An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s17.34

v1.c9.s17.34

At KHERA, 6·5 km to the west of Fatehpur Sikri, seven cairns varying in diameter between 1 and 3 m were discovered on the ridge of a hill, apart from traces of several others near by. These cairns, composed of small boulders and rubble, were roughly four-sided in shape, with generally sloping sides, and surmounted at the top either by slabs of stone or by remains or fragments of slabs. The two round-topped cairns that were examined covered ‘a shallow, oblong or trough-shaped cavity’ excavated in the solid rock of the hill. Remains of ashes of calcined bones mixed with earth and fragments of charred wood were found inside these hollow chambers (Cunningham, 1878, pp. 13-5). Seven cairns have now been located, or relocated, on the hill (Singh, 1970, p. 138).