Overview
- Workers digging the foundation for a municipal library and dharmshala in Gharuan discovered an earthen pot of old silver coins during routine excavation, prompting local attention and searches of the dug soil.
- Residents and children converged on the site and searched with torches, and local witnesses say some people took coins before officials moved to secure the area.
- Gharuan Nagar Panchayat officials deployed police to the site and the executive officer has written to the Archaeological Survey of India’s Chandigarh office asking for a formal examination.
- Archaeologists have not yet confirmed how many coins remain, their metal composition, inscriptions, date, or historical origin, and experts say weight, design and script will be needed to determine provenance.
- The find has paused construction work and raised a local effort to trace missing pieces, and any ASI report could affect the project, local heritage claims and policing of future municipal excavations.