Catch a glimpse of Mumbai’s bedrock at Kalina university

Mumbaiites can get a glimpse of the rocks that form the core of the Earth at the Archaeology and Geology exhibition at Kalina campus of Mumbai University from December 15-18.

Mumbaiites can get a glimpse of the rocks that form the core of the Earth at the Archaeology and Geology exhibition at Kalina campus of Mumbai University from December 15-18.

Some take a quick selfie at the Kalina University in Mumbai. (Satish Bate/HT)

The exhibition is a result of The Salcette Explorations Project 2015-16 carried out by The Indian Study Research, in collaboration with Centre for Extra-mural Studies and Sathaye College.

“The rocks are made from fine grain basalt and other minerals. It is the foundation of Mumbai. Despite such urbanisation, these rocks hold the city,” said Vinayak Parab, one of the members of the team who was given West division of the city to explore.

The core rock line was found by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited and duly handed over to the team.

Dr Suraj Pandit, director of the project, said it is not a ‘groundbreaking’ exploration. “We have explored the city without any excavations. All notions about archaeology have been shattered with this project. This could have happened only in Mumbai,” he said.

Another major exploration was of a rock of 13th century which was inscribed in Devnagari-- an Old Marathi scripture-- where places of the city are mentioned.

“We got the rock from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. There is a mention of Thane Bimbasthana which is in Mumbai. This shows the city’s history goes beyond the Portuguese regime,” said Mugdha Karnik, director of Centre for Extra-mural Studies.

Five separate teams were sent to as many divisions spread across the city to explore the city’s history and cultural heritage.

Exhibitions from archaeologists and geologists were on display as Kalina’s Sports Complex transformed into a mini museum.

Rare rocks, minerals and fossils (some fossils as old as 40 million years old- including dinosaur teeth from Jurassic era), pottery, forts and fortifications, herostones, precious and ancient weapons among others formed part of the exhibition.

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