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An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s18: 4.18 Early Historical

An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s18

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4.18 Early Historical

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As has been stated above [4.1.2], while the Deccan and s. India were in the grip of the megalithic culture, n. India and the middle Ganga valley [4.18.1, 3] were witnessing the beginnings of the early historical period. It is difficult to pin-point the precise or even approximate time of this change, but the middle of the 1st millennium B.C. may be regarded as a convenient date. By this time some of the tribes mentioned in the later Vedic literature had carved out kingdoms for themselves, dominated by the Kṣatriya chiefs responsible for their establishment. The kingdoms comprised the existing local population as well, giving them a heterogeneity absent in tribal societies.

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The period was marked by significant changes in the cultural style of the people—introduction of coinage [3.1] which facilitated trade, highways which promoted long-distance communication and commerce, extensive use of iron, structures of kiln-burnt brick, virtually forgotten after the Harappa culture [4.9], and above all the origin of cities, many of them strongly fortified [14.9], some at the time of their very establishment and others later on. The oft-repeated list of 16 *mahā-janapadas* (great kingdoms) mentioned in the early Buddhist literature comprises a few oligarchical (sometimes called republican) principalities as well in the *tarais*, the seat of one of which has not been identified; the capitals of the rest are identifiable and include such important city sites as CAMPĀ (the capital of Aṅga), VAIŚĀLĪ (the Licchavis), RAJGIR (Magadha), RAJGHAT⁴ (Kāśī), KAUŚĀMBĪ (Vatsa), ŚRĀVASTĪ (Kosala), AHICCHATRA (Pañcāla), HASTINĀPURA (Kuru), MATHURA (Śūrasena) and UJJAIN (Avanti), all of which, on excavation, have yielded early historical relics. Two of the enumerated *mahājanapadas* were in the n.-w. One of them, Gandhāra, had Taxila, very rich in archaeological remains, as one of its capitals. The epoch can therefore be regarded as representing the second civilization of India. It is absurd to believe that the rise of the cities was on the Persian model introduced by the Achaeminid occupation of the n.-w.; nor can a survival or revival of the Harappa urbanism [4.9] be held responsible for this.

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Interfighting was common among the *janapadas*, till, in the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C., under the Nandas and Mauryas, Magadha (s. Bihar) created for itself a virtually pan-subcontinental empire. This is a matter of history but is reflected in archaeological finds. Taxila, for example, though mostly outside the pale of the archaeological cultures of India, had affinities with them only in the 4th-3rd century B.C. levels.

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Besides political ones, there were other unifying factors. In the field of religion Buddhism, at first localized in Bihar and e. Uttar Pradesh, spread far and wide from the 3rd century B.C. and carved out for itself important centres in the Deccan, in the megalithic milieu. So also Jainism, originating in the same region, established some centres in s. India, in natural caverns suitable for monks.

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Another important unifying factor was writing. The Brāhmī script [20.4.1], the earliest records of which are seen in the edicts of Aśoka, may be reasonably held to have originated a century or two earlier; it spread all over India by the 2nd century B.C..

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The diagnostic pottery of the first part of the period is the NBPW [11.16], which overlaps with the last phase of the PGW [11.14]; though distinctive in hue, indicative of a different kind of slip and condition in the kiln, its shapes are practically identical with the PGW ones; there is also similarity in some of the red wares associated with the two. With its origin in e. Uttar Pradesh and w. Bihar and thus having a more e. origin than the PGW, it nevertheless indicates a sort of continuity in the ceramic tradition. The NBPW spread practically all over India, though the diffusion must have been gradual and dependent on the distance from the epicentre. It has been variously conjectured that the expansion followed in the wake of Mauryan imperialism or of iron from Bihar or of Buddhism. The fact probably is that being the distinctive ceramic competent of the earlier part of the early historical period, it travelled with the culture itself. This, together with other cultural components such as terracottas [17], provides yet another evidence of a semblance of cultural uniformity over large parts of the country in the initial part of the period.

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We may digress here to mention a few important early historical ceramics that are found after the disappearance of the NBPW in about the 2nd century B.C. In n. India the pottery of the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D. has often been lumped under a composite group called Śuṅga-Kushan assemblage, comprising the bowl, lid-cum-bowl, inkpot-type lid, waisted jar, etc. This wide grouping is unfortunate as it does not allow the detection of elements, if any, produced under the influence of foreign invasions. In Gujarat a distinctive pottery of fine fabric and bright-red surface came into being in the 1st century A.D.; it is called the Red Polished Ware [11.23], its exclusive shapes being the sprinkler and *surāhī*. It has been thought that it was a variant of the Roman Samian Ware, but soon it started being locally produced and during the next four centuries gained wide currency. N. Rajasthan seems to be the home of the Rang Mahal Ware [11.24], with a variety of shapes, a bright terracotta-red surface and a profusion of painted designs. Originating in the 2nd century A.D., it is by no means confined to n. Rajasthan but is found far and wide. In the lower Deccan, coeval with the last days of the Megalithic Ware [11.15.3], i.e. 1st century A.D., but outliving it by two centuries, was the Russet-coated Painted Ware [11.22]. The Rouletted Ware [11.21] was for the first time identified at ARIKAMEDU, where, being pre-Arretine [11.20] in date, it originated in the 1st century B.C. It is classed as a Roman ware, though the fabric and shapes have nothing Mediterranean about them; it is only the technique of rouletting that may be foreign. It was locally produced at many a widely dispersed site. The above list—the Śuṅga-Kushan assemblage, the red polished ware, the Rang Mahal ware, the russet-coated painted ware and the rouletted ware—does not exhaust the ceramic industries current in the country in the later half of the early historical period: they have been mentioned because of their diagnostic and chronological values.

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To come back to the first part of the early historical culture. Like the NBPW the culture did not spread all over the country in a single sweeping stroke.

