More Archeological Finds From 2008 and After

QUSEIR-AL-QADIM, EGYPT, February 20, 2008: A broken storage jar with inscriptions in an ancient form of Tamil script, dated to the first century BCE., has been excavated in Egypt.

Dr. Roberta Tomber, a pottery specialist at the British Museum, London, identified the fragmentary vessel as a storage jar made in India. Iravatham Mahadevan, a specialist in Tamil epigraphy, has confirmed that the inscription on the jar is in Tamil written in the Tamil Brahmi script of about the first century.

Earlier excavations at this site about 30 years ago yielded two pottery inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi from the same era. Additionally, a pottery inscription was found in 1995 at Berenike, a Roman settlement of the Red Sea coast of Egypt. These discoveries proved material evidence to corroborate the literary accounts by classical Western authors and the Tamil Sangam poets about the flourishing trade between the India and Rome, via the Red Sea ports, in the early centuries CE.

http://www.ifpindia.org/ecrire/upload/press_ifp_website/tamil_brahmi_21nov07.jpg

2. Ancient City Discovered in India

BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, February 20, 2008: Indian archaeologists say they have found remains which point to the existence of a city which flourished 2,500 years ago in eastern India. Discovered at Sisupalgarh, near Bhubaneswar, capital of Orissa, the items found during point to a highly developed urban settlement. The population of the city could have been in the region of 20,000 to 25,000, the archaeologists claim.

The excavations include 18 stone pillars, pottery, terracotta ornaments and bangles, finger rings, ear spools and pendants made of clay.

R.K. Mohanty of the department of archaeology, Deccan College, Pune, who is one of the two researchers involved in the excavations, said "The significance of this ancient city becomes clear when one bears in mind the fact that the population of classical Athens was barely 10,000." Mr. Mohanty, along with Monica Smith of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, has been carrying out limited excavations at the site every year since 2005.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7250316.stm

3. Ancient Camel Bones Found in Arizona

Sat. March 15, 2008

        Workers digging at the future site of a Wal-Mart store in suburban Mesa have unearthed the bones of a prehistoric camel that's estimated to be about 10,000 years old.
        Arizona State University geology museum curator Brad Archer hurried out to the site Friday when he got the news that the owner of a nursery was carefully excavating bones found at the bottom of a hole being dug for a new ornamental citrus tree.
        "There's no question that this is a camel; these creatures walked the land here until about 8,000 years ago, when the same event that wiped out a great deal of mammal life took place," Archer told The Arizona Republic.

        I thought most of he extinctions look place well before 8k

http://www.google.com/search?gbv=2&hl=en&safe=off&q=Ancient+Camel+Bones+Found+in+Arizona&btnG=Search

Mar 16, 2008 11:26 pm (PDT)

Anil K. Pokharia
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53, University Road,
Lucknow 226 007, India

Investigation of botanical remains from an ancient site, Tokwa at the confluence of Belan and Adwa rivers, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh (UP), has brought to light the agriculture- based subsistence economy during the Neolithic culture (3rd-2nd millennium BC). They subsisted on cereals, viz. Oryza sativa, Triticum aestivum and Hordeum vulgare, supplemented by leguminous seeds of Lens culinaris, Pisum arvense and Vigna radiata.
Evidence of oil-yielding crops has been documented by recovery of seeds of Linum usitatissimum and Brassica juncea. Fortuitously, an important find among the botanical remains is the seeds of South American custard apple, regarded to have been introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The remains of custard apple as fruit coat and seeds have also been recorded from other sites in the Indian archaeological context, during the Kushana Period (AD 100-300) in Punjab and Early Iron Age (1300-700 BC) in UP. The factual remains of custard apple, along with other stray finds discussed in the text, favour a group of specialists, supporting with diverse arguments, the reasoning of Asian€ ¦’¶American contacts, before the discovery of America by Columbus in 1498. Further, a few weeds have turned up as an admixture in the crop remains."

Full article at: http://www.ias. ac.in/currsci/ jan252008/ 248.pdf

5. Ancient weapons dug up in India

By Amitabha Bhattasali
BBC News, Calcutta

    Archaeologists in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal have discovered small weapons made of stone which are around 15,000-20,000 years old. The artefacts - dating to the Stone Age - were found during excavations in Murshidabad district, near Bangladesh. Archaeologists say the find is potentially significant as it suggests man's presence in the area dates back much earlier than previously believed.
    Finds such as this on the floodplains of the River Ganges are very rare. However, there is ample evidence of stone age activity in India's upland
regions.

