4,000-Year-Old Copper Crown Found in India

Indian archaeologists uncovered a 4,000-year-old copper crown in the village of Chandayan, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh this week, from what they believe was the late Indus Valley civilization.

Top right: The remnants of a 4,000-year-old copper crown found on a skull from the late Indus Valley civilization period found at village of Chandayan, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Background: Earthen pots found at a burial site from the late Indus Valley civilization period in the village of Chandayan, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. A.K. Pandey/Archaeological Survey of India

NEW DELHI —Indian archaeologists uncovered a 4,000-year-old copper crown in the village of Chandayan, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh this week, from what they believe was the late Indus Valley civilization.

According to Dr. Rakesh Tewari, the director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), this is only the second crown discovered at an Indus Valley site in either India or Pakistan. Earlier, a silver crown was found at another late Indus Valley site in what is now the Fatehabad district of Haryana state in northeast India.

“The person wearing the crown could be an important person of the society,” said Dr. A.K. Pandey, the director of the excavation at Chandayan and a superintending archaeologist at ASI.

"The person wearing the crown could be an important person of the society."

— Dr. A.K. Pandey, superintending archaeologist, Archeological Survey of India