# ASI says Golconda Fort find is a chamber, not a tunnel

2026-08-21T08:07:00+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 1 independent outlet (2 source reports)

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has said a structure discovered at Golconda Fort in Hyderabad is a small rectangular chamber, not a tunnel. An ASI team that included an archaeologist and an engineer inspected the site after reports that a tunnel was found during work by the Army's Artillery Centre. The chamber measures about 1.2 m by 1.8 m and is 2.2 m deep, built of granite stone with rough masonry, the ASI said in a release. A few red-coloured potsherds from the medieval period were also noticed. Siasat.com reported earlier that AIMIM MLA Kausar Mohiuddin had called the excavation "illegal" and claimed the Army was responsible. The MLA said the site is a playground and graveyard. A senior ASI official had told Siasat.com that archaeologists would examine the claim and that jurisdiction of that part of the fort would be ascertained. The ASI has now asked the Artillery Centre not to proceed with levelling the land until a detailed investigation is completed, pending approval from the Director General. Historians have often dismissed stories of secret tunnels at Golconda Fort, citing Hyderabad's rocky terrain. The fort, dating to the 14th century, has 87 bastions and eight gates, some of which are under Army control.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

The two Siasat.com reports frame the same event differently. The first report, sourced from a local reporter, leads with the political claim of "illegal" excavation by the Army and highlights a jurisdictional dispute between the ASI and the military. The second, a PTI wire copy, leads with the ASI's factual finding that the structure is a chamber, not a tunnel, and reports the same jurisdictional issue as a routine coordination matter. The first report sensationalises the story as a "tunnel" and a conflict, the second defuses it. A careful reader should note that the ASI's official investigation is still pending, so neither the chamber's purpose nor any wrongdoing has been conclusively established. The next step is the detailed investigation after approval from the ASI Director General.

## Coverage

Coverage: 2 sources, 1 neutral, 1 sensationalist
- siasat.com (sensationalist) <https://www.siasat.com/hyderabad-asi-to-examine-tunnel-discovered-at-golconda-fort-3528381/>
  Leads with unverified 'tunnel' claim and MLA's accusation of illegal Army excavation, frames as conflict between Army and ASI
- siasat.com (2) (neutral report) <https://www.siasat.com/tunnel-discovered-at-golconda-fort-is-a-chamber-says-asi-3529007/>
  Straight PTI wire copy reporting ASI's finding of a chamber, no political framing or dramatisation

This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-09-27T06:20:02+00:00.

Tags: Archaeological Survey of India, Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Indian Army, Kausar Mohiuddin
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How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/