According to a report, people living during the Harappan civilization about 4,000 years ago ate high-protein, multigrain 'laddoos.' This was discovered during a systematic examination of the material discovered during an excavation in Rajasthan.

The research, which was co-authored by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) in Lucknow and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in New Delhi, was recently published in the Elsevier journal 'Journal of Archaeological Science: suggests reports.

Between 2014 and 2017, at least seven 'laddoos' were found during the excavation of a Harappan archaeological site in Binjor, Rajasthan (near the Pakistan border). BSIP senior scientist Rajesh Agnihotri said, "Seven similar big-size brown 'laddoos', two figurines of bulls and a hand-held copper adze (a tool similar to an axe, used for cutting or shaping wood) were excavated by the ASI at the Harappan site in Anupgarh district of Rajasthan.

"These laddoos, dating back to around 2600 BCE, were found well preserved since a hard structure had fallen in such a manner that it acted as a roof over them and prevented them from getting crushed. Had they been broken, the 'laddoos' would have decayed entirely but since these were in contact with the mud, some of the internal organic matter and other green constituents remained protected."

The strangest thing about these 'laddoos,' he claimed, was that when they came into contact with water, the slurry turned purple. ASI had provided BSIP samples of laddoos for scientific research. Agnihotri stated, "At first, we thought that these laddoos, excavated near the banks of Ghaggar (erstwhile Saraswati), had some connection with occult activities since figurines and adze were also found in close proximity. We were intrigued by their shape and size as they were clearly man-made. This curiosity led us to explore their composition. We initially presumed it could be a non-vegetarian food,"

He further said, "The study provides important insights into types of food grain used in making laddoos, which reveal contemporary farming practices by Harappan people. This scientific finding appears to be unique and opens up avenues for more intrusive scientific research in archaeology to reconstruct the unwritten history of India and its glorious past,"