers.
Excavation in progress. Prof. Mohanty (left) is taking a picture of some pottery as it's being unearthed by Shantanu Vaidya, one of his students at Deccan College.
A fully excavated trench, sampled for phytoliths. The excavation uncovered about 8m of deposits, dating back to the Neolithic.
Floatation for carbonised plant remains. Soil samples, in yellow sacks, are washed to remove charred seeds. These are then dried in cloth bags on the washing line.
During the Golbai Sassan excavations we also visited a similar site at Gopalpur. This settlement mound, however, had to be reached from the top.