An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s18.t3: 4.18.5 Lower Ganga region
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s18.t3
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4.18.5 Lower Ganga region
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Stretching from the e. Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, roughly between 86° and 90° lat. and 22° and 27° long., W. Bengal has four major physical divisions (Spate and Learmouth, 1967, p. 573): (i) the submontane *tarai*, still largely under forest (Dts Darjeeling, Koochbehar and Jalpaiguri); (ii) the n. para-delta (Dts W. Dinajpur and Malda); (iii) the w. margins comprising largely the laterite piedmont plain between the Hooghly and Contai c. plain (Dts Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and Midnapur); and (iv) the Bhagirathi (Ganga) delta (Dts Murshidabad, Nadia, 24-Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly). The third division, drained by endless fans of rivers—Ajay, Damodar, Rupnarayan and Kasai (Kangsabati)—had witnessed the extension of the prehistoric black-and-red ware culture of c. and w. India [4.14.5, 4.14.6], but nothing has so far been discovered to make a picture of transition from prehistory to history in this region. Some early historical sites have been noticed in this division, but their presence appears to be more a result of the extension of the early historical culture from the delta area (the fourth division) than an emergence out of a prehistoric background. The most important early historical city in this region is the port-town of Tāmralipta (Ramachandran, 1951), represented by TAMLUK, a sub-divisional town in Dt Midnapur. As a result of excavation and exploration a large number of antiquities from the Mauryan epoch have been discovered here. A few wooden fragments recovered from the Bargabhima temple site are believed to be the remains of a Mauryan palisade. From a high mound were unearthed 300 cast coins [3.1] of the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. Among the terracottas some are of Hellenistic affiliation, though the majority belong to the Śuṅga-Kushan art idiom. Several pottery vases from this site are said to have Egyptian or Minoan parallels. Fragments of the Rouletted Ware [11.21] have also been reported. post-Kushan finds suggest that the port-town continued to thrive even after the early historical period. The latest excavation at the site (1974-5) has been without any significant result.
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Other ancient sites located in this region have been explored in a cursory manner and the reports thereon indifferently prepared. Some such sites occur in Dt Birbhum (Chakravarti, 1972). One of them is BIRNAGAR, where an extensive mound is said to have yielded brickbats, and KOTASUR and ASURDANGA are two other sites in this Dt which possibly contain relics of the period.
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PANDU RAJAR DHIBI is another site in Dt Burdwan which shows traces of prehistoric and early historic settlements. Published notices of the excavation at this site give a confused picture of the cultural sequence, as terracotta heads, the NBPW(?) and microliths have been reported from the same level. MANGOLKOT is another important site in the same Dt, which yields from time to time terracottas and pottery of the Śuṅga-Kushan age from the surface.
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The n. para-delta, the second physical division, lying between the Bhagirathi and the Brahmaputra-Jamuna, is essentially a vast plain watered by innumerable rivers. Its physiographical nature favoured the growth of early urban sites. Among such sites only BANGARH, Dt W. Dinajpur, lies in W. Bengal. It has been identified with ancient Kotivarṣa, a metropolis of the Puṇḍravardhana-*bhukti*. Excavation at this site shows three phases in its cultural history. Phase I corresponds to from the Maurya to the early Śuṅga period. From Phase II have been discovered brick structures of the Gupta period, while Phase III belongs to the post-Gupta epoch. But no correlation between the excavated materials and the phase to which they belong has been made out in the published report.
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The most important division during the early historical period was the Bhagirathi delta, the fourth physical division. It was so because this region felt the direct impact of the process of second urbanization of the Ganga basin. Of the urban centres which grew up as a result of this impact CHANDRAKETUGARH in 24-Parganas is the largest in dimension. Also known as BERACHAMPA, this site emerged as a fortified town in the 5th century B.C. Its mud rampart wall encircles an area of 13 sq km. Excavations were conducted at Khana-Mihirer Dhipi and Itkholar-danga, both lying within the fortified area. At Khana-Mihirer Dhipi six successive periods of occupation were noticed. In Pd I, assignable to the 4th-3rd century B.C., the NBPW [11.16] and punch-marked coins [3.1] were found. Pd II was distinguished by the usual ceramics of the early Christian era, terracottas of the Śuṅga-Kushan age, numerous copper coins, beads of semiprecious stones, terracotta sealings and other minor antiquities. Pd III yielded the rouletted ware, spouted cups, terracotta figurines, etc. A wooden container of paddy husk was an interesting find. Excavation at Itkholar-danga revealed a sequence from the 6th century B.C. In Pd I punch-marked coins, the NBPW and other objects were noticed. Pd II produced terracotta plaques, cast copper coins and other antiquities. The significant finds from Pd III were the rouletted ware and other objects assignable to the 1st-3rd century A.D. A cutting across the rampart near Itkholar-danga area showed that the rampart, raised on a foundation of brickbats, *surkhi* and potsherds, had two structural phases: the earlier phase belonged to the 1st century B.C., and the later to the next century. Remains of a wooden structure were found below the foundation of the rampart.
