Some of the Archeological Finds of 2004 & 2005 includes: 1. 5000 Year
Old Harappan Township Found in Haryana, 2. Archaeologists Uncover Ancient
Maritime Spice Route Between India, Egypt, 3. India has the Earliest Art, 4.
Aryan burial found in Russian city of Omsk, 5, Ancient Krishna Balarama Coins,
6. Pre-Harappan Evidence Found in Gulf of Cambay, 7. Ancient Nuclear Blasts
and Levitating Stones of Shivapur, 8. Tsunami Uncovered Ancient Port City In
Southern India, 9 Newly-discovered Mamallapuram temple fascinates
archaeologists.
More Archeological Finds From 2006 and After: 1, Astrological Finds in
Brazil Rainforests, 2. First Harappan Burial site Found in Sinauli, Uttar Pradesh,
3. Undersea Temple Found Off India's East Coast..
The Sarasvati River provides articles on the ongoing discovery and work to
recover the route of the ancient Sarasvati River that is described in the Rig-veda,
and a satellite photo of the Sarasvati River basin. This includes such articles as:
1. India's Miracle River, 2. The Recent Research into the Sarasvati River, 3.
Efforts to Trace Saraswati's Origin, 4. Project to Revive Sarasvati River, 5. Indian
Satellites Find Water Under Desert, 6. Riddle of the River Sarasvati, 7. Bringing
Back the Sarasvati, 8. Unearthing Lost Sarasvati Cities.
Ayodhya and the Research on the Temple of Lord Rama offers some of
the latest developments regarding the archeological research on the ancient
temple of Lord Rama at His birthplace at Ayodhya. This has: 1. The article by N.
S. Rajarama, "What We Need to Know About Ayodhya"; 2. Archaeological
Excavations at Sri Rama Janma Bhumi; 3. Archeological Society of India Says
Temple Existed at Ramjanmabhoomi Site; 4. The ASI Report on Ayodhya.
These are not only interesting, but also tend to verify the basic Vedic form of
history. These are numbered in the chronological order in which they were
discovered throughout the year.
As was announced on January 16, 2002 from New Delhi, Indian scientists have
made an archaeological discovery that dates back to 7500 bce. This suggests,
as a top government official said, that the world's oldest cities came up about
4,000 years earlier than is currently believed. The scientists found pieces of
wood, remains of pots, fossil bones and what appeared like construction material
just off the coast of Surat, Science and Technology Minister Murli Manohar Joshi
told a news conference. He said, "Some of these artifacts recovered by the
National Institute of Ocean Technology from the site, such as the log of wood
date back to 7500 bce, which is indicative of a very ancient culture in the present
Gulf of Cambay, that got submerged subsequently." Current belief is that the first
cities appeared around 3500 bce in the valley of Sumer, where Iraq now stands,
a statement issued by the government said. "We can safely say from the
antiquities and the acoustic images of the geometric structures that there was
human activity in the region more than 9,500 years ago (7500 BC)," said S.N.
Rajguru, an independent archaeologist.
More details were released at--
http://www.timesofindia.com/Articleshow.asp?art_id=2140338028
Updated on 2002-04-04
QUETTA, April 04 (PNS): In a major discovery, a team of Geological Survey of
Pakistan (GSP) has discovered 65 million years old fossils of Crocodile in Vitakri
area, some 310 km off here, GSP officials confided to PNS here on Wednesday.
The specimen collected to date includes a well-preserved rostrum of a new
genus and species named as "Pabwehshi Pakistanensis". The fossils are an
anterior portion of left and right mandibular rostrum preserving the upper and
lower teeth in place, said Asif Rana, Curator, Museum of Historical Geology of
GSP to this correspondent.
Disclosing the new discovery of crocodile fossils, Asif Rana said the fossil
horizon occurs in the upper part of the Pab formation and provides the first
diagnostic remains of Cretaceous Crocodyliform from the Indian subcontinent.
He said the fossils were believed to be 65 to 70 million years old and
provide important information for assessing bio-geographic history of the region.
He disclosed that the Pabwehshi Pakistanensis was closely related to a group
previously known only from Argentina.
This species "Baurusuchidae" has not yet been discovered on other Gondawana
land mass. He elaborated the plate tectonics theory that Indo-Pak was initially
interlocked with the Gondawana land mass of Africa, Antarctica, Australia and
Madagascar early in the Mesozoic era, some 200 million years ago. It drifted
northward during the Cretaceous period to collide with Laurasian land mass
during the Cenozoic era. This collision resulted in the emergence of Himalaya-
Karakorum-Hindu Kush mountain ranges. The new fossil discovery is relevant in
the reconstruction of the paleo-geographic history of the Indo-Pak subcontinent,
he said.
He said this discovery strengthens the hypothesis that a land connection
might have existed between Indo-Pakistan sub-continental and South American
plates. About the discoveries of GSP, Asif Rana said that Pakistani geologists
had recently unearthed 2,700 fossilised bones of a new slender limbed
Titanosaurus dinosaur from the same locality in the same formation of
sedimentary rocks.
The GSP researchers have also discovered a 47 million years old walking
whale from Balochistan. The fossils of the largest land mammal "Baluchitherium"
discovered by GSP's palaeontologists in 1985 from Dera Bugti are also on
display in the GSP's Museum of Historical Geology at Quetta, he said. He said
that these discoveries of dinosaurs, walking whale and super crocodile had
provided a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages to learn about the past.
HYDERABAD, INDIA, April 29, 2002: Recent studies suggests a link between
Indus Valley and Mayans of Central America. The studies focused on the
calendars of the two advanced civilizations. The Indus Valley inhabitants followed
a calender based on the movements of Jupiter, and the Mayans followed one
based on the Venus. In the Puranas, a secondary Hindu scripture, Jupiter,
Brihaspati, was acknowledged to be the leader of the gods, while Venus, Shukra,
was the leader of the asuras. The texts further state that the devas and asuras
lived on opposite sides of the Earth. Mexico and India are at opposite sides in
longitude. The correspondences were pointed out by B. G. Siddarth, director of
the B. M. Birla Science Centre in Hyderabad. He also said the Hindu story of the
churning of the ocean has been found in carvings in Mexico, as well Mayan
representations of a tortoise carrying twelve pillars similar to Indian illustrations.
Dr. Ganapati Sthapati of Chennai, a foremost expert on Vastu Shatra, the ancient
Hindu architecture, has visited the Mayan structures in Central America and
found many similarities between the design and construction methods of the
Mayans and that of the ancient Hindus.
