We have archeology on television, and I quite like it; it's a sort of detective
thing, but it's really true, you know it's there… But it's kind of slow on
telly, it has this problem of, "We've been here three weeks on live television,
and we've taken off about a millimeter of top soil so far…" There's
men with brushes and beards… maybe they've just got beards, I'm not sure…
"We found this and carbon-dated it to last Tuesday, so we're very excited…"
Arco Eddie Izzard
According to the above quote, if archeology is a sort of detective thing, then
you will find so many places and things to detect provided you are on a trip
to a historical place like Bodhgaya! To say something about Bodhgaya Museums,
it can easily be said that the whole city in the Indian state of Bihar can be
aptly termed as a huge museum for here you will find things dated back to 6th
century BC, remnants of Buddhism, the decayed but excavated structure of Nalanda
University, plenty of Buddha stupas, shrines and several other things related
to the past history of this place.
Run by the Archaeological Survey of India, Bodhgaya Museums (actually there
is one museum named Archaeological Museum, Bodhgaya) is located near the Mahabodhi
temple. It is home to antiquities excavated in and around Bodh Gaya. Here you
will find a great collection of Buddhist and Hindu relics, terracotta seals,
scriptures and railings/pillars from the Sunga period (1 BC to 1 AD).
Bodhgaya Museums, that is the Archaeological Museum in the city, is open from
9 am to 4.30 pm. The museum is closed on Fridays, and there is an entry fee
of Rs 2.
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