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Besides CHANDRAKETUGARH the other explored early historical sites in the Bhagirathi delta include BORAL, HARINARAYANPUR, HARIPUR, DEULPOTA and ATGHARA, all in 24-Parganas. The antiquities reported from them include terracotta figurines, pottery, beads of semiprecious stones and other objects. At HARINARAYANPUR was found a sherd inscribed in characters of the 2nd century B.C., reading *Mitra-dharma*. The site has yielded the NBPW, punch-marked coins, Śuṅga-Kushan terracottas and other objects. Another site, Adi Saptagram, in Dt Hooghly, is noteworthy on account of the typical rouletted ware.
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Chakrabarti, Debkumar, 1972, *Birbhūm Jelār Purākīrti*, Calcutta. Das Gupta, P.C., 1966, *Arch. Discoveries in W. Bengal*, Bull. Directorate Arch., W. Bengal, 1, Calcutta; 1964, *Excavation at Pandur Rajar Dhibi*, Calcutta. Ramachandran, T.N., 1951, in *Artibus Asiae*, 14, pp. 226-39 (for Tamluk). Spate, O.H.K., & Learmonth, 1967, *India & Pakistan, a General & Regional Geography*, London. For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—A.C. PAL
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*4.18.6 E. region*. No archaeological remains that can be conclusively ascribed to the early historical period are known in the region. This is somewhat surprising because the Brahmaputra valley finds bear mention in both the epics, particularly the Mahabharata. There is, however, no truth in the assumption that this region was known to the author of the *Periplus* and Ptolemy. The beginning of early history in Assam is still undefined archaeologically.
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Chowdhury, P.C., 1966, *History of the Civilization of the People of Assam*, Gauhati.—Y.A. RAIKAR
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*4.18.7 C. region*. C. India, as already defined [4.14.5], with its perennial rivers and rich soil cover, contributed to the emergence and thriving of several cultures not only in prehistoric times but also in the early historical period. Generally speaking, the early historical cultures are associated with the PGW [11.14], the NBPW [11.16], the Red Polished Ware [11.23] and the bright-red ware of the Gupta period. However it is difficult to isolate these ceramic cultures, as at several sites in c. India the cultural development was a continuous process at least in this period. Moreover the periodization as given in several summary reports conceives of very broad chronological spans which make it rather difficult to individualize cultures based on the associated ceramic industries. It may therefore be proper to define the period of these distinctive ceramics, note the regions of their occurrence and then give a general sequence of material culture of the region in the early historical period. But it is necessary to make it clear that the dating proposed for the various ceramic industries is not final in any sense of the term even after taking into consideration some of the ¹⁴C dates.
