Treasurer Trove! Indian Coins Discovered - and Sold

Contrast this story with the previous post about the discovery of Roman coins near Exeter, England. If India had a law in place similar to England's to encourage people to turn over finds to local archaeological authorities with the promise of recompense and recognition, more of its heritage might be preserved instead of sold illegally. What a shame - it is probable none of the coins dug up by these villagers will ever be recovered. More history lost forever. From The Times of India Villagers unearth ancient coins 15 Feb 2009, 1437 hrs IST, PTI NOGARPARA: Villagers in a remote area along the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya have unearthed ancient coins and clay wares while digging a pond. The articles were found at Nogarpara village near Mahendraganj, about 60 km from the West Garo Hills district headquarters of Tura. Villagers said that over 100 metal coins, bricks and several wares made of clay were found when they were digging a pond few weeks back. However, the villagers have sold most of the coins at around Rs 25,00 each to 'merchants' of Bangladesh and Assam. "I got a handful of coins. I sold all but one," C Marak, one of the villagers, said. While some of the clay wares still lay scattered in the digging site, district administration officials, who were informed of the matter, have visited the site for verification. The coins bore inscriptions written in Arabic, and district administration officials say they could be from the Mughal era. The deputy commissioner of West Garo Hills F R Kharkongar has asked the Achik Tourism Society, an NGO, to investigate the incident and submit a report.