Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 15: The ancient coins unearthed from Kot Bhalwal Jail premises are of copper and belonged to Delhi Sultanate era datable to circa 12th century CE.
The departmental team of experts lead by Mohammad Ashraf, Deputy Director, Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums which today visited the site of the accidental find in the premises of Kot Bhalwal Jail, after preliminary survey concluded that the heavily incrusted 107 copper coins belonged to the reigns of Mohammad Gori and Balwan, the Sultans of Delhi who ruled during last decades of 12th century CE.
Talking to EXCELSIOR, Mohammad Ashraf said the coins having bi-lingual scripts in Arabic and ancient form of Devanagari, bear the legends like Abul Muzzafar Ala-ud-Din, Mohammad Bin Sam Gori and Sutan-ul-Azam, the epithet of Delhi Sultans.
He said that the reports in the press about some of the coins being of gold are unfounded as the hoard of 107 coins, handed over to Deputy Director’s Office, Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, Jammu, are of copper only.
He said at our request the Jail authorities took the team of experts to the spot for close inspection of the layout of the site. “We also talked to Jail inmates who had accidently found the pots containing the coins while digging ground for making of flower beds.”.
He further said that the hoard of coins found from Kot Bhalwal Jail was a historic find and we have requested the Jail authorities not to disturb the site. After getting official permission, the department plans to dig a trial trench to ascertain the archaeological profile of the ancient inhabitation at the spot, he said.
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