16. Satellite Photos of the Bridge Between Ramesvaram and Sri Lanka
When I had visited Ramesvaram several years ago, and more recently in 2002, I
was told that you could see the line of rocks that lead to Ramaesvaram to Sri
Lanka that had been the bridge that Lord Rama had built for him and his army to
go to Lanka in search for Sita. These rocks were said to be just under the surface
of the water. Then when these photos were published, I was not surprised, but
nonetheless fascinated by the relevancy of what they revealed. The captions of
the photos, as found on Indolink.com:
Space images taken by NASA (from the NASA Digital Image Collection)
reveal the mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri
Lanka. The recently discovered bridge, currently named as Adam´s Bridge, is
made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long.
The unique curvature of the bridge and composition by age reveals that it is
man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first
signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to a primitive age, about
17,50,000 years ago and the bridge's age is also almost equivalent.
This information is a crucial aspect for an insight into the mysterious legend
called Ramayana, which was supposed to have taken place in Treta Yuga (more
than 17,00,000 years ago).
In this epic, there is a mentioning about a bridge, which was built between
Rameshwaram (India) and the Sri Lankan coast under the supervision of a
dynamic and invincible figure called Rama who is supposed to be the incarnation
of the Supreme Being.
This information may not be of much importance to the archeologists who
are interested in exploring the origins of man, but it is sure to open the spiritual
gates of the people of the world to have come to know an ancient history linked
to the Indian mythology.
17. A 40,000 Year Old Cave Painting
This is said to be a 40,000-year-old cave painting seen on a white silica
sandstone rock shelter depicting existence of human civilization is seen in Banda
district 800 kilometers(500 miles) southeast of New Delhi, India, Sunday, Oct. 27,
2002. The painting shows hunting by cave men in Paleolithic age. These caves
were discovered recently. (AP Photo/Shekhar Srivastava) Notice the horse with
rider. World Photos - AP
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/021030/168/2k3kj.html
18. Stealth Bomber from Shastra
From the Deccan Herald, Dated Nov. 2, 2002 By Rajesh Parishwad, DH News
Service BANGALORE, Nov 1:
Material evidences confirming the existence of early man in India were first
reported by Robert Bruce Foote in 1863, when he discovered palaeolithic tools
from Pallavaram (near Madras).
Among several environmental situations, the Early Man lived in natural caves
and rock shelters for several thousands of years. Natural processes formed the
caves and rock shelters in the Vindhyan mountains of Madhya Pradesh. During
this period, the artifacts made and techniques employed have undergone a
considerable though gradual and continuous change.
The discarded or utilised artifacts lay buried under the sediments in the
caves/rock shelters and were preserved for a very long time, as the deposits in
cave or rock shelters were left undisturbed by flowing water or wind. Thus, the
material remains of Early Man from rock shelters and caves hold more
significance as one can build up a continuous history of Early Man's culture in an
undisturbed context.
It was these rock shelters and caves which helped to preserve paintings (rock
art) made by the Early Man.
These paintings reflect the earliest artistic expressions of man and provide
sufficient knowledge on his way of life. Rock paintings exposed at Bhimbetka
(near Bhopal) are a museum of rock art in India and are recognized as a World
Heritage site by UNESCO.
One of the earliest forms of rock art is the petroglyph. Petroglyphs are figures
that are made by removing the upper layers of the rock. A preliminary study of
petroglyphs in India was carried out in parts of Rajasthan (Kanyadeh) and
Madhya Pradesh (Raisen). However, petroglyph study from these sites lacked
dating and scientific study.
In the Rock Art Seminar held in 1990 at Agra, the Rock Art Society of India
identified the study of petroglyphs as one of the fields on priority basis. Keeping
in view the lack of information on Indian petroglyphs, the Early Indian Petroglyph
(EIP) Project commenced in 2001 with the objective to rewrite the pleistocene
history of Early Man in the subcontinent. The EIP project is a joint venture of the
Rock Society of India, Agra (RASI) and the Australian Rock Art Research
Association (AURA) with support from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
and the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR). In addition, geo-
archaeologists and chronologists from various institutes in India and Australia are
also involved in the project.
To begin with, the EIP commission took up Daraki-Chattan region as a case for
the study of early petroglyphs in India. Daraki-Chattanâ “a rock shelter within the
Vindhyan mountains overviewing River Rewaâ” is situated near Bhanpura in
district Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh. Daraki-Chattan reveals the hoary past of the
extensive rock art in this cave beyond doubt. Excavation at Daraki-Chattan was
carried out by Dr Giriraj Kumar (Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra) with
technical support from the Archaeological Survey of India (Bhopal Circle). The
objective of excavation at Daraki-Chattan was to establish cultural stratigraphy at
the site, collect evidences related to the production of cupules, obtain scientific
dates (such as OSL, AMS C14) for different levels concerning art objects and
human artifacts, and establish geo-archaeological history of the region.
The indepth study of the sediments deposited by River Rewa unraveled the
palaeoclimatic history of the region. The associated assemblage of stone
artifacts suggests the relative age range of 1.8 million years before present to
400,000 years before present for the sediments. The generation of large slope
deposits or fans substantiates the fact that the area must have faced sub-humid
to semi-arid climatic conditions. (The author is Reader in Geology, Department of
Geology, University of Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir. The author has been actively
engaged in research on quaternary palaeo-climate and geo-archaeology for past
one-and-a-half decade.)
DELHI, INDIA, February 11, 2005: Archaeologists say they have discovered
some stone remains from the coast close to India's famous beach front
Mahabalipuram temple in Tamil Nadu state following the December 26 tsunami.
They believe that the "structures" could be the remains of an ancient and once-
flourishing port city in the area housing the famous 1,200-year-old rock-hewn
temple. Three pieces of remains, which include a granite lion, were found buried
in the sand after the coastline receded in the area after the tsunami struck. "They
could be part of the small seaport city which existed here before water engulfed
them. They could be part of a temple or a building. We are investigating," says T.
Sathiamoorthy of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Archaeologists say that
the stone remains date back to 7th Century ce and are nearly 6ft tall. They have
elaborate engravings of the kind that are found in the Mahabalipuram temple.
The temple, which is a World Heritage site, represents some of the earliest-
known examples of Dravidian architecture dating back to 7th Century ce. The
monument also has gigantic open air reliefs hewn out from granite. The tsunami
waves have also helped the archaeologists in desilting one such relief which had
been covered with sand for ages. A half-completed rock relief of an elephant got
"naturally desilted" by the ferocious waves and is now drawing large crowds at
this popular tourist destination. For the past three years, archaeologists working
with divers from India and England have found the remnants of the ancient port.
