Slave Dynasty's Lal Mahal or Kushaki Lal built by Ghiyasuddin Balban in 1245 demolished

13th-century monument razed  1 Nov 2008, 0040 hrs IST, Richi Verma, TNN  Print   Email   Discuss  Share  Save  Comment    Single page view Text: NEW DELHI: A priceless relic of Delhi's medieval past has fallen to the greed of builders. Parts of a 13th century monument, built by Ghiyasuddin  Kushaki Lal or Lal Mahal was built by Ghiyasuddin Balban in 1245. Arabtraveller Ibn Batuta lived in it in. (TOI Photo) Balban, that once gave shelter to Arab traveller Ibn Batuta in the 14th century, have been demolished by private builders to make way for a multi-storey complex. The 1245 AD structure, called Lal Mahal or Kushaki Lal, is located in Nizamuddin and was declared a heritage structure by the government and civic agencies. It was built by the Slave Dynasty ruler during the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah, before Balban ascended the throne. On Friday, this structure was found partially demolished. Its prominent chhatris and red sandstone structure is said to have been pulled down. Residents said the demolition started late Thursday night. When alerted, Archaeological Survey of India filed an FIR with Nizamuddin police station on Friday.   more

Finding the Hidden Tomb Of Genghis Khan

Finding Hidden Tomb Of Genghis Khan Using Non-Invasive Technologies
ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2008) — According to legend, Genghis Khan lies buried somewhere beneath the dusty steppe of Northeastern Mongolia, entombed in a spot so secretive that anyone who made the mistake of encountering his funeral procession was executed on the spot.

Once he was below ground, his men brought in horses to trample evidence of his grave, and just to be absolutely sure he would never be found, they diverted a river to flow over their leader's final resting place.
What Khan and his followers couldn't have envisioned was that nearly 800 years after his death, scientists at UC San Diego's Center for Interdisciplinary Science in Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) would be able to locate his tomb using advanced visualization technologies whose origins can be traced back to the time of the Mongolian emperor himself.
"As outrageous as it might sound, we're looking for the tomb of Genghis Khan," says Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin, an affiliated researcher for CISA3. "Genghis Khan was one of the most exceptional men in all of history, but his life is too often dismissed as being that of a bloodthirsty warrior. Few people in the West know about his legacy — that he united warring tribes of Mongolia and merged them into one, that he introduced the East to the West making explorations like those of Marco Polo possible, that he tried to create a central world currency, that he introduced a written language to the Mongol people and created bridges that we still use today within the realm of international relations. more

1,900 yr old Buddhist monastery discovered in Gujarat

http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/articleshow/ msid-3589123, prtpage-1. cms

Gujarat State Archaeological Department has discovered a small size Buddhist monastery in Gujarat’s Vadnagar, which dates back to 1,900 years. more

12th century Chola inscriptions

12th century Chola inscriptions discovered at temple in Udaiyalur

The Hindu October 13, 2008 
S.Ganesan

They provide details on the local community, many of whom were ‘tapasvins.’

A Chola period inscription found at the Kailasanathar Temple at Udaiyalur.

TIRUCHI: Seven 12th century Chola inscriptions and several other fragments were discovered at the Kailasanathar Temple at Udaiyalur, also known as Sivapathasekara Mangalam, near Kumbakonam, by research scholars of the Dr.M.Rajamanickkanar Centre for Historical Research, Tiruchi.

The inscriptions were discovered during a field study conducted by a team of scholars, led by M. Nalini, Reader in History, Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchi. Most of the newly copied inscriptions belong to the reign of Kulothunga Chola III, said R.Kalaikkovan, Director, Dr.M.Rajamanickkanar Centre for Historical Research.  more