ASI Begins New Excavations at Historic Lakkundi Site

By Shyam Sundar Vattam

Mysuru

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi, has greenlit a fresh excavation at the ancient Veerabhadreshwara Temple in Lakkundi, located in Gadag district, Karnataka. This initiative aims to deepen the understanding of the region’s historical and cultural layers, spanning from the Iron Age to the Rashtrakuta dynasty.

Lakkundi, once known as Lohakhandapura and Lokkigundi, has been continuously inhabited since the Stone Age. Though Karnataka is rich in prehistoric discoveries, medieval period excavations remain scarce, making this effort particularly significant.

The current excavation near Prabhudevara Math has already unearthed remnants believed to belong to the Rashtrakutas and early Kalyana Chalukyas. Discoveries include a mud-room layout, grinding stones, hearth sites, and a 10th-century temple foundation. A headless idol of Lord Ganesha and a well-preserved hearth from the same era were also found.

Further digs near Boodi Basavanna temple along the Lakkundi-Koppal highway revealed four distinct cultural layers. The topmost layer yielded Neolithic-Chalcolithic artifacts like black-red pottery, terracotta beads, and polished tools. Below that, the Megalithic layer contained burial goods and human remains. Early Neolithic layers featured habitation pits with fire mounds—structures never before recorded in Karnataka.

A significant find was a rare child burial in a terracotta urn, offering fresh insight into ancient funerary practices.

These discoveries affirm Lakkundi’s historic status as a vibrant center of culture, possibly even a minting hub for the ancient Loki Gadyaana coin. The new excavation is expected to provide unprecedented insight into the daily lives of people from the Neolithic to medieval periods.

This marks a major step in documenting Karnataka’s rich, yet under-explored, archaeological heritage.