The Deccan College has a long, glorious and eventful history of the last 195 years. The word "Deccan" after which the College is named is associated with the Deccan Plateau, forming the geological foundations of western India. The Institution (Deccan College) was established out of the donations given by Peshwas to Brahmins and was known as "Dakshina fund". After obtaining the permission from the British Government by the then Governor of Bombay Presidency Mountstuart Elphinstone a "Sanskrit School" was started on 6th October 1821 at Vishrambagwada. For western learning an "English School" was started in 1842. In 1851 the Sanskrit School and the English School were merged to form the Poona College. In 1868, it was shifted to the present location having 125 acres of land and renamed as Deccan College as large number of students were started coming to the institute not only from Pune but from the whole Deccan area for study purpose. It was run by the Presidency Government up to 1934 and due to financial crisis it was closed down. But some of the past students filed case against Government and due to the Court order it was reopened on 17th August 1939 as a Post-Graduate and Research Institute. In academic year 1994-95, U.G.C. gave Deemed University status to the Institute. Since 1939 it has become the foremost centre of higher learning and research in Ancient Indian History and Archaeology, Linguistics, Sanskrit, Anthropology, Sociology and Maratha History. Presently three subjects; Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology, Linguistics and Sanskrit are taught and three courses; Diploma, M.A. and Ph.D. are offered in all the three departments. During the course of time the institute has produced many renowned scholars like; Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak (freedom fighter), G.G. Agarkar (social reformer) Prof. R.D. Ranade (justice and philosopher), Sir R. G. Bhandarkar (orientalist), R.N. Dandekar (Sanskritist), N.D. Nagarwala (educationist and sports patron), Appa Pant (Diplomat), Dwakanath Kotnis and others.

The then Department of Archaeology was established by the eminent archaeologist, Padam Bhushan Prof. H.D. Sankalia in 1939. He joined Deccan College as Professor of Indian pre and proto history on 17th August 1939 and thus started the golden era of modern Indian Archaeology. Within short period of time, the institute started carrying out explorations and excavations in all parts of the country. The first excavation was undertaken at Langhnaj, Gujarat, a Mesolithic site. Then excavations in different parts of India were carried out like Nevasa, Brahmapuri, Apegaon, Patne, Ter, Bhokardan, Nasik-Jorwe, Paithan, Inamgaon, Walki, Kaothe, Mahurjhari, Naikund, Khairwada, Chaul, Morgaon, Bhon, Siddhapur, Junnar, Shiur etc. in Maharashtra, Rangpur, Akhaj, Valsna, Somnath, Prabhas-Patan, Dwarka, Kuntasi, Padri etc. in Gujarat, Maheshwar, Navadatoli, Mahadeo-Piparia, Bhimbetka, Kayatha, Samnapur etc. in Madhya-Pradesh, Tilwara, Bagor, Didwana, Balathal etc. in Rajasthan, Tekkakota, Sangankallu, Hunsgi, Budhihal, Isampur etc. in Karnataka. Due to all these excavations large number of antiquities right from Stone Age period to the medieval period have been collected. The Department also houses eight different scientific laboratories namely archaeological chemistry, archaeozoology, palaeobotany, palynology, palaeontology, geomorphology, biological anthropology and computer archaeology to analyze data found in excavations, which none other University Department of Archaeology in the country has. Presently the Department is known as Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archeology.

The museum is also engaged in Public Education Activities;

1. Guided Tours

The Museum organizes guided tours to school and college students as the collection of the museum is educationally important for them. Especially the period between July to November large number of students from Pune and other places of the country even from abroad visit the museum.

2. Temporary Exhibitions

In addition to permanent galleries the Museum organizes temporary exhibitions in Pune and other places, for the last several years more than 50 such exhibitions have been organized; Pune, Solapur, Ahamadnagar, Phaltan, Islampur, Gargoti, Sagaroli, Mumbai, Shirur, Angar, Sangola, Nasik, Bangalore, New Delhi and one exhibition also in abroad at Colombo. Temporary exhibitions have also been organized at excavation sites like Inamgaon, Nevasa, Tripuri, Shiur etc. All exhibitions were highly appreciated by people.