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In n. Rajasthan [4.18.2], after the PGW all habitation seems to have disappeared, perhaps due to the desiccation of the SARASVATĪ, till the early centuries of the Christian era which saw the rise of the flourishing Rang Mahal culture [11.24]. In e. Rajasthan [4.18.2] the early historical period is culturally a continuation of the PGW culture as exemplified at NOH and BAIRAT as at many a site in n. India. In Gujarat [4.18.2] only the middle and late phases of the culture are represented. How much the foreign occupation of the land from the 1st century B.C affected the material life of the people is not clearly reflected at the excavated sites, though overseas trade did leave its impact in the form of the Red Polished Ware [11.23], cameos, clay bullae [6.4], etc.

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In the Chota Nagpur region [4.18.4], particularly in the Khunti area of Dt Ranchi, a highly localized culture, with baked-brick houses and with remains of ironsmelting, is met with in the early centuries of the Christian era. The settlements, called Asura sites [14.4], were evidently those of iron prospectors and smelters who established themselves in the locality for a short time.

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In the lower Ganga region [4.18.5] the culture, with a fairly early (Mauryan) beginning, established itself on the virgin soil of the Ganga delta: therefrom it spread to the w. margin which had Chalcolithic antecedents [4.14.4].

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Three excavated cities in the c. region [4.18.7]—TRIPURĪ, Besnagar and Eran—each had preceding Chalcolithic settlements [4.14.5], but no link between them and the later ones has been established. The founding of another important site—UJJAIN—broke new ground.

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Of the two urban establishments of the period in Orissa [4.18.8]—SISUPALGARH and JAUGADA—the latter might have been established in Neolithic [4.6.7] surroundings, but the former seems to have sprung up from nowhere and its layout and planning are precocious. Both stand isolated, with no immediate successors.

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In the upper Deccan [4.18.9] such sites as PAITHAN and TER came into prominence in Sātavāhana times; earlier towns seem to be absent, though an unidentified Potana or Potali is mentioned in the Pāli texts as the capital of Assaka (Aśmaka), one of the *mahā-janapadas*. The flourishing trade that Paithan and Ter enjoyed with the w. world was the source of their prosperity.

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The position of the early historical cultures in the s.-e Deccan [4.18.10] is more varied. At the outset stands the fairly impressive fortified settlement of DHARANIKOTA on the Krishna, originating in Mauryan times and later on with a wharf [14.8] and objects of Mediterranean origin. The famous Buddhist site of AMARAVATI, within the ancient limits of Dharanikota and with a few NBPW sherds, was probably Aśokan in origin. The site had megaliths too, but, needless to say, the Buddhist establishments are entirely independent of them. Amaravati illustrates how Buddhism penetrated into Megalithic surroundings. KESARAPALLE had an NBPW sherd in the upper megalithic levels. An impact from n. India in Mauryan times and a somewhat later one from the c. region, the latter exemplified in the early sculptures and inscriptions of Amaravati, seem to be indicated. A late but rich early historical phase is met with at NAGARJUNAKONDA, a hill-girt valley on the Krishna and the capital of the Ikṣvākus, who adorned it with Buddhist, Brāhmaṇical and secular edifices. Nagarjunakonda had a scanty historical but pre-Ikṣvāku occupation under the latest Sātavāhanas, who probably supplanted the local Neolithic [4.14.7] culture: though there are megaliths [4.17.7] in the valley, there is no megalithic habitation. Probably the megalith builders chose this inhospitable valley to build monuments to inter their dead, but being food-producing agriculturists lived away on fertile lands.

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A continuity between the latest stage of the megalithic and the early historical has been suspected in the lower Deccan [4.18.11], the chief element of continuity being provided by the presence of the dying black-and-red ware [11.15.3] in the levels of the early historical settlements and the co-occurrence of the megalithic pottery and the historical russet-coated painted ware [11.22] in the earliest (1st century A D) levels of CHANDRAVALLI (*AI*, 4, 1947 and 1948, p. 278). The latter, essentially a local pottery confined to Karnataka and its neighbourhood, may be regarded as the diagnostic early historical pottery of the region. At the same time it is admitted that much more forceful than local factors was the impact from the n. that was responsible for the beginnings of the early historical period in the lower Deccan, in the form of fortified towns, punch-marked coins [3.1], coins of the Sātavāhanas and their feudatories and Buddhist monuments. The impact may have been transmitted through the Sātavāhanas.

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The early historical period of s. and s.-w. India [4.18.11; 12] seems to have had its own peculiarities. Though, as in the neighbouring regions, it originated in the midst of megaliths, its driving force arose not so much out of n. Indian contacts as trade with the Roman world in the 1st century B.C., particularly resulting in the establishment of sea-ports and emporia and in the flow of Roman gold coins and occasionally objects from the Mediterranean world. The type site is ARIKAMEDU, which, with its Arretine Ware [11.20], Rouletted Ware [11.21] and amphorae [11.19], provides a chronological datum line for other sites.

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The end part of the early historical period in s. India saw the composition of an extensive Tamil literature of great literary merit and cultural value.

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Ghosh, A., 1973, *City in Early Historical India*, Simla. For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—A GHOSH

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*4.18.1 N. region.* Since post-Harappa times, i.e. from *c.* 1500 B.C., n. India comprising Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh stands at the forefront of Indian history. This is particularly true of the early historical period, when the region witnessed the emergence of some of the first urban centres of the period like ŚRĀVASTĪ, KAUŚĀMBĪ and VARANASI (RAJGHAT). Together with parts of w. Bihar the region forms part of what has been justly called the ‘nuclear region’ of the subcontinent. Its cultural significance was largely dependent on its favourable geographical conditions. An adequate rainfall and a rich alluvial soil made it possible for food crops to grow in abundance. As much of the area around the limited pockets of the habitation centres was densely forested, timber for building and fuel was in plentiful supply. Several small to large rivers of the indus and Ganga systems with perennial water supply afforded easy means of communication. Most of the cities were located on river banks.

