Modi's Vadnagar has 2,500-year-old global connect; Gujarat town was minting Greek coins centuries later, says study

Vadnagar, a small town in north Gujarat, continues to surprise historians and archaeologists. According to a TOI report, during a decade-long excavation from 2014 to 2024, researchers uncovered 37 terracotta coin moulds, used not for local rulers, but for Indo-Greek king Apollodotus II. What puzzled experts was the timing: the moulds dated between the 5th and 10th centuries CE, whereas the actual coins were originally minted around the 1st–2nd centuries CE.

Dr Abhijit Ambekar, superintending archaeologist with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), who worked on the site, explained: “Gujarat was a key trade hub for the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. While many silver Indo-Greek coins, especially Drachmas, have been found before, it’s rare to find moulds like these.”

Unlike traditional die-struck coins, these moulds suggest the coins were being cast. So why were they being made centuries after the fall of the Indo-Greek kingdoms? “One theory is that the Drachma stayed popular as trade currency, both on land and sea. Its continued demand could have led to reproductions. Bharuch, a major port of that time, was part of this network,” said Ambekar. The study was done in collaboration with Dr Abhijit Dandekar of Deccan College.

The findings were among four key studies presented at the 10th World Archaeological Congress in Darwin, Australia, which ended on Saturday. The theme tying all the studies together? Vadnagar’s global connections and continuous importance for over 2,500 years.

Other studies explored:

• An elliptical structure found in Vadnagar, similar to ones in the Gangetic plains.
• Earthquake-resistant building techniques, like timber bonding, where wood is placed between stones to cushion seismic shock. This technique is also seen in West Asia.
• Urban planning, showing how the town evolved from the Kshatrapa era to British times.
• Adaptation to drought, where locals interlinked water bodies and even changed their diet for survival.
• Artefacts like Indo-Pacific beads, shell bangles, torpedo jars, and coins from multiple cultures confirm Vadnagar’s role as a production hub and land port, or sthalpattan.

Inputs from TOI