A native of Mathura, Dr. Vinay Kumar Gupta is presently serving as Superintending Archaeologist, Jaipur Circle, with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Prior to joining the ASI, he was associated as an Assistant Professor with Dr. H. S. Gour Central University, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.
Dr. Gupta earned his PhD (UGC–JRF) from the National Museum Institute, New Delhi, on “Braj: An Art and Archaeological Study”. He has authored and edited half a dozen scholarly books and has published nearly fifty research papers in reputed national and international journals and edited volumes. Among his major publications are Mathura: An Art and Archaeological Study (New Delhi) and authoritative entries on “Mathura” and “Vraja” for the Oxford Bibliographies on Hinduism.
Dr. Gupta has directed several important archaeological excavations. These include Bewan (District Neem Ka Thana), a site belonging to the OCP–Ganeshwar cultural horizon with substantial PGW, BRW, and later cultural deposits (field season 2022–23); Barnoli-ki-Dhai (District Mathura), a PGW site; and the co-direction of excavations at Rakhigarhi, one of the most significant Harappan sites, during the 2021–22 field season. He has also participated in excavations at Khirasara (Gujarat), Bhirrana (Haryana), Baror (Rajasthan), and Hansi (Haryana), spanning Harappan to historical periods.
More recently, he conducted excavations at Bahaj (District Deeg), a proto-/early historic site located in the sacred landscape around the Govardhan hills near Mathura. Dr Gupta has carried out extensive archaeological explorations in and around the Mathura region, documenting nearly a thousand sites. His explorations in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat have also yielded significant results.
During his tenure in the Antiquities and Customs Section of the ASI, Dr Gupta played a crucial role in the retrieval of Indian antiquities from foreign countries and in curbing the illegal export of cultural property. His areas of specialisation and academic interest include North Indian archaeology, early Indian art, and religious and cultural studies.
