The 2300 year old Amaravati stupa was dismantled and hundred of pieces have been taken to England

Andhra was a flourishing Buddhist centre. There are more than 100 Buddhist sites in the region. The Amaravati Stupa was the most outstanding. It is spoken of in Tamil, Sinhalese, Thai and Tibetan accounts. The stupa is 2300 years old.

A local landlord discovered the stupa covered with soil in 1797 and used the bricks and stone pillars for his building projects. Many amateur British surveyors like Mackenzie, Elliot, Sewell and Horsfall and even professionals like Burgess treasure hunted the site without any concern to preserve the monument. In 1816, British Colonel Colin Mackenzie made detailed sketches of what was left and shifted several sculptures. Many pieces reached London and were acquired by private individuals. Over a period of 150 years, the sculptures were shuffled around within Indian and in London. The site has been systematically destroyed without any concern for its heritage.

The British museum exhibits the Amaravati sculptures in a separate Amaravati Gallery and there are 133 exhibits. There are many sculptures in the Madras Museum and several are in untraced condition in UK. A relic casket with mortal remains is known to have become untraceable.

Amaravati is slated to become the capital of Andhra Pradesh. A project called Sriparvata aims to recreate a mahastupa at a distance of 147 kms from Amaravati on the banks of the Krishna river at Nagarjunasagar.

Source: Akira Shimada and Michael Willis. Amaravati, The Art of an Early Buddhist Monument in Context.

Picture: Amaravati Mahastupa – Sketch by James Fergusson

At Dwarka, there are remains of a submerged port city, including fortification walls and stone anchors, perhaps going back to 1500 BCE.

Prof. S. R. Rao conducted offshore marine excavations in Dwarka. His findings matched the description given in Mahabharata about Dwaraka. He found evidence for a port city with active sea trade. The layout of the submerged city, high fort walls and stone bases of flag posts correlate with the description of Dwarka in Mahabharata. Pottery found in the submerged city matches with 15th century BCE pottery culture. Seals were found (dated to 15th/ 16th century BCE) which correspond with the statement in Harivamsa that all residents of Dwaraka were required to carry a mudra.

He found that bastions and protection walls were built on boulder foundation. This technique is used even now for building on reclaimed land. The evidence of reclamation matches the description in Harivamsa that 12 yojanas of land was reclaimed to build Dwarka.

His excavations pushed the dating of Mahabharata earlier by about 5 centuries compared to the excavations of Prof B.B. Lal in Hastinapur. Further excavations in Dwarka in early 2000s have revealed additional evidence of marine structures.

Source: Prof S. R Rao, Further Excavations of the Submerged City of Dwaraka.

Picture: Lost City of Dwaraka. Prof S. R Rao

Keezhadi is in the outskirts of present day Madurai which figures in ancient history and literature.

Keezhadi or Keeladi is comparable to the Indus sites in size and has been excavated since 2014. Terracotta water pipes and brick drains (both covered and open) have also been unearthed. There are varied cultural traits such as brick structures, ring wells, tiles, gold ornaments, copper and iron objects, boardgames and graffiti. Signs similar to the Indus script have also been located. Evidence for Tamil Brahmi script has also been found.

The findings have pushed back the evidence of the earliest Sangam civilization to 6th Century BCE. This is three centuries more than earlier consensus.

Source: Keeladi, Dept of Archaeology, Govt of Tamil Nadu

Picture: Frontline

Quick Read: The 1,00,000 year old Bhimbetka cave and 10,000 year old rock paintings were discovered by intuition while looking at passing scenery from a train window.

The archaeologist Dr Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar noticed sandstone rock formations through his train window. He guessed there could have been early settlements there. He got down from the train and explored the area. He ended up discovering Bhimbetka caves. It has 642 rock shelters and about 400 of them have rock paintings. Bhimbetka was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. It is near Bhopal.

A cave, now called Auditorium Rock Shelter has seven manmade cup like depressions on a rock face. There are other markings too. These indicate a community ritual. This has been dated to nearly 1,00,000 years ago.

The site has been continuously inhabited from that period to the historic period and has several layers of paintings on rock. Wakankar has dated the earliest paintings between 8000 BCE and 2500 BCE. There are rich, bright paintings of 27 species of animals, including elephant, rhinoceros and lion which are no longer found in the region. Some of the paintings would have required scaffolding and many men to co-operate.

