{
  "id": 2918792,
  "title": "Banaras Hindu University opens 22 boxes from a 1957 excavation. What lay inside?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/banaras-hindu-university-opens-22-boxes-from-a-1957-excavation-what",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-24T02:00:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/banaras-hindu-university-boxes-1957-excavation-10846471/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Banaras Hindu University (BHU) opened 22 boxes containing nearly 10,000 artefacts from a 1957 excavation at Rajghat in Varanasi, a site of great historical significance. The discoveries include painted black pottery believed to be nearly 3,000 years old, sculptures, ancient coins, tools, stamp seals, and objects made of various materials like copper, ivory, and bone. The collection also features around 3,000 glass slides and more than 5,000 photographic negatives documenting archaeological sites across India. These materials were excavated from Rajghat in 1957 and handed over to BHU's Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archaeology. The extensive research teams formed by the department aim to conserve, document, and study the artefacts, providing valuable insights into ancient Indian civilisation, scripts, governance, trade, and economic systems.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}