Fwd: S'raaddham (archaeological evidence)

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IndiaArchaeology , kalyan97 <kalyan97 wrote:

 

S'raaddham (archaeological evidence)

 

*See notes on s'raadham, Hindu cremation rites.

http://hindutva97.blogspot.com/2008/04/hindu-cremation-rites-including-pitru.htm\

l

*

 

*What has been found in Sembiyan Kandiyur is consistent with the

practice of

Pitru-medha described in As'valayana Grhya Sutra.*

 

*Post cremation Burial (Pitr-medha)*

 

During the Vedic and early G*r*hya periods it was common to bury the

incinerated bones of a deceased person in an urn. This was the

*pitr-medha*ceremony. The

*Grhya-sutras* of A*s*val*a*yana describe how the burned bones were to be

collected on the third lunar day (*tithi*) after death. In the case of

a man

who had died, the bones were to be collected by elderly men and placed

into

a male urn. In the case of a woman, the bones were to be collected by

elderly women and placed into a female urn. Urns were designed by their

shape to be male or female. The performers of this ceremony were to walk

three times in a counterclockwise direction around the bones while

sprinkling milk and water from a particular kind of twig *(sami*). The

bones

were then placed into the urn as they were picked up individually with the

thumb and fourth finger. First the bones of the feet were to be

gathered and

then successively the other bones were to be gathered working toward the

head. After the bones had been purified and gathered they were sealed and

buried in a secure location.

 

*Megalithic period pottery found *

 

T.S. Subramanian (The Hindu, 27 April 2008)

 

*Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department leads excavation *

 

� Photo: M. Srinath

 

http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/27/images/2008042757322001.jpg *Significant

finds:** Pottery with graffiti marks found at Sembiyankandiyur village in

Nagapattinam district. *

 

CHENNAI: Pottery items including bowls, dishes and urns, from the

Megalithic

period, have been excavated at Sembiyankandiyur near Kuthalam in

Mayiladuthurai taluk of Nagapattinam district by the Tamil Nadu

Archaeology

Department.

 

An important finding: eight urns aligned in a particular manner, three of

them with human bones inside. These might be of members of one family,

according to department officials. The pottery included black-and-red

ware,

black ware and red ware.

 

The site yielded a rich collection of pottery with graffiti marks. A few

iron pieces were also found.

 

Archaeology Department officials estimated that the pottery belonged

to the

Megalithic period or the Iron Age, which can be dated between 300 B.C. and

A.D. 100.

 

Earlier discovery

 

The discoveries were made at the site where in 2006 school teacher V.

Shanmuganathan found a polished Neolithic celt (tool) that had engravings

resembling the Indus script. This celt caused a stir in archaeological

circles. It was T.S. Sridhar, then Special Commissioner of

Archaeology, who

noticed the engravings on the polished celt. A semi-polished celt was

found

nearby without engravings.

 

The Archaeology Department decided to excavate the Sembiyankandiyur

site to

find out its antiquity and fix the chronology. The excavations began on

February 6. Four trenches were laid at the place where the celt with the

engravings were found. The first trench was laid in the garden of Mr.

Shanmuganathan, the second trench at Thoppumedu which belonged to

Shanmugam,

a retired physical education teacher, another in the backyard of the house

of Muthappa and the fourth at Padayachi Kollaimedu.

 

Important findings from the trenches were bowls, dishes, broken urns,

full-size urns and so on. Eight urns were found to be aligned in a

particular manner, three of them with human bones. Some urns had

ritual pots

inside. Some pots and sherds have thumb-nail impressions on them.

 

Designs and markings

 

Full-shape pots had the graffiti depicting a fish, a 'damaru', sun,

star and

a swastika. Geometric designs and marks depicting fish, sun and star and

graffiti marks are often found on black-and-red ware and black ware, with

the symbols sometimes repeated.

 

The excavations at Sembiyankandiyur were done under the guidance of Dr. S.

Gurumurthi, Principal Commissioner of Archaeology; Dr. S. Vasanthi,

Archaeologist; M. Muthusamy, Curator of Tranquebar Museum; S. Selvaraj and

P. Gowthamaputhiran, Archaeological Officers of Thanjavur and Coimbatore

respectively.

 

http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/27/stories/2008042757322000.htm

 

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