An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c17.s9.1

v1.c17.s9.1

A sarcophagus primarily denotes a stone coffin but the later ones are of terracotta as well. Outside India sarcophagi are well known in the Mediterranean region and w. Asia, where they were generally anthropoid in shape and were used for primary burials. In India the first sarcophagus, of terracotta, was reported in 1850-1 from Panduvaram Deval, Dt N. Arcot. The number of excavated specimens known so far is about 50 including the one from PAIYAMPALLI excavated in 1968. A vast majority of them are of terracotta, while only a very few are of stone. The shapes in terracotta include: ovoid without legs or supported on a row of legs; cylindrical; ram/ewe-shaped; elephantoid; and bovine. The stone ones are: monolithic troughs; troughs cut out in rock within dolmenoid cists; and oblong troughs cooped out of the bed-rock.