Archaeologists say they had done underwater surveys 1 km into the sea from the
temple and found some undersea remains.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4257181.stm
Parts of the ancient temple discovered to the south of the Shore Temple at
Mamallapuram during the excavation done from February to April 2005.
www.nytimes.com
SINAULI, June 28, 2006: Imagine for a moment that you're a farmer,
leveling your field, when suddenly your plough hits something hard. You wipe
away the dust and discover it's a bone, hardened over time. You dig some more
and discover the remnants of pottery next to an ancient human skeleton.
This is what happened to Sattar Ali while working in the sugarcane fields in
Sinauli village near Baghpat in western UP, some 75 km from Delhi. Although he
didn't know it at that time, Ali had chanced upon an ancient burial ground of the
late Harappan period, believed to be more than 4,000 years old.
This was over a year-and-a-half back. Matters would have rested there had
not a local youth, Tahir Hussain, informed the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI) about it. Since August last year, ASI's excavations have been going on in
full swing. Dharamvir Sharma, superintending archaeologist, ASI, says, "The
findings here are very important and have the potential to change the way we
look at the history of Asia."
Sinauli's find is unique because this is the first Harappan burial site to be
found in UP. More importantly, it's the first Harappan site where two antenna
swords were found buried next to the skeletons. These were of the copper hoard
culture, which has been a cause of debate among historians. These findings
might just prove that the copper hoard was associated with the late Harappans,
says Sharma.
The excavations have already yielded a rich haul. Almost 126 skeletons
have been recovered, which indicates that the mound was a fairly large
habitation. While some are broken, others are remarkably well-preserved. One of
the first skeletons to be discovered was found wearing copper bracelets on both
hands. Some distance away, another was found buried along with an animal,
presumably intended to be a sacrificial offering.
Other finds include bead necklaces, copper spearheads, gold ornaments
and a few anthropomorphic figures which were typical of Harappan settlements.
While these are all relative evidence of the late Harappan period, believed to be
around 2000 BC, carbon dating of the skeletons would put a firm date on it.
Sinauli's findings might also prove that the Harappans were a part of the
Vedic culture and followed prescribed Vedic practices. Sharma says, "All the
skeletons have been found lying in the North-South direction, as prescribed by
the Rig Veda. Near their heads have been found pots, which probably contained
grains, ghee, curd and somarasa as an offering to Yama, the God of Death. This
was in accordance with ancient Vedic burial practices, mentioned in the Shatpath
Brahman."
However, not all historians agree with this view. They feel it's too early to
jump to conclusions without carbon dating being done. Nevertheless, the
excavations have attracted a lot of attention for the nondescript village. The
villagers are thrilled at their newfound status.
Any child will happily escort you to ASI tents set up in the middle of
sugarcane fields, near the village. According to Hari Om Saran, assistant
archaeologist, ASI, "At least 100-150 people visit the site every day. The number
was higher during winter. The recent discovery of gold bracelets drew even more
visitors."
Now, the UP Tourism department is in talks with ASI to link Sinauli with the
Mahabharat circuit that it's proposing to launch. Kawkab Hameed, state tourism
minister, says, "The findings at Sinauli indicate it was an ancient site. Therefore
we propose to include it in our new tourist circuit, which would cover places
associated with the Mahabharat era. These would include Panipat, Sonepat,
Hastinapur as well as Baghpat, which has three tunnels associated with the
Mahabharat era."
Most historians concur that Sinauli may provide clues to other mysteries of
the ancient Indus Valley civilization and probably turn more theories about the
Harappans on their head. However, that's still some way off. For one, only a
portion of the burial mound has been excavated. Sharma believes the entire
mound would have been spread over nine acres and there are more burials
waiting to be found nearby.
Moreover, considering that this was such a huge burial ground, the
settlement should also have been a large one. However, that is still to be located.
Also, before ASI moved in, the villagers plundered quite a few objects from the
site. Vital clues to the settlement could have been lost. ASI is proposing to
acquire the site land and plans to set up a museum here. Meanwhile, as
excavations continue, this will be an attractive destination not only for the serious
student of history, but also for tourists, who can relive history through the
skeletons of Sinauli.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1696409.cms
[Home] [Back to the Archeological Finds page] [Back to the Articles page]
Scientists say new evidence could unearth the Saraswati. The legend of the
mighty Saraswati river has lived on in India since time immemorial. Ancient Hindu
scriptures called the Vedas, recorded thousands of years ago, are full of
tantalizing hymns about it being the life-stream of the people.
In a new radio programme, Madhur Jaffrey recounts the legend of the
Saraswati river - and explores startling new evidence that it may not have been a
myth after all. Vast and awesome, the Saraswati's holy waters are supposed to
have flowed from the Himalayas into the sea, nourishing the land along the way.
But as the centuries passed and no one could find it, myth, belief and religion
came together and the Saraswati passed into the realm of folklore.
Now most people in India think of it as a mythical river. Some even believe
that it is an invisible river or that it still flows underground. Another commonly
held perception is that the Saraswati once flowed through the north Indian city of
Allahabad, meeting there with two other rivers, the Ganges and the Jamuna. The
confluence of these three rivers - one of which is not visible to the eye - is
considered one of India's holiest spots.
Below is a satellite view of the Sarasvati River basin running from the Himalayan
Mountains to the west coast of India.
Saraswati, Hindu goddess of Learning
For most of the country, the name Saraswati is better known for its divine
namesake - the goddess Saraswati, Hindu goddess of Learning. Worshiped
particularly by students and school children, her festival falls in February, and the
city of Calcutta is famous for celebrating her in style. Makeshift shrines are
erected in every street and after the festival is over, thousands of the images are
taken to the banks of the river Hooghly and pitched into the water where they are
forever carried away by the river.
The goddess' connection to water is part of the enigma that surrounds the
river. But that mystery could be set to be dispelled forever, as startling scientific
evidence has come to light. Through satellite photography, scientists have
mapped the course of an enormous river that once flowed through the north
western region of India. The images show that it was 8 km wide in places and
that it dried up 4,000 years ago.