'Raw materials'

    The weapons - which include small axes - were discovered at Ekani-Chandpara village near Sagardighi, which is an ancient site. Archaeologists say the weapons were found from a soil layer belonging to the mid-Pleistocene period - much below the Holocene layer where present human habitation takes place.
    "We have not only discovered the weapons at this site, but raw materials and the scraps were also found," Dr Gautam Sengupta, director of the State Archaeology Department, told the BBC. "This proves that the weapons were made at this place itself."
    Another reason why the find is so significant, archaeologists say, is because Stone Age weapons are not normally found at such an old soil layer
in the Gangetic alluvial plains. However it is well known that raw materials for making weapons are easily found in the plateau region and most Stone Age discoveries are from this area.

Chance

    So far, no human fossils or remains other than some charcoal have been found at the site. Scientists have yet to confirm how old the charcoal is.
"The history of civilisation in this region has suddenly gone back by around 20,000 years," one archaeologist said. After the discovery, two eminent geo-archaeologists - Prof SN Rajguru and Dr Bhaskar Deotare - visited the excavation site and confirmed that the weapons date back to the smaller Stone Age. The discovery was made by chance, Dr Sengupta said.
    "We were digging the site for some archaeological evidence of the Sultanate period. We were expecting some ancient artefacts related to Sultan Hussein Shah," he said - referring to a former ruler from the area.
    "We did find those, but our archaeologists kept on digging to unearth some more historical evidence of that period and now we have found these Stone Age weapons," Dr Sengupta said. After winding up the excavation at Ekani Chandpara in a couple of weeks, archaeologists are planning to launch a search for ancient human habitation in a wider area.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7315386.stm

Is Guwahati the site where the ancient kingdom of Kamrupa existed? This and many more questions, which are still mired in controversy, could be answered more vividly when the archeologists excavate the entire Bhaitbari-Tikrikilla area in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district.

Hold your eyes as we take you to this remote archeological site that once shot into fame following excavation finding in 1992, but later on slipped into the back burner.

Wadagokgre is the site of an ancient civilization; believe to be cast out of the mighty majesty Bramaputra River in the fourth century AD or even earlier. The site is located in a small remote hamlet in West Garo Hills of Meghalaya. The excavation so far have clearly demonstrated that this site was a sprawling township with Buddhism, Hinduism and amalgamation of the two being widely practiced in this area.

In 1992, AK Sharma of ASI, Nagpur excavated the site and unearthed the three temple sites – with numerous Shiva lingas – and a Buddhist Stupa.

But the prominent and the most impressive discovery of the site is this Octagonal Temple with eight miniature octagons, each having a Shiva Lings. The structure is of a more magnificient architecture, having eight square subsidiary shrines radiating from the eight arms of the main octagon. This is perhaps one of the unique discoveries during the excavation. The total plan of the temple is 13 m in width and .90 m in height.

"Further excavations are likely to reveal further remains of an earlier habitation, besides unravelling the historical antiquity of the plains-belt of the State of which very little is known from recorded history," Williamson Sangma Museum curator Dr. Julius Marak said.

The Township viewed to be well fortified, has a large number of tanks inside and on the other prestigious heights is located a number of burn bricks temple. This is another thrilling unexpected discovery, the site of a structure associated with Buddhism, which is commonly known as stupa. The stupa belongs to a category of stupa, which is structurally termed as mud stupa. However, nothing is definitely known at present about the history of the site including the era it flourished.

Scholars believe that nearly 20 temple sites which have been there might have been palatial complexes and habitational areas for the population of the town. "Government will tie up with ASI North East circle to carry out further excavations of the entire Bhaitbari site, which is about 20 sq km" Dr. Marak said.

The archaeological findings which have yet to be adequately unraveled and carbon-dated are reported to be of considerable antiquity. The finds are of artifacts, which reveal the existence of planned places of worship with exquisitely designed masonry oil lamps.

In Williamson Sangma museum, Shillong deities of Ganesh, Parvati, Kubera and Yaksha have been preserved. The terracotta tiles and their stylistic taste and the existence of the stupa in Bhaitbari has forced the scholars somehow to conclude that this ancient fortified city may be contemporaneous to the reign of Harsha Vardhana, i.e., to the first half of the 7th Centry A.D.

The sites still stand as a challenge for those historians and scholars who have the will and courage to dig out its historic truth for the knowledge of the present and the benefit of the future. The site has not been properly promoted hence very few devotees, tourist and scholars visit this area. It demands an immediate attention, recognition, publicity and research.

