From settlement mounds from around 1,000 BC (3,000 years old) and the Kushan period to 18 th  and 19 th  century temples and colonial buildings, the Uttar Pradesh government has moved to widen its conservation net beyond marquee destinations, with the Archaeological Advisory Committee clearing inclusion of 39 sites to the list of the state-protected monuments. The decision was taken in a review meeting recently, officials said. The list spans a wide array of sites — both chronologically and typologically — which also include memorial structures and water systems. However, a special emphasis is being given on developing a ‘Kushan trail’ across the state, officials said. The decision is part of a broader plan to increase the number of state-protected monuments from 278 to 300 by 2027, signaling a shift from a tourism model centred on Ayodhya, Varanasi and Agra to a more distributed heritage network that includes lesser-known clusters across districts, the officials added.…