Dr JR Sharma who heads the Remote Sensing Services Centre in Jodhpur
which is mapping the images, believes a major earthquake may have played a
part in the demise of the Saraswati. There was, he says, a big tectonic activity
that stopped the water supply to the river. Sharma and his team believe they
have found the Saraswati and are excited about what this discovery could mean
for India. The idea is to tap its potential as a water source. They are working with
India's leading water experts who are using the satellite images as clues.
Deep in the western Rajasthan desert, not far from the security- conscious
border with Pakistan, an extraordinary programme is underway. Giant drilling rigs
probe deep into the dry, arid earth pulling out undisturbed layers of soil and
sediment for scientists to study and test. Water engineers are exploring the
region's ancient riverbeds for what they call groundwater - underground
reservoirs that contain perfectly drinkable water. If they are successful, their
discovery could transform the lives of thousands of locals who currently
experience harsh water shortages.
Mr KS Sriwastawa of the Rajasthan State Groundwater Board believes one
of these ancient buried channels may be the Saraswati. He knows the stories
refer to the ancient river flowing through this area and says excitedly that carbon
dating has revealed that the water they are finding is 4000 years old. That would
date it to the time of the Saraswati. The modern search for the Saraswati was
first sparked by an English engineer called CF Oldham in 1893 when he was
riding his horse along the dry bed of a seasonal Rajasthani river called the
Ghaggar.
As he rode on, he was struck by a sudden thought. The Ghaggar when it
flowed, was a small, puny river and there was no reason for its bed to be up to
3km wide in places unless it occupied the former course of a much larger river -
the Saraswati. The discovery of a vast prehistoric civilisation that lived along the
banks of a major river, has added impetus to the growing modern belief that the
Saraswati has been found. Over 1000 archaeological sites have been found on
the course of this river and they date from 3000 BC. One of these sites is the
prehistoric town of Kalibangan in northern Rajasthan.
The town has proved a treasure trove of information about the Bronze Age
people who actually lived on the banks of the Saraswati. Archaeologists have
discovered that there were priests, farmers, merchants and very advanced artists
and craftsmen living there. Highly sophisticated seals on which there is evidence
of writing have also been found, indicating that these people were literate, but
unfortunately the seals have never been deciphered. They may well hold the clue
to the mystery of what happened to the Saraswati and whether it has really been
found again.
The Miracle River is [was] broadcast at 3.30pm on Saturday 29 June, 2002
on BBC Radio 4
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_2073000/2073159.stm
The Recent Research into the Sarasvati River
The URL which details the efforts to trace River Sarasvati is at:
http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/prakalp/sarasvati01.htm
Hyderabad July 28, 2002. India's remote sensing satellites have traced the
buried course of Saraswati, the mythical Himalayan river, kindling hopes of
finding drinking water under the hot sands of the Thar desert in Rajasthan.
Mentioned in the Rig Veda, the Hindu scripture, and other ancient literature,
the river is believed to have once flowed, parallel to the Indus, through what is
now desert before falling into the Arabian Sea.
According to published literature, the river disappeared between 5000 BC
and 3000 BC due to tectonic events in the Himalayas, that cut off the water
supply, and climatic changes that converted what was once a lush green
Rajasthan into an arid zone. Past attempts to accurately trace the lost river and
reconstruct its drainage system did not succeed.
"Recent advancements in space-based sensors and in data processing
technologies made it possible", says J. R. Sharma of the Jodhpur-based Remote
Sensing Service Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He
and his colleagues, A. K. Gupta and G. Sreenivasan have mapped the "palaeo
channels" relics of the river and its tributaries using data from three different
sensors on board Indian satellites.
Mr. Sharma said over telephone that 13 borewells drilled along the
predicted river course have yielded water at a depth of 35 to 40 metres. The size
of the palaeo channels, as estimated from satellite data, was huge, about 15 to
40 metres thick, implying that there was plenty of water out there. "The
Government of Rajasthan is planning to increase the number of borewells to 50
in two months and has earmarked Rs. 40 million for the project," he said, adding,
"chemical analysis indicates these palaeo channels could form a source for good
quality ground water."
The ISRO scientists do not subscribe to the theory that Saraswati is flowing
as a subterranean river. "Radioactive tracer studies show that the maximum flow
of water is 15 cms per year, too slow to indicate that connection with the
Himalayan source is still there," Mr. Sharma said.
PTI
http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002072901060800.htm
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
in New Delhi
UNION Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs Jagmohan has an
unenviable task in hand - that of putting in place a cultural policy for "national
reconstruction", which is explained as a cultural renaissance that will enable
Indians to be aware of their heritage. One step in this regard is the revival of
interest in the Sarasvati river, references to which are found in the Rig Veda.
Efforts are on to identify the river's course and to ascribe to it a civilisational
virtue under the camouflage of promoting domestic and religious tourism. These
are based on the assumption that the seasonal Ghaggar river in Haryana is the
ancient Sarasvati. The cultural revival as envisaged by Jagmohan will be made
possible by excavating the course of the river in parts of Haryana and then
developing certain areas there as religious and tourist sites.
At a seminar organised at Yamunanagar, Haryana, on June 12 by the
Sarasvati River Research Centre (Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan), Jagmohan
announced that the Central government, along with the State governments
concerned, including the Haryana government, would undertake the excavation
of the entire course of the extinct river. A four-member committee will be in
charge of this. The committee comprises Baldev Sahai, former Deputy Director,
Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad; V.M.K. Puri, a glaciologist who was
formerly with the Geological Survey of India, Lucknow; S. Kalyanaraman, a
former senior executive of the Asian Development Bank, who is also trained in
archaeology; and Madhav Chitle, former Secretary, Ground Water Management,
and coordinator for Global Water Partnership. The first phase will involve the
digging up of the stretch from Adi Badri in Yamunanagar district to Bhagwanpura
in Kurukshetra district to Sirsa (all in Haryana). In the second phase, the
excavation and related work will be taken up from Bhagwanpura to Kalibangan in
Rajasthan. The Central government is yet to sanction the funds, as the estimates
are still in the process of being prepared by the State governments concerned.
Darshan Jain, president of the Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, feels it
would be convenient if the first phase is launched before the annual fair in Adi
Badri in November to mark the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak, the
founder of Sikhism. As for the river whose origins are sought to be found at Adi
Badri, Darshan Jain conceded that all that remained was a trickle from one of the
rock formations. However, if fresh water could be filled in the several tanks that
date back to the Mahabharata period, which are muddy now, people could take
their holy dips in them, he averred.