The caves contain paintings and inscriptions that have continued even after 13th Century CE. The style of Bhimbetka paintings is similar to today’s Varli art.

Source: Upinder Singh, A History of Ancient and Medieval India. Meenakshi Dubey Pathak. The Rock Art of the Bhimbetka Area in India.

Picture: Upinder Singh.

Muziri became a trading port when a direct sailing route from Africa to India was discovered.

Sometime around the first century BCE, European and African traders discovered monsoon winds. The winds allowed ships to sail directly from Africa (Red Sea) to southern Indian coast. Earlier they used to sail hugging the coast from Africa through the Sind/ Gujarat coast.

The most important port for this new trade route was Muziris. This is now traced to Pattinam, Kodungallur, near Cochin. A wharf has also been identified at this site. Jews, Arabs, Christians and Muslims settled around the region due to trade. Pepper was the major export and a common import was wine.

Romans feasted on imports from India to such an extent that Roman writer Pliny complained bitterly about the trade deficit and payment in gold coins to India. “Not a year passed in which India did not take fifty million sesterces away from Rome.” He would also call “Muziri as the first emporium of India.”

Source: Sanjeev Sanyal, Ocean of Churn

Picture: Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman road map (probably 4th Century CE) that shows Muziri.

Chariots and weapons excavated in Sinauli provide evidence of a warrior society.

Sinauli is near Baghpat, north east of Delhi. Sinauli excavations since 2003-04 provide strong archaeological evidence for Rig Vedic culture and warrior people. Three chariots have been found alongwith sword, bow & arrow heads, helmet, shield and other weaponry. The chariots are two wheeled, open and may be driven by one person. These correspond to the description of warfare in ancient literature including Rig Veda, Mahabharata and Puranas.

A huge burial site was also unearthed in Sinauli. The burial site is large. Sophisticated material have been symbolically buried in the grave. These indicate a large settled habitation. The remains have been dated to around 2000 BCE. The burial practices correspond to those described in the Rig Veda.

Sinauli seems to have overlapped with Indus civilization but with distinct characteristics. Only 10% of the material found at Sinauli can be compared with Harappan culture.

Source: Sanjay Kumar Manjul and Arvin Manjul. Recent Excavations at Sanauli, District Baghpat, U.P

Picture: Sinauli Chariot from The Hindu.

Quick Read: Rice domestication was achieved 8000 years back in northern India.

Agriculture is a marker of civilization. Rice domestication has originated independently in the Gangetic plains and in the Aravallis in India. Evidence of slash and burn cultivation of rice from 8000 years old has been discovered.

Lohuradeva is near Gorakhpur in eastern UP. In marsh lands, layers of sediments with micro charcoal have been discovered. These suggest slash and burn cultivation. This is dated to 8000 BCE. Domesticated rice has been found in archaeological remains dated to 6309 BCE.

Aravallis also show evidence of very early rice cultivation. Further, a ploughed field (barley/ wheat) has been unearthed in Kalibangan in the Indus civilization.

Source: Dilip Chakrabarti, India: An Archaeological History.

Picture: A ploughed field that has been excavated at Kalibangan, and Indus valley site.

Burzahom is near Srinagar and contains underground mud dwellings.

Burzahom is across the Dal Lake near Srinagar. The site has been dated to 3000 BCE to 2800 BCE, and existed in parallel to the Indus civilization. Burzahom means “Land of birch,” a tree species that is found in the region.

Underground mud dwelling pits have been discovered in excavations. These were used as winter shelters. These pits are bell shaped and are narrow at the top and broad at the bottom and are about 13 feet deep. Ladders and steps were used to get in and out of these pits. Tools, bones and weapons have been found in the pits. There are also stone and clay hearths at the centre of the pits. There are indications of a roof supported by wooden pillars. The site also has large undergound pit chambers 11 feet x 13 feet. Some historians suggest that these were only storage areas.

Source: Sudeshna Guha, A History of India Through 75 Objects.

Picture: Doon School, Srinagar.

