The Archaeological Survey of India is busy with various thing – conducting archaeology, preserving monuments, enlightening people, all while messing up things. Also it is cash strapped for doing archaeology. So maybe we all can follow the steps of an Italian computer programmer, use Google Earth and help the ASI
Using satellite images from Google Maps and Google Earth, an Italian computer programmer has stumbled upon the remains of an ancient villa. Luca Mori was studying maps of the region around his town of Sorbolo, near Parma, when he noticed a prominent, oval, shaded form more than 500 metres long. It was the meander of an ancient river, visible because former watercourses absorb different amounts of moisture from the air than their surroundings do.
His eye was caught by unusual ‘rectangular shadows’ nearby. Curious, he analysed the image further, and concluded that the lines must represent a buried structure of human origin. Eventually, he traced out what looked like the inner courtyards of a villa.
Mori, who describes the finding on his blog, Quellí Della Bassa, contacted archaeologists, including experts at the National Archaeological Museum of Parma. They confirmed the find. At first it was thought to be a Bronze Age village, but an inspection of the site turned up ceramic pieces that indicated it was a Roman villa. [Enthusiast uses Google to reveal Roman ruins]
That’s an interesting find.
Regarding India’s heritage conservation, Time had a good feature recently: http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501050718-1081432,00.html
Given the lack of resources, and the vast extent of India’s historic sites, blaming ASI wouldn’t help. But what they can do is to increase public awareness and responsibility. Especially, the corporates can play a major role.