The present effort is definitely novel. Jagmohan told Frontline that it was not
important whether the Sarasvati was found or not. But in the course of the
research on the "mighty river" which has been referred to 50 times in the Rig
Veda, a certain consciousness will find its way into the minds of the people, he
hopes. The river, the Minister explained, was mentioned along with other rivers,
and if these rivers had existed, it was not correct to assume that the Sarasvati
had not existed. He said that there was cultural, geological, hydrological and
geographical evidence to show that the river was not a mythological desert river.
"There is a school of thought - I would not say there is irrefutable evidence - that
believes that a sophisticated civilisation flourished on the banks of the Sarasvati,"
said Jagmohan.
It is here that the real purpose of the programme comes into the open. The
project is evidently a conscious effort to address the "plaguing problem" of the
origin of the Aryans, an ideological riddle that was first raised by the Baba Saheb
Apte Smarak Samiti (named after the founder of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad) and
the Bharatiya Itihasa Sankalan Samiti (which is devoted to the rewriting of
history) in the early 1980s. A survey of the lost Sarasvati was planned in 1983 by
the former institution.
Attempts to make the Indus civilisation and the Rig Veda chronologically
compatible have been afoot for quite some time now. One major proponent of the
Sarasvati's civilisational link is B.B. Lal, former Director-General of the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). In his latest book The Sarasvati Flows on:
The Continuity of Indian Culture (Aryan Books International, New Delhi, 2002),
Lal argues that the Rig Vedic Sarasvati and the present-day Sarasvati-Ghaggar
combine, which flows through Haryana and Punjab and dries up near Sirsa, are
the same. His other theory refutes the Aryan invasion theory. R.S. Bisht, Director
for Excavation at the ASI, also subscribes to a similar theory though he is against
the digging of the entire course of the river.
Bisht, who accompanied Jagmohan to Yamunanagar, asked how it was that
so many sites were found located on the banks of the Sarasvati - such as
Gaveriwala, Rakhigarhi and Dholavira - if it had not been a perennial river. Bisht
contends that the territory of the Rig Vedic Aryans was coterminous with that of
the Harappans. Between 2000 B.C. and 1800 B.C., a dry spell heralded the
decline of the Indus Valley civilisation, he says. Bisht argues that the Sarasvati
died a clinical death and rejuvenating it is impossible; but in the same breath he
underscores the Vedic importance of the river. The Nadi Sukta or the river hymn,
although a late composition compared to the Rig Veda, enumerated a large
number of rivers that ran from the east to the west. Bisht said that it was thought
that the Yamuna and the Sutlej flowed into the Sarasvati, an idea that was dear
to S.P. Gupta, the historian who proposed the idea that the Indus Valley
civilisation be renamed the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation. The Sarasvati is
mentioned in the Rig Veda several times.
Over the years, man-made interventions obstructed the course of the
surface water channels. To redeem the lost glory of the river, its easternmost
source, in Haryana, was taken as the most sacred one. All the depressions along
the course of the river would be symbolically cleaned, Bisht said.
On the other side is Suraj Bhan, renowned archaeologist and historian. He
argues that the Rig Vedic references to the Sarasvati do not always pertain to a
particular river. In the early parts, it perhaps means the Harakhvati of Afghanistan
and the Sindhu (Indus), he says. There is no evidence even to suggest that
either the Sutlej or the Yamuna contributed to the Sarasvati, he contends. R.C.
Thakran, Reader in the Department of History, University of Delhi, who is a
trained archaeologist and hails from rural Haryana, does not buy the argument
that the Sarasvati was a mighty perennial river. Like the Yamuna, most perennial
rivers have two important features on their surfaces and sub-surfaces - sand
deposition and water reservoirs, the latter on account of the constant flow of
water on their floodplains. Despite continuous exploitation of water in the sub-soil
of the Yamuna, water reservoirs remain. And this could happen only if the river
was a "mighty" one, he said. But in the case of the Sarasvati, sand deposits and
water reservoirs were missing, he pointed out. The impact of a river with a bed
ranging from 10 to 30 kilometres should be felt along its course and depositions
would be naturally available. But nowhere in the State were sand deposits visible
either on the sub-soil or the surface soil, he said. The depth of the sand deposits
would indicate the impact of the river, said Thakran. Even if they did find sand
deposits, it by no means would establish that the river was a perennial one. Sub-
soil reservoirs were missing in most parts of Haryana. The water was not fresh.
Only in some districts, such as Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala, water was of
good quality and was freely available (but not to the extent in the Yamuna belt).
He said that most tubewells were shallow, and that the majority of borewells were
located in areas where canal water had reached. On the theory of the dry period,
Thakran said that the region received erratic rainfall from ancient times. Even so,
people never made habitations along the banks of rivers, especially mighty
rivers, for the simple reason that they posed a hazard, he argued.
Thakran said rivers per se were not essential for human settlements; what
was essential was the supply of water in one form or the other. Ethnographic
archaeology or the study of modern lifestyles in the State could explain how
people coped with the semi-arid conditions. The prevalence of village ponds
widely indicates a certain degree of rainwater harvesting. Wells were also
constructed alongside the ponds. The muddy water in the wells would be desilted
and stored for later use. Thakran recalls that in his childhood days clearing of
ponds was a community activity, which gradually diminished as alternative
sources of water, such as canals, appeared.
According to him, villages located themselves near ponds, not rivers.
Thakran said that in the mid-1980s an ASI-French archaeological mission found
that there was no river action in this belt in the Harappan times and even
afterwards. Water action observed at local levels revealed surface water run-off
or rainwater run-off. On the question of settlements, Thakran said that only a
nominal number of them were observed though there was a mild increase in their
numbers between the early and mature Harappan phases. After agriculture,
pastoralism is the other known source of subsistence for people in the State.
Cattle outnumber other domestic animals as they are hardy and require less
water and food than others. The practice, which started in the proto-historical
times, continues even today. Pastoralists would not have known how to control
such a mighty river as the mythological Sarasvati, said Thakran.
As for remote-sensing and satellite imagery of paleo-channels or past
channels of water, Thakran said the images appeared as impressions of flowing
water. They begin in the north, move towards Rajasthan and get lost beyond
that. There is hardly any evidence to show that these images are that of the
Sarasvati. However, he said, remote-sensing did not reveal the antiquity of the
images and was not capable of dating or soil morphology. In such a situation, it
was difficult to say which period an image belonged to. He said another limitation
of remote-sensing was that it was effective only on dry soil. Moisture in the sub-
soil tends to absorb the signals and therefore a message cannot be sent to the
satellite.
