5 min readLucknowAug 24, 2026 07:30 AM IST First published on: Aug 24, 2026 at 07:30 AM ISTFor nearly 70 years, 22 boxes containing material excavated from one of Varanasi’s most important archaeological sites lay unopened at Banaras Hindu University (BHU).When the university finally opened them on August 20, it found more than 10,000 artefacts — including painted black pottery believed to be nearly 3,000 years old — along with thousands of photographs documenting archaeological sites and sculptures across India.