Quick Read: Petroglyphs or rock carvings have been found stretching from Ratnagiri to Goa and beyond

Petroglyphs are carvings on rock. The Konkan Petroglyphs started getting discovered from 1990. Discoveries grew thick when a Konkan student, Sudhir Risbud, who would later become an Electrical Engineer, took an interest in discovering these. He would find friends who shared his passion and joined him in his discovery. On last count about 1600 petroglyphs have been discovered all across Konkan. They stretch across a distance of 250 kms Ratnagiri to Goa and Karnataka. They are immense and can only be really appreciated through aerial photos.

The Government of Maharashtra provides official support now for their for documentation, preservation and research.

The carvings have no reference to a pastoral or agricultural lifestyle. There are carvings of hippos and rhinos, that have not lived in this area for a long time. That makes experts date these carvings even before 10,000 BCE. However, no scientifically datable material has been found at these sites to establish this claim.

Source: Tejas Garge et al. Petroglyphs in Konkan. Conversation with Sudhir Risbud.

Picture: Tejas Garge et al. Carvings have been highlighted with white powder.

When the volcanic site of Pompeii was discovered in 1930s, this Lakshmi was found.

Pompeii Lakshmi is about 10 inches tall and is made of ivory. She was found in a wealthy neighbourhood, at the home of a Roman merchant alongwith several other artefacts from India. She resembles sculptures carved in Sanchi. There is a single letter “si” carved at the bottom in Kharoshthi script.

The Italian archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri identified her as Lakshmi. Some even identified it as a handle for a mirror (there was a hole in the head for a possible handle) or as a furniture piece. Some Indian historians have claimed she is a Yakshi. Two similar pieces were found in Maharashtra too. The archaeologist M.K. Dhavilkar suggested that the Pompeii Lakshmi was possibly manufactured in ancient Satavahana towns which had active trade with Rome.

Pompeii was covered by volcanic eruption in the first century CE. For this reason and based on style, Pompeii Lakshmi has been dated to about 2000 years old or slightly earlier. It is on display in the Naples Museum in Italy.

Source: Sudeshna Guha, A History of India Through 75 Objects.

Picture: Sudeshna Guha.

Evidence of indigenous iron production is dated upto 2505 BCE, contradicting the theory that Aryans brought iron to India.

Till 1970s, the dominant theory was that Aryans brought iron into India in the first millennium. The supposedly eastward movement of Aryans was also attributed to their search for iron ore in the Magadha kingdom. These were hypothetical arguments based on speculation.

Since 1970s, archaeological evidence and scientific dating has pointed to very early indigenous development of iron smelting. South India and alluvial plains of Ganga valley are rich in iron ore. Several iron production workshops covering the entire spectrum from smelting to forging have been unearthed.

An excavation in Gachibowli near Hyderabad in 2003-04 unearthed heavily rusted and fragile iron objects alongwith pottery. Thermoluminescence dating revealed dates of 1995 BCE and 2505 BCE. This is far earlier than the earlier assumptions of around 1000 BCE for the introduction of iron in India.

The Telangana region has several iron rich mineral zones. It has a rich tradition of iron and steel production since the very early period. 183 archaeological sites in Telangana have been associated with metal working. Iron agricultural, carpentry and war tools have been found.

Source: KP Rao, Excavations at Gachibowli, A Preliminary Report.

Akinori Uesugi, An overview of iron age in South Asia.

Picture: K.P Rao, Iron Age Culture in South India

Quick Read: In the Baghor region, people worship these peculiar, but naturally occurring stones as Devi even now

Baghor is within 100 kms of Ganga and very close to Prayagraj. In 1982, a team of archaeologists found a heap of discarded stones on a circular rubble platform. In the middle of the rubble was a bright stone with concentric triangles, but broken. When the local workers saw the unusual stone they dropped the tools and stopped digging. “This is our Devi,” they said.

The workers then took the unbelieving archaeologists to similar temples that exist even today; a sandstone rubble; a bright stone with concentric triangular pattern in the middle. The team also saw a temple called Kerai ki Devi which had a similar form of worship. The site is dated to 9000 BCE to 8000 BCE.

Source: Antiquity. An Upper Paleolithic Shrine in India? J.M. Kenoyer, J.D. Clark, J.N. Pal, G.R. Sharma. Archaeology and World Religion-Routledge (2001) DK Chakrabarti. Interview with Prof Jagannath Pal, Ex Allahabad University.

Picture: J.M. Kenoyer, similar stone worship observed in the area during the period of excavation