Thakran is certain that the Ghaggar river made no contribution to the
evolution and development of the early and mature Harappan settlements. Nor
was the number of settlements found to be substantial. On the contrary, a greater
number of early and mature Harappan sites were found in the upland dry areas
which had saline water, away from the rivers. A far greater concentration of
Harappan settlements was found in the Ghaggar basin and in the basins of other
rivers, but these were not in the formative phase but in the terminal phase of the
civilisation.
Hence the river neither was helpful in promoting human activities nor could
become a centre of human settlements by the end of the mature Harappan
phase. But, according to Jagmohan, there is a preponderance of evidence to
show that the Sarasvati was an important river. There were 1,500 settlements
along the course of the Sarasvati, though in the late Harappan period, he said.
He added that the Central Water Commission, with assistance from its
counterparts in the State, had been told to dig two wells in the Adi Badri area; if
there was water in them "it would come out", he said.
The Rig Veda makes references to several rivers, including the Indus. To
magnify the importance of one particular river in this context and promote tourism
around it only betrays the enthusiasm of the BJP-led government in the case of
anything Vedic. But many feel that both the Centre and the Haryana government
should concentrate more on getting water for the parched State from Punjab
instead of promoting an extinct Sarasvati.
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1916/fl191600.htm
http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/riddle1.htm
NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 26, 2003: It has been reported that to uncover
ancient Hindu cultural sites, the Indian government, in collaboration with the
Department of Tourism, has started excavating along the legendary Saraswati
River from Haryana to Gujarat. The task is an arduous one in a land where the
local people are often not aware of the value of their heritage and artifacts from
cultural sites are often smuggled out of the country. Tourism Minister Jagmohan
says, "We are shortly coming up with an amendment to the existing legislation on
protection of antiques and arts which will make illegal trafficking a cognisable
offense and give police the powers of seizure." As they forge ahead with the
excavation, it is expected that treasures, such as abandoned towns and
habitations from the Harappan civilization dating well before 3000 bce, will be
revealed. The Tourism Department has grand plans to house the artefacts
uncovered in museums to attract tourists. Communities along the dried up river
have been encouraged to keep the environment around the heritage sites clean.
After Jagmohan addressed an interactive meeting organized by UNESCO about
the heritage sites, Indian-born Australian Amareswar Galla commented, "As long
as you have poverty, you will have problem with dealing illicit trafficking in cultural
property, be it India or elsewhere." Source:
http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEH20030725112452&Page=H
&Title=Top+Stories&rLink=0
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There already exists a good deal of literary and archaeological evidence relating
to the existence of temples at the disputed site.
The Allahabad Bench of the Uttar Pradesh High Court has directed the
Archaeological Survey of India to excavate in the disputed site at Ayodhya to
determine whether the Babri Masjid was built after demolishing a temple that was
already. This is a welcome development, for we will soon have a scientific
investigation of the claims and counterclaims in full public view and under official
direction. It is important to note however that there have been previous
investigations, both literary and archaeological, that pretty much establish the
pre-existence and destruction of temples at the site where the Babri Masjid was
built by Mir Baki on Babar's orders. This was drowned in all the noise generated
in the emotionally charged climate following the destruction of the disputed
structure on December 6, 1992. I will present some of this material from sources
that are well known to experts, but not the public.
Literary Evidence
There are basically two kinds of literary sources--written records and inscriptions.
Both these are available at Ram Janmabhumi at Ayodhya. One major inscription
is that of Mir Baki himself, apparently placed on the Masjid wall when it was built
in the 16th century. Another was discovered following the demolition on
December 6, 1992. I'll look at it later. There are numerous literary records by
Hindu, Muslim and British authors. When we survey even a small part of this vast
literature, we find that until recently, until some politicians created the so-called
'controversy', no author--Hindu, Muslim, European or British official--questioned
that a temple existed on the spot, which had been destroyed to erect the
mosque. We may begin with a couple of references from European writers from
published sources that are widely available.
One could cite many more in similar vein, but these examples should suffice for
recent European records. When we reach back in time, what we find particularly
interesting are the accounts attributed to Guru Nanak. He was a contemporary of
Babar, and an eyewitness to his vandalism. Nanak condemned him in the
strongest terms. The historian Harsh Narain in his book The Ayodhya Temple
Mosque Dispute: Focus on Muslim Sources, writes: "Guru Nanak, according to
Bhai Man Singh's Pothi Janam Sakhi, said to have been composed in 1787 Anno
Vikrami/1730 A.D., visited Ayodhya and said to his Muslim disciple Mardana:
'Mardania! eh Ajudhia nagari Sri Ramachandraji ki hai. So, chal, iska darsan
kari'e. Translation: 'Mardana! this Ayodhya city belongs to Sri Ramachandra Ji.
So let us have its darsana.'"
This indicates that Nanak visited Ayodhya shortly before the destruction of the
Rama temple by Babar. Another work by Baba Sukhbasi Ram gives a similar
account, again suggesting that Nanak visited Ayodyha before the temple was
destroyed by his contemporary, the Mughal invader Babar. Muslim sources also
give a similar account. In 1855, Amir Ali Amethawi led a Jihad for the recapture
of Hanuman Garhi, situated a few hundred yards from the Babri Masjid, which at
that time was in the possession of Hindus. This Jihad took place during the reign
of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Oudh. It ended in failure. A Muslim writer, one Mirza
Jan, was a participant in that Jihad. His book Hadiqah-i-Shuhada was published
in 1856, i.e. the year following the failed Jihad. Miza Jan tells us:
"'wherever they found magnificent temples of the Hindus ever since the
establishment of Sayyid Salar Mas'ud Ghazi's rule, the Muslim rulers in India built
mosques, monasteries, and inns, appointed mu'azzins, teachers and store-
stewards, spread Islam vigorously, and vanquished the Kafirs. Likewise they
cleared up Faizabad and Avadh, too from the filth of reprobation (infidelity),
because it was a great centre of worship and capital of Rama's father. Where
there stood a great temple (of Ramajanmasthan), there they built a big mosque,
... Hence what a lofty mosque was built there by king Babar in 923 A.H. (1528
A.D.), under the patronage of Musa Ashiqqan!" Even more impressive is a
Persian text known as Sahifah-i-Chihal Nasa'ih Bahadurshahi written in 1707 by
a granddaughter of the Moghul emperor Aurangazeb, and noted by Mirza Jan in
his Urdu work Hadiqah-i Shuhada just cited. Mirza Jan quotes several lines from
her work which tell us:
"...keeping the triumph of Islam in view, devout Muslim rulers should keep all
idolaters in subjection to Islam, brook no laxity in realization of Jizyah, grant no
exceptions to Hindu Rajahs from dancing attendance on 'Id days and waiting on
foot outside mosques till end of prayer ... and 'keep in constant use for Friday
and congregational prayer the mosques built up after demolishing the temples of
the idolatrous Hindus situated at Mathura, Banaras and Avadhà."