It is only after the excavation of the 'inhabited' or 'residential' area can anything concrete be said about the history of the place.

AUTHOR: Saidul Khan

http://www.thecheers.org/article_2809_Proposed-excavations-may-rewrite-NE-history.html

7. 1400-yr-old Monastery Unearthed
22 Aug 2008, 0220 hrs IST, Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey,TNN

        KOLKATA: A 30-foot-high mound in a nondescript Bengal village, which has spawned many a legend and mystery, may yield one of the biggest archaeological finds in the country. The remains of a huge yet exquisite monastery are emerging from the sands of time.
        Archaeologists believe it is one of the missing monasteries mentioned in Hiuen Tsang's memoirs that was yet to be found. The monastery reportedly dates back to the seventh century - the time when the Chinese Buddhist monk made his 17-year walk across India.
        The site of the find is in Moghalmari village, five kilometres from Dantan in West Midnapore. The excavation is being carried out by the archaeology department of Calcutta University, partly funded by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
        Hiuen Tsang had visited Bengal during the reign of King Sasanka and wrote in detail about Tamralipta and a monastery he saw here. But later records do not mention the existence of monasteries in this region. It has remained a matter of great interest among archaeologists and a source of many a debate. However, archaeologists feel that the Moghalmari excavation will finally set the record straight.
        The 30-foot-high mound, which had hidden the monastery for centuries, was locally called Sakhisena and is the stuff of local legend. Local people attach a large number of myths to it, linking it to Sasanka and the pre-Pala times.
        A couple of years ago, a team from the department had spent quite a few months in Moghalmari as part of a project backed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The experts were tracking an ancient navigation route passing through Dantan but stumbled on something much bigger.
        "Our attention was quickly drawn to the mound by the local people, who showed us hundreds of artefacts and statuettes of stone, stucco and terracotta that they had collected for generations. These precious relics adorn homes, libraries, schools and other buildings in the village," said Asok Datta, a faculty member who led the team of archaeologists.
        This team then prepared a project report on the possible existence of a mastic site under the mound and sent it to ASI which immediately gave the permission for excavation.
        Seals, terracotta remains, bricks, pottery and the like tumbled out of the dirt. Experts say it is turning out to be one of the largest monasteries in eastern India and certainly one of its kind in the country, owing to the fact that all the ornamentation on the walls and domes are made of stucco. "This is interesting because in the other monasteries, even those at Gaya, stucco designs are only in the sanctum sanctorum. But here, the entire monastery has stucco decorations all over. This is not all. We have excavated the eastern flank of the monastery and were amazed to find that the length of one side is 61 metres - comparable with the largest in the country," Datta added.
        The excavated portions of the monastery show cells that served as residences for monks lined on the sides of the building that opened into a central courtyard. "What has excited us most is the discovery of a rare Buddha stone sculpture from stratified context, representing the Buddha in the well known Bhumisparshamudra. Two stone heads, presumably of the Buddha, have also been found but we are waiting for ratification. So have a large number of terracotta seals," Datta said.
        The university sent the artefacts to Bratindranath Mukherjee, an expert in ancient seals. He dated the seals "unmistakably" to the seventh century and also deciphered them. "They are of the post-Gupta era, which dates them to the late 6th to early 7th century. Some of them bear sentences like, 'propagation of dharma does not happen without a lot of self sacrifice," Mukherjee said. The ornamentation on the monastery resembles Buddhist designs that were popular in the North West, especially Gandhar, say experts.
        The Asiatic Society is documenting the excavation. "It is an amazing discovery. The first part of the publication is complete and will be released on Saturday during President Pratibha Patil's visit," said Ramkrishna Chatterjee, publications secretary of the society.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/WB_1400-yr-old_monastery_unearthed/articleshow/3391273.cms)

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb.cms?photoid=3391287&width=460&resizemode=4)
Reconstructed figure of the Buddha found under the mound (TOI Photo)

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb.cms?photoid=3391286&width=460&resizemode=4)
Pillar basements that once held up the massive monastery (TOI Photo)

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb.cms?photoid=3391285&width=460&resizemode=4)
Trenches excavated in the north-west corner of the mound (TOI Photo)

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb.cms?photoid=3391281&width=460&resizemode=4)
Lotus motif in stucco overlying the brick of the same design (TOI Photo)

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb.cms?photoid=3391279&width=460&resizemode=4)
Exquisite composite motifs in stucco (TOI Photo)