Fwd: Historic pit-dwellings discovered

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HinduThought, "Srinivasan Kalyanaraman"

<kalyan97 wrote:

 

*'4,000-year' old settlement unearthed in Narsingdi *

*Archaeologists claim major discovery 6 years into excavation*

Bishawjit Das, Daily Star (Vol. 5, No. 635), March 12, 2006

 

Archaeologists have discovered artefacts at a village in Narsingdi

that

resembles traits of the Chalcolithic culture, which is around 4,000

years

old, and believe the finds are the earliest signs of settlement in

the

region.

 

The Chalcolithic Age, also known as the Aeneolithic or Copper Age,

is a

phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early

metal

tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools.

 

The excavators led by Prof Sufi Mostafizur Rahman, chairman of the

Department of Archaeology at Jahangirnagar University, traced a

pit-dwelling, one of the primary means of living in which people

lived in

small ditches, at Wari-Bateswar under Belabo upazila, some 70km from

the

capital.

 

This is the first discovery of the Chalcolithic occurrence in the

country,

the earlier findings not dating back before the Mouryan Age in 400BC.

 

Artefacts of the pit-dwelling era in the Indian subcontinent have

been found

at places including Burzahom at Swat Valley in Pakistan, which is

around

5,000 years old, and Inamgaon in South India, which dated back to

around

1400BC-700BC.

 

The team of Rahman and his students found a water reservoir, a

hearth, a

storage pit and some household accessories inside the pit-dwelling.

They

also unearthed an earlier dug-out road, leading to what seems to be a

fortified town.

 

A pioneer in the field, Rahman had started excavating the area in

2000 and

unearthed relics and artefacts, challenging the established notion

that the

region did not have any history of early urbanisation.

 

The team in March 2004 found a 20-metre stretch of a road, which

later

tested to be some 2,450 years old. Examining the location and

landscape,

they claimed it to be a fortified town which is a significant symbol

of

urbanisation in the area.

 

This year's excavation, sponsored by GrameenPhone, dug out 180 metres

stretch of the road, which is six metre wide and 21-35cm thick, with

a

by-lane, leading towards a citadel with protecting canals on its

four sides.

 

Rahman said this proves that his earlier much-debated claim of a

town buried

under earth corresponds to a time much before the Christian era.

 

Although the finding of the road and a by-lane itself is a major

discovery

that indicates a planned town, the magnitude of pit-dwelling

surpasses by

its novelty and old age.

 

*PIT-DWELLING*

Rahman and his students started digging a six metre by four metre

trench in

February last year. They dug up to 1.3 metre deep to find a pit on

the

ground level of the ancient time.

 

"We took the hole for a garbage pit," said Rahman. In February this

year,

the team found a hearth on the other side of the ditch, a dish and

bones

beside it, which confirmed about the pit-dwelling settlement, Rahman

explained.

 

Usually, Chalcolithic people stored grains in those holes, he said.

 

They dug another metre horizontally from the hearth and found four

bags of

ash. They also found a well, a sign of a pillar for supporting the

roof,

dishes and a coconut, the earliest known botanical remain in the

region.

 

The coconut and two other samples have been sent to the Institute of

Archaeology at London University, which took up the task of

determining the

age of these finds through Carbon-14 dating.

 

The road, which was exposed after excavating just a few inches from

the

ground level, dates back to a time older than 450BC. "The water

reservoir,

hearth, storage pit and other household accessories, which have been

found

after digging more than a metre, convince me that the pit-dwelling

settlement dates back to a much earlier period," Rahman told The

Daily Star

yesterday.

 

The archaeologists are now studying the environment of the dwelling

place,

means of living and other aspects of the time to learn more about the

inhabitants who settled there.

 

The finding has also drawn attention to the time's climate as the

rain-prone

weather of this region does not permit such living styles, said

Rahman.

"Pit-dwelling is more suitable in semi-arid or arid weather, which

does not

match our present conditions," he said.

 

*THE ANCIENT ROAD LINK TO URBANISATION*

Rahman's March 2004 discovery of the oldest road, a fortified

citadel and a

range of artefacts dating back to 450BC in the same area promised to

redefine the history of eastern India and embolden the theory of the

civilisation on the Brahmaputra valley.

 

The discoverers claimed the road is a symbol of a planned town with

urbanised surroundings. But some archaeologists challenged the

claim, saying

no structures were found in the area to claim it as

a "civilisation". They

even questioned the proof of the unearthed structure to be "a road".

 

The recent discovery, however, not only proves Rahman's claim but

also makes

the excavators more ambitious who believe the road may lead them to

some

significant architecture --possibly some building used for dwelling

or

administrative purposes--as the 180-metre "main" road takes a 90-

degree turn

to the south protruding a by-lane the other way.

 

"The base of the road is lime-surki and the road is rammed at several

places--a fact that further strengthens the concept of its being a

road. We

also found brickbats and shards of earthen pots," Rahman said.

 

"The inhabitants certainly had architects, civil engineers and town-

planners

which indicate the ancient people were much skilled and had aesthetic

sense," he said.

 

He referred to his early claim of an industrial area at the site

manufacturing beads of some semiprecious stones like quartz,

amethyst,

carnelian, jasper and chalcedony.

 

"The industry must have had a comprehensive system of labour, trade,

administration, guild, trade route and transportation facilities

with areas

with raw materials--probably to South India--which can be linked to

the

recent findings," Rahman said.

 

Rahman's team has suspended the excavation work until next December

as the

coming rainy weather is not perfect for such work.

 

*EXPERTS' OPINION*

Prof Dilip K Chakraborty, an expert on South Asian archaeology and a

teacher

of Cambridge University, said the discovery of pit-dwelling is

historic.

 

"Hearing about the measurement and description of the site, I think,

that is

definitely a pit-dwelling," Chakraborty told The Daily Star over

telephone.

The discovery is historic as no such settlement has been found in

the region

earlier, he added.

 

Habibullah Pathan, 68, a local with no academic background in

archaeology,

first started collecting artefacts and writing books on the site

following

his father's belief that the place had some archaeological

significance.

Habib also firmly believes that the road indicates early

urbanisation in the

area.

 

"It is now proved that there was a fortified citadel and the more we

dig,

the more discoveries will come up," Habib told The Daily Star.

 

http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/03/12/d6031201011.htm

 

 

 

 

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