Other Muslim authors than Mirza Jan also cite the work, which appears to have
been widely available in the 18th and 19th centuries. Then there is the evidence
of the three inscriptions at the site of the mosque itself, at least two of which
mention its construction by Mir Baqi (or Mir Khan) on the orders of Babar.
Babar's Memoir mentions Mir Baqi as his governor of Ayodhya. Some parts of
the inscription were damaged during a riot in 1934, but later pieced together with
minor loss. In any event, it was well known long before that, recorded for
instance in Mrs. Beveridge's translation of Babur-Nama published in 1926.
"The inscription is composed in high-flown Sanskrit verse, except for a very small
portion in prose, and is engraved in chaste and classical Nagari script of the
eleventh-twelfth century AD. It was evidently put up on the wall of the temple, the
construction of which is recorded in the text inscribed on it... Line 15 of this
inscription, for example, clearly tells us that a beautiful temple of Vishnu-Hari,
built with heaps of stones ... , and beautified with a golden spire ... unparalleled
by any other temple built by earlier kings ... This wonderful temple ... was built in
the temple-city of Ayodhya situated in Saketamandala. ... Line 19 describes god
Vishnu as destroying king Bali ... and the ten headed personage (Dashanana,
i.e., Ravana)." The inscription confirms what archaeologists Lal and Gupta had
earlier found about the existence of a temple complex. I have given a copy of the
Hari-Vishnu inscription. New archaeological finds ordered by the court are likely
to yield more such riches but unlikely to change the historical picture.
MORE NEWS
New Delhi, June 16, 2003. A few days ago a news item allegedly supplied by the
Archaeological Survey of India was planted in the newspapers that no evidence
of a pre-existing structure under the disputed Rama Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid
was found. The said news item was definitely deceptive, groundless,
misrepresented and calculated to dupe the country. The misrepresented item
was based on an unfinished progress report of the ASI. Three-fourths of the
report have been concealed. The item was cooked up on the basis of the
excavation report of a spot that was about 50 feet away from the western wall of
the Rama Janma Bhumi structure. As such the inferences of the news item
based on the report of this pit is reckless. In spite of this, even these pits gave
away two-thousand year old molded bricks and ornate stone pieces of different
shapes and sizes. The news item dishonored these facts.
The excavations so far give ample traces that there was a mammoth pre-existing
structure beneath the three-domed Babri structure. Ancient perimeters from East
to West and North to South have been found beneath the Babri fabrication. The
bricks used in these perimeters predate the time of Babur. Beautiful stone pieces
bearing carved Hindu ornamentations like lotus, Kaustubh jewel, alligator facade,
etc., have been used in these walls. These decorated architectural pieces have
been anchored with precision at varied places in the walls. A tiny portion of a
stone slab is sticking out at a place below 20 feet in one of the pits. The rest of
the slab lies covered in the wall. The projecting portion bears a five-letter Dev
Nagari inscription that turns out to be a Hindu name. The items found below 20
feet should be at least 1,500 years old. According to archaeologists about a foot
of loam layer gathers on topsoil every hundred years. Primary clay was not found
even up to a depth of 30 feet. It provides the clue to the existence of some
structure or the other at that place during the last 2,500 years.
More than 30 pillar bases have been found at equal spans. The pillar-bases are
in two rows and the rows are parallel. The pillar-base rows are in North-South
direction. A wall is superimposed upon another wall. At least three layers of the
floor are visible. An octagonal holy fireplace (Yagna Kund) has been found.
These facts prove the enormity of the pre-existing structure. Surkhii has been
used as a construction material in our country since over 2000 years and in the
constructions at the Janma Bhumi Surkhii has been extensively used. Molded
bricks of round and other shapes and sizes were neither in vogue during the
middle ages nor are in use today. It was in vogue only 2,000 years ago. Many
ornate pieces of touchstone (Kasauti stone) pillars have been found in the
excavation. Terracotta idols of divine fugurines, serpent, elephant, horse-rider,
saints, etc., have been found. Even to this day terracotta idols are used in
worship during Diwali celebrations and then put by temple sanctums for invoking
divine blessings. The Gupta and the Kushan period bricks have been found.
Brick walls of the Gahadwal period (12th Century CE) have been found in
excavations.
Nothing has been found to prove the existence of residential habitation there.
The excavation gives out the picture of a vast compound housing a sole
distinguished and greatly celebrated structure used for divine purposes and not
that of a colony or Mohalla consisting of small houses. That was an uncommon
and highly celebrated place and not a place of habitation for the common people.
Hindu pilgrims have always been visiting that place for thousands of years. Even
today there are temples around that place and the items found in the excavations
point to the existence of a holy structure of North Indian architectural style at that
place.
So the excavation was to find the answer to the question as to whether Babur
superimposed the domed structure on a preexisting structure after demolishing it
or built it on virgin ground. The answer to this question has been found from the
excavations.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=14579
7
The Northern Block Polished Ware (NBPW) using people were the first to occupy
the disputed site at Ayodhya. During the first millennium B.C. although no
stuructural activities were encountered in the limited area probed, the material
culture is represented by terracotta figurines of female deities showing archaic
features, beads of terracotta and glass, wheels and fragments of votive tanks etc.
The ceramic industry has the collection of NBPW the main diagnostic trait of the
period besides the grey, black slipped and red wares. A round signet with legend
in Asokan Brahmi is another important find of the level. On the basis of material
equipment and 14 C dates, this period may be assigned to circa 1003 B.C. to
300 B.C.
The Sunga horizen (second-first century B.C.) comes next in the order of the
cultural occupation at the site. The typical terracotta mother goddess human and
animal figurines, beads hairpin, engraver etc. represent the cultural matrix of this
level. The pottery collection includes black slipped, red and grey wares etc. The
stone and brick structure found from this level mark the beginning of the
structural activity at the site.
The Kushan period (first to third century A.D.) followed the Sunga occupation.