3. One-Day Workshop in Archaeology and History for School Teachers

For the last 20 years, every year the Archaeology Museum and the Maratha History Museum of the Institute are organizing such workshops for the benefit of school teachers teaching subjects like history, science, social studies, etc. The aim of this workshop is that the teachers should visit our museums and scientific labs and then should bring their students to the museum, so the benefit goes to the students. We experience that due to it the number of students have been increased.

4. Temple Survey Works

The museum staff is engaged in studying the temples, their remains, sculptures, monuments, caves etc. Public response is also very encouraging and due to it many new discoveries have been brought into light or the existing monuments have been restudied.

Deccan College received a substantial grant from the Govt. of Maharashtra for the construction of new Museum building. The plan of the building was prepared by architect in consultation of members of Museum committee. For the last few years construction of the proposed building was is in progress and now the building is almost ready. According to the plan of the building there will be 8 galleries depicting various branches of Archaeology and Medieval Archaeology. There is also provision for multimedia hall, conservation lab, meeting hall, office room for staff, reception counter, waiting hall, and a canteen. It is hoped that in future the Institute will receive some more funding from the Government and first floor to the building will also be added and remaining galleries will also be shifted.

History of the Museum can be divided into six phases as follows;

Phase-I, 1940 – 1961

The Museum was established in 1940 in the main building built in 1864. The Department of Archaeology was established by Prof. H.D. Sankalia in 1939. He and his colleagues immediately started carrying out archaeological field work, explorations and excavations in all parts of the country. First site excavated by his was Langhnaj in Gujrat in 1942. But whatever material was available, out of the very small collection the museum was established 1940. Than many other sites were excavated like Brahmapur, Rangpur, Nasik, Jorwe, Mahashwar, Navadatoli, Nevasa, Tripuri, Ter, Chandoli, Ahar, Lalitpur etc. Prof. Sankalia organised temporary exhibitions at some the sites like Navadatoli, Nevasa and Tripuri. Antiquities of all these sites were displayed in the museums, slowly museum collection was increasing. During this phase there was no separate staff for the museum. One of the teachers of Department of Archeology was asked to look after the museum.

Phase –II, 1962- 1982

In 1962 the present building of Department of A.I.H.C. & Archaeology was constructed. On the first floor of the Department, specially designed galleries of museum were constructed. Thus the museum was shifted from main building to this newly constructed building in 1962.There were only four galleries in the museum namely; Stone Age gallery, Central hall, Chalcolithic gallery, Megalithic & Early Historic gallery. Old horizontal showcases, separate vertical showcases fixed on the walls, free standing showcases with four side glass and big wooden open stands were in use for display of antiquities in the museum. The Early Historic gallery at present then was used to house various scientific laboratories; Archaeozoology, Palaeontology, Palaeobotany and Anthropology. In the Central Hall excavated material from some sites was displayed in four horizontal showcases, replica of Nevasa section depicting cultural sequence of Nevasa and big relief map of India was kept horizontally on the floor in the centre of the hall. Prof. H.D. Sankalia was Director between1971-1973, then Dr. Amrut Ghatge became Director and between 1978- 1985, Prof. S.B.Deo was the Director of the Institute. During this phase one Museum Assistant Shri Gowind Rao Jogalekar was appointed for museum and one post of Curator was newly created. Shri Pramod Dandwate was selected as first Curator of the Museum who started working since January 1980 till 2010. Shri Jogalker got retired as Museum Assistant in 1981and Dr. V.T.Kakde was appointed on his place. He was a good artist and his major contribution to the museum was a big canvas painting depicting the cultural life of Megalithic Vidarbh which is still in the Megalithic gallery of the museum but he left the museum in 1983 and post was vacant till 1984. In the year 1980 a special grant from Ministry of Culture was given to museum. The newly appointed Curator Mr. Dandwate renovated the Prehistory gallery and Protohistory gallery utilizing this grant. He prepared a plan and 1981 vertical wooden showcases with internal lighting arrangement were constructed in both these galleries. Old horizontal showcases were also in used with some modifications. In Protohistory gallery a diorama of Inamgaon depicting village life and agricultural life was also erected.

