An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c11.s19.t1.8

v1.c11.s19.t1.8

*6.19.4 Mortars*. Mortars, Sanskrit *udukkhala*, are stone blocks with a central depression which serves as the receptacle for the material to be pounded or crushed with a pestle or pounder. Called *rolu* in Telugu and still in use in many parts of s. India, they are generally squarish on plan and are of different sizes. The larger ones are about 75 cm in height, with each side measuring 60 to 70 cm in length; these are used among other things, for polishing *jowar* and *bajra* by making the grain wet with water and then pounding it with long wooden pestles, called *musala* in Sanskrit and *rokali* in Telugu, provided with a metal rim at the working end. The grain so treated is cooked like rice. The smaller mortars are meant for preparing *idli* and *dosa* paste with the help of a short, semi-cylindrical grinding stone called *patramu* in Telugu. In this connection it is interesting to note that the antiquity of these dishes stretches back to the 11th-12th century (Gode, 1955, pp. 226-31). Another type of mortar used in the rice-growing parts of s. India like coastal Andhra Pradesh is exclusively meant for removing husk from paddy. It is a flat, squarish or disc-shaped piece of stone, about 30 cm across, having a shallow, central depression; it is sunk into the house floor. Long wooden pestles are employed for pounding. The archaeological evidence for mortars in India is very uneven. Foote, 1916, p. 114, plate 52, reported one specimen from PATPAD; it is a large pebble of diorite with a shallow central depression. More remarkable are the circular platforms excavated at Harappa (Wheeler, 1947, p. 78). These have a diameter of 3·35 m and consist of five concentric circles of bricks fixed edge-wise into the ground. Wheeler thought that the central void originally housed a wooden mortar, about 1 m in height, probably consisting of a hollowed-in tree trunk; grain was pounded in these mortars by one or more workmen with the help of long wooden pestles. The brick platforms provided a hard standing surface for the workmen and also for processing the pounded grain Fragments of straw or husk were found on these platforms; more important, the central hollow of one of the platforms yielded burnt wheat and husked barley. Coming to the historical period, Bhir Mound and Sirkap at Taxila yielded stone mortars along with pestles dated to the period between 300 B C and A D 100. They have the form of a cup with a small depression at the top and have a flat or round base. The diameter varies between 11·5 and 20 cm. Several stone mortars of the Śilāhāra and Bahmanī periods were found at KOLHAPUR in Maharashtra. They measure 28 to 35 cm across and 25 to 32 cm in height. The base is either flat or tapers down. The central depression varies in diameter and depth.