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Except Buddhist sites like ŚRĀVASTĪ, Dts Gonda-Bahraich, and SARNATH near Varanasi and the town site of BHITA, Dt Allahabad, there had been practically no excavations in the region prior to 1940, when the first major excavation of a site unconnected with Buddhism began at AHICCHATRĀ, Dt Bareilly, the traditional capital of the N. Pāñcālas, and continued for the next four years. The results of this important excavation, inadequately published in separate articles, provided the basis for planning extensive investigations into the archaeology of this region. Excavations at KAUŚĀMBĪ, Dt Allahabad, in 1949 and onwards and at HASTINĀPURA, Dt Meerut, in 1950-2 mark the beginning of a new era in the archaeology of the region. In the following years small to large excavations have been carried out at several sites. Though not all of them were initially planned for the investigation of early historical remains most of them have yielded rich remains of the period. Among the major excavations in the region mention may be made of ROPAR, Dt Ambala, PURANA QILA (Delhi), MATHURA, ATRANJIKHERA, Dt Etah, KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT (Varanasi). Some other sites that contain remains of the period are SANGHOL, Dt Ludhiana, SUGH, Dt Ambala, ALLAHAPUR, Dt Meerut, KHALAUA, Dt Agra, AYODHYA, Dt Faizabad, ŚRĀVASTĪ, MASAON, Dt Ghazipur, and SOHGAURA, Dt Gorakhpur.

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The chronology of the period is not as beset with problems as that of the preceding ones. In the later half of the period, 200 B.C. to A.D. 300, the evidence of coins [5.4] and inscribed materials [5.5] is of great help. A similarity of types in pottery, terracottas, beads and other objects—the result of an increasing degree of standardization—has been noticed at several centres. A stratigraphic study of these objects provides a useful framework of chronology, which however has suffered from a somewhat exaggerated importance given to the ocurrence of the NBPW [11.16]. While there is no denying its great significance, the occurrence of this *de luxe* ware in a uniform cultural context may be disputed; further, with a fairly long span of life (600-100 B.C.), its dating value is rather limited. [Some would push the time-brackets backward, cf. HASTINAPURA.]

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At many sites in Punjab, Haryana and w. Uttar Pradesh there was an earlier stratum marked by the occurrence of the PGW [11.14], going back to 800 B.C. if not earlier. The notable ones among such sites are ROPAR, HASTINĀPURA, ATRANJIKHERA, ALAMGIRPUR, ALLAHAPUR and KANAUJ. PURANA QILA in Delhi did not reveal any firm stratum of the PGW preceding the NBPW-yielding deposit, although sherds thereof had been picked up in a limited earlier excavation. At sites like ŚRĀVASTĪ and KAUŚĀMBĪ there does not as yet appear to be a clear-cut pre-NBPW horizon, though the antiquity of the latter site has been taken back to the beginning of the first millennium B.C. In e. Uttar Pradesh sites like RAJGHAT and PRAHLADPUR show a pre-NBPW horizon yielding the black-slipped ware [11.13] and a painted black-and-red ware [11.6.3], comparable with the material from the Bihar sites like CHIRAND. The NBPW shapes of the bowl and dish are a direct continuation of the corresponding PGW shapes.

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The sites which have yielded significant evidence for the dating of the period are HASTINĀPURA, AHICCHATRĀ, ŚRĀVASTĪ and KAUŚĀMBĪ. A series of numismatic evidence from both AHICCHATRĀ and KAUŚĀMBĪ provides a firm basis for dating the levels from 300 B.C. to A.D. 300. Correspondingly the material from these levels, notably pottery and terracottas, acquires a dating value. The excavation at ŚRĀVASTĪ produced comparable material from Pd II, which has accordingly been dated to *c.* 300-50 B.C. Both at ŚRĀVASTĪ and KAUŚĀMBĪ there is no difficulty in dating the immediately preceding period, characterized by the occurrence of NBPW to a date bracket of *c.* 550-300 B.C., which is supported by the limited number of ¹⁴C dates from KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT. On the basis of comparative stratigraphy the dates of Pds II, III and IV of HASTINĀPURA, as given by the excavator, might require revision. Shapes in plain red ware of Pd II (PGW level) of HASTINĀPURA are comparable with those from Pd I (PGW-cum-NBPW levels) of ŚRĀVASTĪ. Similarly pottery shapes and other cultural material of Pd III (NBPW level) of the former site are comparable with Pd II (post- NBPW level) of the latter. The stratigraphy at HASTINĀPURA is further complicated by two gaps signifying breaks in habitation following Pds II and III and by the ascription of 200 years for the first gap and 100 years for the next. However significant changes in life-style of HASTINĀPURA appear to have taken place at two stages, i.e. *c.* 300 B.C. and *c.* 50 B.C./A.D., which is not noticeable at sites with a continuous occupation.