Phase – III, 1983-1986

In 1983 the building of Department of Archaeology was extended and three more galleries were added to the museum. The four scientific laboratories were also shifted to new building and one more gallery in the old building was given to museum where Early Historic gallery was shifted which is still there. The infrastructure and display work was started in 1984 onwards. Due to the extension of the building of Department of Archaeology four new galleries were added to the museum in 1983 but the infrastructure and display work was started in 1984 and was continued till 1993. In 1984 the Early Historic gallery was reorganized. Material was shifted from present Megalithic gallery to the hall vacated due to the shifting of four scientific laboratories in the newly built halls. In 1984 Dr. R.K. Mohanty was appointed as Museums Assistant. He served for eight years and left the museum in 1992 as he was selected as Research Assistant in the Institute. In 1984, the relief map of India which was lying on the floor of the Central hall was shifted in the Stone age gallery. It was fixed on one of the walls of the gallery. The map was very big and heavy, therefore iron clamps were used for fixing the map. In 1984- 85 Megalithic gallery was also reorganized. Big canvas painting was made and photo enlargements of different megalithic types and other photographs related to megalithic culture were mounted and displayed in this gallery along with write-ups, labels, maps etc. In 1985, Sculptures gallery was organized in one of the three halls added to the museum. For this gallery Curator Shri Dandwate made collection. He visited Varanasi and obtained some original stone sculptures from Ganga valley in exchange basis. He also visited National Museum, New Delhi, Mathura Museum and Gwalior Museum and purchased replicas of masterpieces of Indian art. Out of all these collection the gallery was created. In 1985 Prof. S.B. Deo retired as Director and Prof. M.K. Dhavalikar became the Director of the Institute. In 1986, Medieval archaeology gallery was organized. Some original Maratha period paintings were displayed in this gallery. One hall was kept vacant for few years. In 1986 Shri Dandwate organized first temporary exhibition as curator at D.A.V. College, Solapur on the occasion of Maharashtra Itihas Parishad. Then onwards many exhibitions were organized at many places in India and even abroad.

Phase- IV, 1987-1992

In 1987-88, Departmental building was again extended and two more hall were made available to the museum. In 1991-92, three more galleries were organized, they are Numismatics & Epigraphy gallery, Science in Archaeology gallery and Ethno-Archaeology gallery. Majority of vertical showcases were used in all the three galleries, in addition panels with inbuilt glass cases, show cases with three side glass and display boards were also used. In 1990 when Prof. V.N. Misra became Director of the Institute, it was decided that the Central Hall be dedicated in memory of Prof. H.D. Sankalia. Accordingly Shri Dandwate prepared plan for the gallery. The central hall is hexagonal in shape, on the back wall the Nevasa section was already existed, on the four walls of either sides where wooden showcases with internal lighting arrangement were erected. Articles related with Prof. Sanakalia were displayed in these showcases like his degree certificates, his publications (articles & books), selected excavated material from some of his excavated sites, awards like padmabhushan and Nehru Fellowship and his personal belongings etc. A bust of Prof. Sankalia made of fiber glass and displayed on a wooden pedestal in the centre of the hall. 4 During this phase Prof. M.K. Dhavalikar retired in 1990 and Prof. V.N. Misra took over as Director of the Institute. Dr. R.K. Mohanty left the Museum in 1992 as he was selected as Research Assistant in the Institute.

