After hearing about it for many days, and vainly planning to visit for more than 3 times, I finally got the chance to visit Sanghol, popularly known as Uchha Pind (A village at a height, like situated on a mound).
Sanghol is a village located in Fatehgarh Sahib District, Punjab and famous for having some historical sites belonging to 2nd century and also to late Harappan civilization. Taking a detour from the GT Road near Gobindgarh while coming from Nabha via Amloh, I reached the place in great anticipation.
As you enter the village, there is a small elevation, which gives you an indication why it is called an ‘Uchha Pind’. I inquired about the historical places from the local folks but it is difficult to get to know what you are talking about as they don’t understand words like “archeological’ or ‘historical’. It is extremely difficult to translate them to Punjabi, the regional language. So, the best way is to ask about ‘the museum where old things are kept.’ The museum people will guide you better about the 2 historical places of archeological importance.
Excavations yielded coins and seals related to Toramana and Mihirakula belonging to central Asia. A Buddhist stupa was excavated in 1968, and in February 1985 a treasure of 117 beautiful carved stone slabs, including 69 pillars, 35 crossbars, figures and figurines, was excavated. These slabs belong to the Kushan sculptures of the Mathura school of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
I talked the person (I forgot his name though I was determined that I would remember, but due to very late posting of this write-up, it skipped my mind) who actually curated some of the items present in the museum. He detailed how he accidentally found some of the gemstones and coins belonging to an era of around 4,500 years old. It was fascinating to hear from him the stories of yore and what is going around about conserving these archeological sites in Punjab, which perhaps nestled the oldest civilization of the world.
Overall, it is a great find to visit this place and revel in some historical findings. I present some photographs that I clicked there.