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Remains of fortification have been identified at MATHURĀ, AHICCHATRĀ, KAUŚĀMBĪ, ŚRĀVASTĪ and RAJGHAT. At AHICCHATRĀ and ŚRĀVASTĪ the initial construction has been dated to a period between 250 and 150 B.C. With certain modifications they continued to be in use till the 1st century A.D. At MATHURA the corresponding date is nearer the 1st century A.D. At KAUŚĀMBĪ the brick-revetted wall has been placed at *c.* 1000 B.C. by the excavator, but the basis for such an early date has been questioned. It may be noted that the bricks used in the construction of the defence-wall at KAUŚĀMBĪ conform to a size of 49 × 30 × 7 cm—a size found at several sites including KAUŚĀMBĪ itself in the period after 300 B.C. At all these places the defence-wall was constructed mainly of mud, but at AHICCHATRĀ and ŚRĀVASTĪ a burnt-brick wall was raised over the mud wall at a later stage. The fortification of ŚRĀVASTĪ had a crescent-shaped plan enclosing an area of 1525 sq km on the bank of the river Rapti. While the wall was raised over the debris of an earlier habitation on the river front, on the opposite side it was raised directly over the natural soil. In the earlier excavation conducted during 1908-9 a gateway complex with provision for guardrooms and watch towers on the n. side had been exposed. The excavation had also identified several entrances to the fortified area but whether all of them were deliberate openings or subsequent breaches is difficult to say. At KAUŚĀMBĪ the rampart was about 4·6 km in perimeter, provided with towers and bastions at regular intervals. The excavated e. gateway complex was in the form of a mud-bund curtain, with a 91 m long and 7·5 m wide passage connecting it with the rampart and separated from it by a 90 m wide moat. The excavated part of the rampart opposite the curtain represented an enormous mud wall with a burnt-brick revetment available to a height of about 13 m. The AHICCHATRĀ fortification was of the shape of an isoscels triangle with a perimeter of over 5·6 km. Originally of mud, it was subsequently provided with a burnt-brick wall at the top. At RAJGHAT enormous clay rampart dating to the earliest occupation of the site was traced facing the Ganga. At all these places there were openings in the defensive walls, but all of them need not have been gateways.

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Apart from the Buddhist monastic complexes of SARNATH and ŚRĀVASTĪ hardly any monumental construction has been brought to light. Mention should however be made of a brick tank at ROPAR and the Ghoṣitārāma monastery and a palace complex at KAUŚĀMBĪ. The Ropar tank, assigned to Pd II (NBPW) of the site, was ellipoidal on plan. Presumably excavated in a low-lying land, it was filled by the diversion of rain-water from the neighbouring area through inlets like the one noticed in its n. wall. At KAUŚĀMBĪ a massive stone fortress measuring 320 × 180 m and believed to represent the remains of a palace-complex has been unearthed. According to the excavator there are four main stages in the architectural evolution of the palace, the earliest going back to 800-600 B.C. and the last dating down to Kushan times (1st-2nd century A.D.). Of special interest is the use of dressed stones in the second stage (600-200 B.C.) and five arches in the fourth stage (1st-2nd century A.D.); the dates are however not established beyond doubt. Of unquestionable value is the Ghoṣitārāma monastic complex located within the city itself.

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There is a comparative lack of information on the general layout of the dwelling houses in any particular settlement. There is evidence to suggest that the use of burnt-bricks before 300 B.C. was negligible. Excavations at AHICCHATRĀ, KAUŚĀMBĪ (in the pillar area), RAJGHAT and ŚRĀVASTĪ convincingly show that the first use of baked bricks for house-building do not go back to before 300-200 B.C. Before that dwelling houses were built of mud or mud-bricks along with timber and bamboo posts. Evidence of burnt-brick structures is available between 300 and 50 B.C. at most of the sites, the commonest size of bricks being 44 to 45 × 23 to 24 × 6 to 7 cm, as revealed at HASTINĀPURA, ŚRĀVASTĪ and AHICCHATRĀ. On the more e. sites like KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT, larger bricks measuring 48 to 50 × 29 to 31 × 5 to 7 cm were used. Often more than one size of bricks was used at the same site and in the same period. The use of wedge-shaped bricks for circular structures is known from HASTINĀPURA and RAJGHAT. Generally the rooms were small. At RAJGHAT their average size was 1·90 × 2·92 m, and at HASTINĀPURA a room was 4·75 m square. It was during the next epoch (50 B.C.-A.D. 300) that there was a marked increase in building activity along with an all-round expansion of the settlements. Thus the contemporary levels of RAJGHAT (Pd III), KAUŚĀMBĪ (Structural Pd V), MATHURA and PURANA QILA were singularly rich in burnt-brick structures of all kinds during the 1st to the 3rd century, largely coinciding with the Kushan epoch. The rooms were also larger. At KAUŚĀMBĪ the walls were coated with lime plaster; at RAJGHAT a room with a brick-paved floor has come to light.

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Before 300 B.C. unlined vertical pits were generally used for soakage or as draw-wells [14.15]. One of the most recurring features of the levels datable to 300 to 50 B.C. of the excavated sites is the presence of ringwells [14.15], believed to have been variously used as draw-wells, soakage pits and privies. Sometimes the working floor around them is paved and at places they are connected with a system of drains. At sites like ROPAR, HASTINĀPURA and ŚRĀVASTĪ their location at the outskirts of the habitation area is noteworthy. The diameter of the rings generally varies from 45 to 55 cm.

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Within the early historical period three subperiods may be distinguished on the basis of pottery and other objects: early (600-300 B.C.), middle (300-50 B.C.) and late (50 B.C.-A.D. 300). In the early subperiod the key position is held by the NBPW which appears to have been introduced in the sixth century B.C. at sites like ŚRĀVASTĪ, KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT. But at several sites its introduction could have been appreciably later and in any case not earlier than the 4th century B.C. Except for its glossy shining surface and black or steel-blue colour, occasionally with a golden or silvery flourish, the NBPW does not introduce any significant innovation in shapes over the preceding wares such as the PGW, the Black-slipped Ware and black-and-red ware in the w. region and the Black-slipped Ware and painted black-and-red ware in the e. The shapes, nature of clay and firing in the NBPW show a continuity of the earlier tradition. The main shapes in the NBPW are the bowl and dish, but other shapes like the bottle-necked vase, lids and miniature vessel also occur. That the ware was a prized commodity is evident from some specimens showing attempts to repair the broken fragments. A careful examination of the ¹⁴C dates and the archaeological context at sites like ŚRĀVASTĪ, KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT shows that the peak period of the occurrence of the ware at sites in e. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is from 550 to 300 B.C., whereafter its manufacture and use become scarce.

