An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19.s4.2

v1.c19.s4.2

In 1944 the author on behalf of the ASI undertook an exploration of large parts of Khunti Subdivision and revisited many of the sites reported on by Ray. His enquiries showed that the Mundas had no tradition of the sites as belonging to the Asuras; even if they had such a tradition they had forgotten it in course of time. What appeared to be most striking was the existence of ruins of brick-built houses in the midst of Munda surroundings which have no use of bricks. He excavated a site called KUNJLA not far form Khunti—a site already known to Roy—and found the shell of a modest house. Later on a larger site SARADKEL was excavated by S.C. Ray of the ASI. The common features of all these sites are the existence of baked bricks, a coarse pottery with quartz grits in the clay, a distinctive shape being the bowl-cum-lid with an internally flanged rim, Kushan coins and considerable quantities of iron slag [16.9.4]. The last two would indicate that the houses belonged to a comparatively sophisticated people who came to the region in the early centuries of the Christian era to exploit the local iron ores. Ray also excavated a burial site at KHUNTITOLI.