Terracotta human and animal figurines, fragments of votive tanks, beads
antimony rod, hair pin, bangle fragments and ceramic industry comprising red
ware represent the typical Kushan occupation at the site. Another important
feature of this period is the creation of large sized structures as witnessed by the
massive structure running into twenty-two courses.
The advent of Guptas (fourth to sixth century A.D.) did not bring any qualitative
change in building activity although the period is known for its Classical artistic
elements. However, this aspect is represented by the typical terracotta figurines
and a copper coin with the legend Sri Chandra (Gupta) and illustrative potsherds.
During the Post-Gupta-Rajput period (seventh to tenth century A.D.), too the site
has witnessed structural activity mainly constructed of burnt bricks. However,
among the exposed structures, there stands a circular brick shrine which speaks
of its functional utility for the first time. To recapitulate quickly, exteriorly on plan.
It is circular whereas internally squarish with an entrance from the east. Though
the structure is damaged the northern wall still retains a provision for pranala, i.e.
waterchute which is a distinct feature of contemporary temples already known
from the Ganga-Yamuma plain.
Subsequently, during the early medieval period (eleventh to twelfth century A.D.)
a huge structure, nearly 50 m. in north-south orientation was constructed which
seems to have been short lived as only four of the fifty pillar bases exposed
during the excavation belong to this level with a brick crush floor. On the remains
of the above structure was constructed, a massive structure with at least three
structural phases and three successive Peers attached with it. The architectural
members of the earlier short lived massive structure with stencil cut foliage
pattern and other decorative motifs were reused in the construction of the
monumental structure having a huge pillared hall (or two halls) which is different
from residential structures, providing sufficient evidence of a construction of
public usage which remained under existence for a long time during the period
VII (Medieval-Sultanate level to twelfth to sixteenth century A.D.) It was over the
top of this construction during the early sixteenth century, the disputed structure
was constructed directly resting over it. There is sufficient proof of existence of a
massive and monumental structure having a minimum dimension of 50x30 m. in
north-south and east-west directions respectively for below the disputed
structure. In course of present excavations nearly 50 pillar bases with brickbat
foundation, below calcrete blocks topped by sandstone blocks were found. The
pillar bases exposed during the present excavation in northern and southern
areas also give an idea of the length of the massive wall of the earlier
construction with which they are associated and which might have been originally
around 60 m (of which the 50 m length is available at present). The center of the
central chamber of the disputed structure falls just over the central point of the
length of the massive wall of the preceding period which could not be excavated
due to presence of Ram Lala at the spot in the make-shift structure. This area is
roughly 15x15 m on the raised platform. Towards east of this central point a
circular depression with projection on the west cut into the large sized brick
pavement, signify the place where some important object was placed. Terracotta
lamps from the various trenches and found in a group in the levels of Periods VII
in trench G2 are associated with the structural phase.
In the last phase of the period VII glazed ware sherds make their appearance
and continue in the succeeding levels of the next periods where they are
accompanied by glazed this which were probably used in the original
construction of the disputed structure. Similarly is the case of celadon and
porcelain sherds recovered in a very less quantity they come from the secondary
context. Animal bones have been recovered from various levels of different
periods, but skeletal remains noticed at the trenches in northern and southern
areas belong to the Period IX as the grave pits have been found out into the
deposition coeval with the late disputed structures and are sealed by the top
deposit.
It is worthwhile to observe that the various structures exposed right from the
Sunga to Gupta period do not speak either about their nature or functional utility
as no evidence has come to approbate them. Another noteworthy feature is that
it was only during and after Period IV Gupta level) onwards upto Period IX (late
and post Mughal level) that the regular habitational deposits disappear in the
concerned levels and the structural phases are associated with either structural
debris or filling material taken out from the adjoining area to level the ground for
construction purpose. As a result of which much of the earlier material in the form
of pottery, terracottas and other objects of preceding periods, particularly of
Period I (NBPW level) and Period III (Kushan level) are found in the deposits of
later periods mixed along with their contemporary material. The area below the
disputed site thus, remained a place for public use for a long time till the Period
VIII (Mughal level) when the disputed structure was built which was confined to a
limited area and population settled around it as evidenced by the increase in
contemporary archaeological material including pottery. The same is further
attested by the conspicuous absence of habitational structures such as house-
complexes, soakage pits, soakage jars, ring wells, drains, wells, hearths, kilns or
furnaces etc. from Period IV (Gupta level) onwards and in particular from Period
VI (Early Medieval Rajput level) and Period VII (Medieval-Sultanate level).
The site has also proved to be significant for taking back its antiquarian remains
for the first time to the middle of the thirteenth century B.C. (1250±130 B.C.) on
the analogy of the C14 dates. The lowest deposit above the natural soil
represents the NBPW period and therefore the earliest remains may belong to
the thirteenth century B.C. which is confirmed by two more consistant C14 dates
from the NBPW (Period I), viz. 910±100 B.C. and 880±100 B.C.) These dates
are from trench G7. Four more dates from the upper deposit though showing
presence of NBPW and associated pottery are determined by Radio-Carbon
dating as 780±80 B.C., 710±90 B.C., 530±70 B.C. and 320±80 B.C. In the
light of the above dates in association with the Northern Black Polished Ware
(NBPW) which is generally accepted to be between circa 600 B.C. to 300 B.C. it
can be pushed back to circa 1000 B.C. and even if a solitary date, three
centuries earlier is not associated with NBPW, the human activity at the site
dates back to circa thirteenth century B.C. on the basis of the scientific dating
method providing the only archaeological evidence of such an early date of the
occupation of the site.
The Hon'ble High Court in order to get sufficient archaeological evidence on the
issue involved whether there was any temple/structure which was demolished
and mosque was constructed on the disputed site as stated on page 1 and
further on p. 5 of their order dated 5 march 2003 and given directions to the
Archaeological Survey of India to excavate at the disputed site where GPR
Survey has suggested evidence of anomalies which could be structure, pillars,
foundation walls,
slab flooring etc. which could be confirmed by excavation. Now viewing in totality
and taking into account the archaeological evidence of a massive structure jut
below the disputed structure and evidence of continuity in structural phases from
the tenth century onwards up to the construction of the disputed structure along
with the yield of stone and decorated bricks as well as mutilated sculpture of
divine coupe and carved architectural members including foliage patterns,
amalaka, kapolapali doorjamb with semi-circular pilaster, broken octagonal shaft
of black schist pillar, lotus motif, circular shrine having pranala (waterchute) in the
north, fifty pillar bases association of the huge structure, are indicative of remains
which are distinctive features found associated with the temples of north India.
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