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Along with it occur a number of other wares like the black-and-red ware, Black-slipped Ware and a few painted wares including the Painted Grey Ware in small quantities but as an integral part of the ceramics of the period. The plain red ware occurring in the early subperiod shows two strains—a coarser variety and a finer one. In the finer variety the shapes are generally those that are common in the NBPW and allied wares and include the dish and basin. In the finer variety the common shapes are the storage jar and high-necked globular vase. At sites like ŚRĀVASTĪ and KAUŚĀMBĪ the miniature vessel of different shapes is also found. Many of the shapes in plain red ware show incised decorations. In the middle subperiod (300-50 B.C.) the NBPW continues to occur but in declining quantities; at ŚRĀVASTĪ it ceased to occur at this point. At HASTINĀPURA and ROPAR the specimens show a thicker section than in the preceding subperiod. The other allied wares ceased to exist. Instead a thick grey ware came into use, and the most common and often the only type in this ware is the dish, with its inside bottom often with the stamped design of a wheel. In the plain red ware the number of types appears to have been greatly reduced. The new common varieties include the miniature bowl, pear-shaped vase, collared basin and carinated *hānḍī* with a featureless rim. A very noteworthy feature in this subperiod is a near-absence of decoration or sophistication on the pottery.

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In this respect this subperiod stands apart from both the preceding subperiod and the succeeding one when the NBPW and the thick grey ware cease to exist, together with many of the popular red ware shapes. Instead many new shapes are introduced, with decoration and sophistication returning in a substantial way. A common feature of this last subperiod is the occurrence of the sprinkler type of vase in different varieties; with its wide distribution it serves as a diagnostic ware of this subperiod. Another important type, though not so common, is a tumbler type of a vessel with a footed base which was definitely more common at sites in the n.-w. than in the e. The occurrence of a good number of specimens of the Red Polished Ware [11.23] showing a highly smooth bright-red surface has also been noted at RAJGHAT, HASTINĀPURA and other sites. It is also not uncommon to decorate vessels with various stamped and incised designs which include symbols like the *tri-ratna*, *śrīvatsa*, taurine, etc. Spouts of the vessels of this subperiod often carry the design of a crocodile.

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In the early subperiod, 600-300 B.C., moulded human terracotta figurines do not seem to have come into being, though one such figurine has been assigned to Pd III, of questionable date, at HASTINĀPURA, where the piece in question represents a plaque of a standing female—a type well-known from Stratum II, Mauryan, of Bhir Mound, Taxila.

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AHICCHATRĀ, KAUŚĀMBĪ, RAJGHAT and MATHURA are among the sites yielding human figurines in prolific numbers. Well-documented stratigraphic evidence comes from AHICCHATRĀ. As there was a remarkable uniformity in the art of clay-modelling covering much of the area from Taxila to sites in e. India, the evidence of AHICCHATRĀ may be regarded as typical. Before 300 B.C. hand-modelled figurines of the so-called mother-goddess [12.6] were prevalent. Their typical features include an exaggerated waist often provided with a girdle. In 300-50 B.C. when the practice of moulding was introduced, two types of figurines are noted. (1) Standing female figurines mentioned in the preceding paragraph, and (2) the *mithuna* figures and similar other plaques which are often given the label 'Śuṅga'. The former type, not reported from AHICCHATRĀ, shows an expressionless face with hardly any elaboration. The other type, on the contrary, has a joyous expression evident on the faces of both the male and female. The female figurines, with the typical rounded face, are profusely decorated and the headgear ornamentation often include the depiction of war weapons like the spear, axe and sword. Apart from AHICCHATRĀ such figurines have been reported from ŚRĀVASTĪ, ROPAR, KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT, besides sites in e. India. In the succeeding subperiod, 50 B.C.-A.D. 300, moulding in the round was introduced in a limited way. There was an increasing tendency towards the adoption of the style of stone sculptures. The Bodhisattva Maitreya figure from HASTINĀPURA Pd IV and the many so-called Śaka-Parthian types are examples of this adoption. The Śaka-Parthian types consist of two main groups: (1) dwarf-musicians, and (2) *Naigameṣa* figurines recovered in large numbers from AHICCHATRĀ and KAUŚĀMBĪ. They are generally believed to have foreign ethnic features and the manner of their head-dress shows similarity with figurines from Parthian sites outside India. Votive tanks [12.11] with similar dwarf musicians occur at several sites, notably AHICCHATRĀ, HASTINĀPURA, KAUŚĀMBĪ and ROPAR.

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AHICCHATRĀ, MATHURA, KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT were important centres of animal figurines as well. However the published details are scanty. Between 500-300 B.C. they show incised lines and punched circlets as at ŚRĀVASTĪ. Between 300 and 50 B.C. elephant figurines far outnumber others on most of the sites. Sometimes in grey and the NBPW fabric, as at MATHURA, AYODHYA, KAUŚĀMBĪ and RAJGHAT, they are punched with symbols like the wheel and leaf—a feature repeated at most of the sites in the Ganga valley. They do not occur in the succeeding subperiod, 50 B.C.-A.D. 300. Figurines of the cattle have not generally been reported from the levels before 200 B.C. but are common between 50 B.C. and A.D. 300. The horse figurines too, less numerous in 300-50 B.C., were common between 50 B.C. and A.D. 300.

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Toys and wheels are generally reported from levels after 300 B.C. One of the commonest objects in the levels before 300 B.C. are terracotta discs [6.7.3], also known from the PGW levels at HASTINĀPURA, but without any symbols. ŚRĀVASTĪ, RAJGHAT and PRAHLADPUR have yielded a good number of discs from levels datable to 600-300 B.C.. Most of them show a symbol depicting the sun. It is interesting to note that these discs ceased to exist after 300 B.C.

