An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology is a significant reference work on archaeology in India. It is an authoritative work of permanent value in which the knowledge and expertise of Indian archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India, universities and other institutes have been pooled together under the editorship of the late A. Ghosh, former Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India. The Encyclopaedia has been planned in an ambitious manner; it is not a mere alphabetical listing of entries with sketchy information on topics.
Vol. I deals with certain broad subjects relating to Indian Archaeology, is divided into twenty chapters, alphabetically arranged. Each chapter is further divided into sections and subsections containing independent and self-contained essays. For example, in the chapter on “Cultures,” one can find detailed information on various cultures in India; the chapter on “Basis of Dating” contains articles on archaeological dating, archaeomagnetic dating, 14C radio-carbon dating, numismatic dating, palaeographic and epigraphic dating, thermoluminiscent dating, etc. For those interested in getting further information on the subjects and in looking into the original sources and references, each entry also carries an exhaustive bibliography.
The Vol. II of An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology is the Gazetteer. It contains basic data and information on all the explored and excavated sites in India along with reference to published reports and/or notices on each. The Encyclopaedia is thus an authoritative reference book not only for the specialists, students and research workers in the field of archaeology, but also for all those who wish to study India’s ancient past.
About The Author:
A. Ghosh (1910-81) was educated in Varanasi and Allahabad, and later on received advanced training at the Institute of Archaeology of the University of London. He joined the Archaeological Survey of India in 1937 and was its Director-General from 1953 to 1968. Subsequently, he acted as Unesco Consultant on Archaeology to the Governments of Qatar (1968), Bahrain (1968), Saudi Arabia (1968-69), and Yemen (1970). He worked as a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study from 1968 to 1971. Ghosh was also elected Vice-President of the Royal India, Pakistan and Ceylon Society, London; Honorary Fellow, Society of Antiquaries, London; Honorary Fellow, Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, Berlin-Dahlem; Member, Permanent Council of the International Congress of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences; Member, Internationl Council of Museums; and Honorary Correspondent, Archaeological Survey of India. He was awarded Padmashri in 1962.