Phase –V, 1993- 2010

During this particular phase the Museum was almost completed due to organization of new galleries and reorganization of existing galleries. Display work of the Central hall was completed in1993 and was renamed as “Prof. H.D. Sankalia memorial Gallery”. Prehistoric gallery was renamed as Stone Age gallery and Protohistoric gallery was renamed as Chalcolithic gallery. In 1993 Shri B.S. Gajul was appointed as Museum Assistant. He is a good Artist-Modeler and did many things; rearranged display of many showcases, repaired and retouched dioramas, organized many exhibitions other museum related work. An important event took place in 1998 and that was the first “One day workshop in Archeology and History for School Teachers” was organized on 10th December 1998, birth anniversary of Prof. H.D. Sankalia. Then onwards once in a year (in July) the museum started organizing this workshop. Till date 23 such workshops have been successfully organized. During this phase many exhibitions have also been organized at various places in India and even abroad. During this phase Prof. V.N. Misra retired in 2000 and Dr. S.N. Pathan, Director of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra was given the charge of Director of Deccan College. In 2003 Prof. K. Paddayya, Joint Director of the Institute was appointed as Director and Dr. Pathan returned back as Director of Higher Education, Government of Maharashtra. Prof. Paddayya took interest in development of museum. He retired in 2008 and Prof. S.K. Bhatta from Sanskrit Dictionary department became Director and Prof. V.S. Shinde from Department of Archaeology became the Joint Director. Construction of new building for the Museum started in 2009, out of substantial grant given by the Government of Maharashtra. In 2010 Dr. Pramod Dandwate left the museum as Curator as he was appointed as Associate Professor in the Institute. During the time of Prof. Bhatta, construction work of new museum building was started out of a substantial grant was given by the Govt. of Maharashtra. Prof. Bhatta was retired in 2013 and Prof. V.S. Shinde took over as the Director (Vice Chancellor) of the Institute.

Phase VI, 2011- Till Date

This is very important phase of development of Archaeology Museum because NAAC Committee visited Deccan College second time in December 2014. A big project named as National Mission of Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA), sponsored by A.S.I. was started at Deccan College. Prof. V.S. Shinde became the first Vice Chancellor of the Deccan College, Deemed University in June 2013. Dr. Pramod Dandwate left the Museum as Curator as he was selected as Associate Professor in the Institute in December 2010. Shri Gajul was promoted as Curator of the Museum in 2011. Miss Nilam Dhapre was appointed as Museum Assistant in the Museum in March 2013. In 2015 entry tickets for Museum was started. 5 New building of the Museum is almost ready but for infrastructure more funds are demanded to the Government of Maharashtra. On the occasion of NAAC visit to Deccan College, the Archaeology Museum was renovated completed. Stone Age renamed as Prehistoric gallery. All the show cases were reorganized, one flex painting depicting life of stone age man was displayed. Chalcolithic gallery was also renamed as Protohistoric gallery, display was reorganized, diorama and model of Inamgaon excavation was retouched, two flex paintings depicting Harappan culture and information of Potter’s kiln were introduced in the gallery. In Megalithic gallery big photographs depicting types of megaliths were replaced by new photographs, horizontal showcases were modified. In Early Historic gallery a big flex painting depicting importance of this period and findings in various excavations was displayed. Sculpture gallery was renamed as “Art and Architecture gallery”. A big flex painting depicting various rock-cut and structural temples in India was displayed. The Medieval Archaeology gallery was reduced from Museum and was in use as class room. Epigraphy & Numismatics gallery and Ethnoarchaeology galleries were also renovated. Science in Archaeology gallery was reduced from the Museum and given to Indian Navy, they organized a gallery named “Maritime Museum and Library”. Due to the reduction of two galleries and used for other purposes, presently there are eight galleries, they are as follow :

All the galleries of the museum are open to public with Admission Fee.

All the galleries of the museum are open to the public with an Admission Fee. The museum is open on all working days between 10.30 am to 05.30pm The museum remains closed on Sunday, 1st and 3rd Saturdays and all Government Holidays

Deccan College Museums Entry Fees-

• School Student and Senior Citizen entry fees- Rs. 20/- Per head
  
• For College Students entry fees- Rs. 30/- Per head
  
• For General Visitor entry fees- Rs. 40/- Per head
  
• For Foreign Visitor entry fees- Rs. 100/- Per head
  
• For Still Photos- Rs. 200/- per Camera
  
• For Video Shooting- Rs. 500/- per Camera
  

Free entry for disabled Person

Please collect tickets from AIHC and Archaeology Department office

Please contact regarding museum visit:

Office No: 020- 26513286
Email Id: museum@dcpune.ac.in

Group visits by schools and colleges are arranged by prior intimation.

Correspondence
Head, Department of AIHC & Archaeology, Deccan College, Post-Graduate & Research Institute (Deemed University) Pune-411 006. Email- museum@dcpune.ac.in