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Most of the sites have produced a rich collection of beads [10.1] from various levels. Detailed reports are available in respect of HASTINĀPURA AHICCHATRĀ, KAUŚĀMBĪ and ŚRĀVASTĪ. For the subperiod 600-300 B.C. ŚRĀVASTĪ has produced by far the most significant examples which include among others 'eyebeads' of stratified glass, leach-shaped beads of agate, cylinder beads of lapis lazuli, axe amulets of carnelian, dagger pendants of clay and shell and cornerless cube beads of jasper. All these types are known from the pre-Mauryan and Mauryan levels of Taxila and can be cited as firm evidence of trade contacts between the two metropolitan centres. Etched beads of agate and carnelian are assignable to a period after 300 B.C. and have been reported from ŚRĀVASTĪ, and KAUŚĀMBĪ. Similarly transparent beads of crystal and amethyst do not appear to have been introduced earlier that 300 B.C., as evidenced at ŚRĀVASTĪ KAUŚĀMBĪ, AHICCHATRĀ and Taxila. Their occurrence in Pd III of HASTINĀPURA would not indicate an early date, since, as has been said above, the chronology of the site is not above dispute. Between 50 B.C. and A.D. 300 many new types of beads, particularly amulets [12.1], were introduced. Special mention may be made of several amulets of terracotta and occasionally of semiprecious stones of the bird and tortoise motifs recovered from AHICCHATRĀ and KAUŚĀMBĪ. An interesting innovation was faïence [16.6] as material for beads, pendants and bangles, recovered from AHICCHATRĀ and KAUŚĀMBĪ.

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Copper, already in vogue, continued in use along with iron during the period, being mainly used for preparing toilet objects and ornaments. Objects like nail-pairers, antimony rods [18.1], bracelets, ear rings, brooches, needles, pins, pendants and bangles have been reported from various sites. Of particular interest is the occurrence at ŚRĀVASTĪ Pd II (300-50 B.C.) of a copper bangle with interlaced knots. Of exquisite workmanship, the object is identical with the one recovered from Mauryan levels of Taxila. Copper continued to be used for agricultural purposes perhaps in a limited way—a handled cap of a sickle has been reported from HASTINĀPURA Pd III. It was also used as building material: hooked pins, nails, etc., have been reported from the same site.

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Iron gained in popularity. The number and variety of iron objects show a marked increase in the post-300 B.C. subperiod. Arrowheads [19.3.1] were the most popular of war weapons. There was a large variety of them, like socketed, barbed, triangle-shaped with short as well as long, pointed and leaf-shaped blades. Other items include javelins, spearheads and knife-blades. An elephant-goad from ŚRĀVASTĪ is an interesting find. Nails, clamps, latches, drills, chains, etc., were used for construction purposes. Sickles of iron are commonly found at several sites. Axes and adzes were the other agricultural tools. A ploughshare from KAUŚĀMBĪ is reported from a late subperiod. Chisels, ladles, knives, rings, a miniature bell and a fragmentary bracelet, the last two from HASTINĀPURA, are some of the other objects.

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Two other categories of objects need mention: (1) bone arrowheads, sometimes referred as styli, and (2)

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glass bangles. Although the former occur in the PGW levels of HASTINĀPURA and pre-NBPW levels of CHIRAND, they continued to be in vigorous use in the early and middle subperiods (600-50 B.C.) and are a common feature at all sites. Their size veries from 6·5 cm to 8 cm in the early subperiod, but in the middle subperiod their size is reduced and such varieties as a triangular or trilateral pointed and socketed ones are also introduced. Many of them have their counterparts in iron as well. Arrowheads were recovered in clusters as at RAJGHAT.

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Although glass bangles are reported from a late PGW level of HASTINĀPURA, interesting evidence comes from the early levels of ŚRĀVASTĪ datable to 600-300 B.C., when bangles, exclusively of green and blue glass, are found in large numbers. Green glass was used mainly for bracelets. They have close parallels at Taxila—another significant example of trade contacts between the two centres.

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Agrawala, V.S., 1947-48, in *AI* 4, pp. 104-79 (for Ahicchatrā terracottas). Dikshit, M.G., 1952, in *ibid.*, 8, pp. 33-63 (for Ahicchatrā beads). Ghosh, A., 1973, *City in Early Historical India*, Simla. Ghosh, A., & Panigrahi, K.C., 1946, in *AI*, 1, pp. 37-59 (for general introduction to Ahicchatrā and for its pottery). Lal, B.B., 1954 and 55, in *AI*, 10 and 11, pp. 5-181 (for Hastināpura). Narain, A.K., & Roy, T.N., 1968, *Excavations at Prahladpur*, Varanasi; 1976, *Excavations at Rajghat*, Varanasi. Sharma, G.R., 1960. *Excavations at Kauśāmbī, the Defences & the Śyenaciti of Puruṣamedha*, Allahabad; 1965, *Excavations at Kauśāmbī 1949-50*, Mem. ASI, 74, Delhi. Sinha, K.K., 1967. *Excavations at Śrāvastī 1959*, Varanasi; 1969, in B.P. Sinha, ed., *Potteries of Ancient India*, Patna (for NBPW); 1973, in Agrawal, D.P. & Ghosh, A., ed., *Radiocarbon & Indian Arch.*, Bombay, pp. 231-8 (for Kauśāmbī stratigraphy & chronology)—K.K. SINHA

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4. *18.2 W. region*. Rajasthan, bearing a distinct geographical personality in spite of its diverse geomorphological features, played in important role in the growth of early historical cultures of upper India. Unfortunately the available archaeological data are meagre and confined to a limited number of excavated sites like NOH, BAIRAT, RAIRH, JODHPURA, NAGAR² (information from Krishna Deva from his personal notes), SAMBHAR, NAGARI, RANG MAHAL and AHAR². The picture of initial stages of cultural growth of the early historical period, therefore, is rather hazy. However the excavated material which can be divided into the following stages furnishes some idea of the material life of the period: (i) protoliterate (600 to 300 B.C.); (ii) literate (300 to 200 B.C.); (iii) preclassical (200 to 0 B.C.); and (iv) protoclassical (1st to 3rd centuries A.D.).

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The evidence relating to the first stage is confined only to two excavated sites, viz. NÓH and BAIRAT, both in e. Rajasthan, wherein the overlap phase of the PGW [11.14] and NBPW [11.16] appears to represent the cultural traits of this span of time. At NOH some quantity of the black-and-red ware [11.16.3] was also found associated with these levels. No significant structures except a 3 m thick filling of mud (?), which was raised possibly as a safeguarding measure against floods, has been reported. Amongst the notable finds mention may be made of copper objects and iron implements including dishes and arrowheads, ivory hairpins, ear studs and beads of semiprecious stones, besides those of bone and terracotta, discs and wheels, hammer-stones, crucibles [16.4] and decorated figurines. A PGW sherd contained impression of cloth [16.16].

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Broadly coinciding with the Mauryan epoch, the remains of the second stage perhaps saw a somewhat improved standard of material life as is indicated by the excavations at BAIRAT, NOH, RAIRH, etc. The NBPW including plain grey ware formed main ceramic industry. It appears that the NBPW was mainly confined to the e. half of Rajasthan; a single sherd unearthed at AHAR² in s. Rajasthan may be an exception. The building activity of this stage was in mud, mud brick and baked brick. A notable brick structure was the grand circular temple of Buddhist affinity with a *pradakṣiṇā-patha* bearing the traces of lime plaster on brick concrete at BAIRAT. A mud-brick wall and drains of baked brick exposed at NOH probably belonged to the common man’s habitation. Among the principal antiquities mention may be made of: uninscribed cast coins [3.1], human and animal terracotta figurines, some with incised rhombic eyes and punched or applied decorations; copper and iron implements including nails, arrowheads, etc. semiprecious stone, glass, ivory and terracotta beads; shell bangles and bone tools; a seal with an inscription in Brāhmī reading *Dhuvamitasa* from NOH; and many fragments of a polished Chunar sandstone pillar from BAIRAT.

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The inferences pertaining to the preclassical stage are mainly based on the data from RAIRH, SAMBHAR, NAGAR,² NOH, JODHPURA, NAGARI, AHAR,² BAIRAT, etc. The pottery is mainly of red ware, with an occasional use of grey. Emergence of plain spouted jars and knobbed lids form conspicuous features of the ceramic industry. The stage was marked by a greater activity in baked brick, besides mud. Some of the interesting structural remains comprise: the plan of a double-roomed house at RAIRH, dwellings with central courtyards and side rooms at SAMBHAR, a Buddhist monastic complex at BAIRAT and the plan of an elliptical shrine with plastered mud walls bearing a *pradakṣiṇāpatha* at NAGARI, which has been dated by the excavator to an earlier age (350-300 B.C.) and which was probably of Vaiṣṇava affiliation. Ring-wells [14.15] and in one case a drain were also found associated with the habitation.

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Antiquities of this stage are mainly represented by moulded terracotta plaques of human figurines with convex or flat back, animal figurines, beads of terracotta and semiprecious stones, shell bangles, a gold hairpin, copper and iron objects, four-legged stone querns, skin-rubbers [18.4] and terracotta toy-cart frames. Coinage is mainly represented by punch-marked [3.1], cast, Indo-Greek, Mitra and Janapada coins of the Śibis and Mālavas. Interestingevidence of cotton cloth [16.16] was found at BAIRAT and RAIRH. Inscriptions in Brāhmī on two sealings from Ahar² and a seal from SAMBHAR indicate the growth of literacy during the period.

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In the protoclassical stage Rajasthan, like other parts of India, seems to have passed through a phase of greater cultural communication. This is attested by excavated material found at sites like RAIRH, NAGAR,² NOH, RANG MAHAL and NAGARI. The pottery mainly consisted of the ordinary red ware, Red Polished Ware [11.23] and Rang Mahal Ware [11.24], the last one containing beautiful varieties of black painted designs including those of birds and animals and incised ones. Other distinct ceramic types were represented by the vase or pot stamped with diverse symbols including *svastika tri-ratna*, etc., incense-burners [12.2], handled *nīrājanapātras*, one with the figure of a bull from RANG MAHAL, varieties of sprinklers and spouted vessels of plain and decorated type, besides votive tanks [12.11] and ritualistic bowls with miniature bowls on the rim. Glazed pottery [11.26] was also in use to a limited extent as evidenced at a few sites.

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The structural activity was mainly in baked brick and brickbats. but at RANG MAHAL mud brick was largely employed in the construction of houses, which had in some cases burnt-brick pavements and drains. The most remarkable evidence of the stage is represented by the planned settlement at NAGAR² with straight streets oriented due n.-s. and containing blocks of houses on either side. The street fronts were marked with projecting benches and ramps connected with the level of streets which was also characterized by hardened patches of earth. The dwellings contained groups of rooms sometimes with courtyards, large halls, verandas. etc. Evidence of rows of shops on sides of streets signified the urban character of ancient NAGAR.² Houses with side-rooms and courtyards formed a feature of the contemporary levels at SAMBHAR. Besides, partly extant remains of a series of parallel walls, fragments of drains and pavements found at RAIRH indicate a materially rich habitation. Traces of furnaces containing ash, burnt clay and a large quantity of iron refuse at a few sites suggest specialization in iron smelting.

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The significant finds of the stage include handmade human and animal figurines prepared out of single or double mould; beads of agate, lapis lazuli and other semiprecious stones, paste, terracotta, faience [16.6] and glass; a mirror and chariots of bronze from RAIRH; soapstone toilet caskets [18.2]; legged and rotary querns; terracotta rattles [6.7.4], wheels and gamesmen [6.7 2]; bone, terracotta and stone discs; bangles of shell copper and terracotta; ear ornaments, skin-rubbers [18.4] and copper objects and iron implements like sword-blades, lances, spearheads and small daggers. Some outstanding human figures, which give some idea of contemporary aesthetic traditions and beliefs, comprised a plaque depicting figures of Kāmadeva and his consort Rati, Indra attended by a female flywhisk-bearer, a female figure in the round with an attractive head-dress, a *yakṣī* standing under a tree from NAGAR² and a terracotta mould of a female head, hand-modelled figure of a male seated on a stool with pendant legs, reminding one of the Mathura statue of Wima Kadphises, and a fragment of a terracotta plaque depicting a male with four-stringed lyre from SAMBHAR.

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The coinage is represented by the issues of the Mālavas, Kushans and Muruṇḍas, An imperfectly-read bronze seal with Brāhmī legend was found at RANG MAHAL.

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For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—M.C. JOSHI & A.K. SINHA

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During the period Gujarat, like other regions, witnessed the growth of towns, such as NAGARA and PRABHAS, though rural establishments are represented by such sites as TIMBARWA, BABEN, JOKHA, DHATVA, SATHOD, etc. New settlements seem to have been developing on rivers like the Tapti, Vishwamitri, Meshvo and Vatraka and in the plains. They indicate a linear pattern on the river banks but in the plains sites like SHAMALAJI, KARWAN, JOKHA, etc., indicate rectangular patterns. A thicker habitation than in the preceding periods is noticeable, the process being no doubt accelerated by the removal of the forest cover by iron-using agriculturists.

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The houses in these open towns and villages were mostly of mud or split bamboo. The political condition during the period seems to be changing from the status of an independent state, ultimately merging into the Mauryan empire, after the collapse of which political struggle is intermittently observed through the period, necessitating fortifications at such sites as SHAMALAJI. But periods of peace, sometimes long, helped in the growth of settlements and commerce. NAGARA, KAMREJ and BHARUCH, established earlier, seem to be expanding as centres of trade, while towns like VALA, VERAVAL, SOMNATH, AKOTA and VADNAGAR seem to have been established in the later part of the period. This twofold phenomenon of the development of old settlements and the establishment of new ones indicates the progress of culture.

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The geographical position of Gujarat on the w. sea board assisted in the establishment and growth of entrepots and BHARUCH, NAGARA, Hathab, VERAVAL, DWARKA and other centres where the goods coming from the w. were exchanged for the local products with those collected from the hinterland. The goods gathered at these centres moved in the interior through the old centres like JOKHA, DHATVA or the new establishments like KARVAN, Ajabpura, Sanand and AMRELI, all indicating the internal trade routes. The commercial prosperity is reflected in the brick houses, use of fine ceramics, imported materials and donation and creation of religious monuments. The people seem to have arranged large-scale dinners cooked in hearths dug into the ground. Grains like rice and *Rodrava* were used; animals like the deer, *nilgai*, domestic sheep, cattle and fowl were killed for food. Along with commerce town-planning, house-building, public works as well as ceramics, ivory and shell-work, mining, metallurgy and agriculture were flourishing.

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In this belt of occasional draught the utility of water conservation was clearly realized and earthworks were erected; thus the famous Sudarśana was constructed in the reign of Chandragupta Maurya in the 4th century B.C. and was repaired by Rudradāman in A.D. 150. Their layout with stone and brick across the small streams, their waste-weir channels, etc., indicate the engineering practices. The fine series of such works around SHAMALAJI is indicative of their planning and construction as well as their weakness. Some records indicate the finance involved and the care taken to repair them when they were damaged. This helped local agriculture that was probably developed for domestic and commercial use.

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The metallurgists depended on local iron ores and other necessary ingredients, fuel, etc. Iron was smelted, forged and case-hardened for specific tools such as hoes. Some copper, bronze and silver seem to have been imported and smelted and cast for coins and images. Potin and lead also were similarly used.

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A variety of ceramics was produced for day-to-day use. Bricks and bars were produced for construction. Roof-tiles were known. Some ceramics entered Gujarat from the w. in commercial transactions and were locally reused. Some glazed ceramics [11.26] were also produced. Glass was manufactured or imported and large ear studs, bangles and beads were made from it. Shells, specially conch, were used for making beads, bangles and pendants. Querns, mortars, beads, etc. were produced out of stone. Toys for children as well as dice indicate the objects of amusement.

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Due to persistent foreign occupation of the land from the 1st century A.D. to the end of our period the population might have developed a large foreign element.

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For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—R.N. MEHTA

4.18.3 Middle Ganga region

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Prior to the advent of the early historical period we have in the mid-Ganga valley (Bihar plains) the picture of a prevalent Chalcolithic culture, typified at CHIRAND and SONPUR [4.14.3] and characterized by the black-and-red ware [11.6.4], some copper objects, mud houses, microliths, bone arrowheads and a few terracottas. Towards the end of the Chalcolithic period we find the introduction of iron with a fine and late variety of the black-and-red ware at both the sites. Thus iron was known and used in the region before the introduction of the NBPW [11.16]. The use of iron as a metal has been hailed as marking a great technological revolution leading to the rise of urban centres, with the sophisticated *de luxe* NBPW monumental architecture and beginning of writing. While there is no question of the significance of the use of iron, the point appears to have been overrated. Even before the introduction of iron there were large and prosperous settlements in India and outside, developed scripts, art and architecture and brisk internal and external trade. The view that the opening up of the mid-Ganga valley by the Aryans was facilitated by the iron tools for the clearing of thick jungles is not tenable. While there is no evidence that the mid-Ganga plains were more thickly forested than the sub-Himalayan regions of Uttar Pradesh, which had settlements even before, we have clear evidence of a flourishing Chalcolithic culture throughout the area at sites like MANER, Dt Patna, CHECHAR, across the Ganga opposite Patna, and other sites, not to speak of CHIRAND and SONPUR. But iron tools and weapons must have helped in the marching ahead of the preceding Chalcolithic cultures into the rise and growth of larger kingdoms (*mahājanapadas*) and even empires. But the evidence of this transformation is lacking.

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