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The earliest ware in the historical period which is associated with iron in the post-Chalcolithic period is the PGW, which has so far been reported from UJJAIN and BESNAGAR. At the former site it was encountered in the deposits which formed the rampart around this famous city, whereas at BESNAGAR it was recovered in the upper levels of Pd I designated as Chalcolithic [4.14.5]. While no details are available for BESNAGAR, UJJAIN of the PGW period seems to have been a well-fortified city on the bank of the river Sipra. [The presence of a few PGW sherds in the core of the mud rampart need not necessarily show its PGW date and may only indicate the existence of a PGW settlement near by from where clay was collected for heaping up the rampart.] The rampart of yellow and black clay, with several openings to serve as entrances, and with a moat about 25 m wide and 6 m deep, was parallelogrammatic in shape with a maximum extant height of about 13 m and basal width of about 60 m. It was reinforced on the side of the river by a framework of neatly cut wooden logs about 25·4 cm square and 5·1 m in length. The limited occurrence of the PGW in Madhya Pradesh does not allow a picture of the life of the people, but Ujjain has given evidence of cow-sacrifice, production of terracotta human and animal figurines, remains of stone and burnt-brick structures, iron artefacts and bone styli [20.5]. No details of the material culture associated with the PGW are available from BESNAGAR. The PGW at UJJAIN has been dated to 750 to 500 B.C
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The next early historical culture is associated with the well-known NBPW, reported from several sites in c. India, the better known of them being UJJAIN, TRIPURĪ, BESNAGAR, MAHESHWAR and ERAN. It appears that there was a great development in the material culture in the period associated with the NBPW. For instance, Pd II of UJJAIN has structures of fired as well as unfired brick, with floors made of a bed of rubble and brick jelly coated with smooth plaster of clay. In some structures the use of lime brick with a glazed surface is also evidenced. The kitchen equipment comprises stone pestles and mortars [6.19]. This Pd also witnessed the repairs to the breached rampart by means of a brick revetment and the laying out of well-made roads of rubble of assorted size with a clay soling; ring-wells [14.15] for sanitary purpose and a brick-built reservoir measuring about 10×8 m were built, thus showing a marked improvement in the life of the settlement. However the most significant feature of this Pd has been evidenced at BESNAGAR where remains of a temple with a circumambulatory passage and timber superstructure have been exposed.
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That the NBPW period marked an all-round development in material culture is attested not only by a large-scale use of iron but also in the perfection in other fields. For instance, at UJJAIN were found the remains of a workshop where beads were manufactured, whereas figures of bulls made of copper have been reported from TRIPURĪ. The occurrence of punch-marked coins [3.1] and seals with legends stands testimony to the advance in the economic life of the people. Charred wheat has been reported from BESNAGAR.
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The black-and-red ware [11.6], contemporary with the NBPW at UJJAIN and TRIPURĪ, seems to have continued even in the post-Mauryan period, associated with the coins of the Śātavāhanas. The tempo of urbanization and economic development seems to have continued in the Śuṅga-Sātavāhana period as evidenced by largescale Buddhist establishments as at Bharhut and SANCHI and the abundant find of coins of the Sātavāhana rulers. The black-and-red ware of the early historical period is generally thick, with impure clay, the core showing imperfect firing, but it shows quite a range of shapes mostly of utilitarian value, e.g. the bowl, dish, globular pot, basin, cup, etc. Houses were brick-built with the roof supported on wooden posts and covered with tiles fixed to rafters below by means of iron nails. Coins of Sātavāhana kings have been reported from a number of sites in c. India, like TRIPURĪ, UJJAIN, Malhar, MAHESHWAR, BESNAGAR and several places in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra contiguous to Madhya Pradesh. Along with the Sātavāhanas and later the Kṣatrapas held sway over a large part of c. India and their coins have been reported from TRIPURĪ, Malhar, UJJAIN and MAHESHWAR. There was not much change in the material culture but a new type of ceramic ware seems to have come into vogue along with terracotta figurines in this period. The former is characterized by a red surface with bands in dull-black.
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Evidence of Roman contact with some c. Indian sites is available in the form of Roman coins and bullae [6.4] and the occurrence of the Red Polished Ware [11.23]. Roman bullae [6.4] have been reported from TRIPURI Bilaspur, Adam and Kolhapur and amphorae [11.9] sherds from PAUNAR. It may however be stated here that most of the Red Polished Ware is imitation, and real Roman Wares like the Megarian Ware [11.18] have not been found.
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The landmarks in the cultural history of c. India subsequent to the Kṣatrapa period are too well known to be recounted in detail. ERAN, ancient Airikiṇa, attained importance under the rule of Samudragupta, Budhagupta and Bhānugupta and temple architecture thrived under their patronage.
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Some of the c. Indian excavated sites with early historical levels may be recounted here.
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TRIPURĪ situated about 12 km w. of Jabalpur, is referred to in ancient Brāhmancial, Jaina and Buddhist literature. Coins bearing the legend *Tripuri* in Brāhmī of c. 3rd century B.C. have been recovered from the village of Tewar, identified as the ancient site of Tripurī. The first systematic excavation was carried out by the Saugar Univ. in 1952-53 and subsequently, for several seasons, by the same agency in 1965 and onwards. In the earlier excavation the habitational deposits, having a thickness of about 7 to 8 m, showed a sequence of five Pds. Pd I, dated to *c.* 1000 B.C. and represented by black-on-red painted pottery and microliths, was Chalcolithic [4.14.5]. Pd II, assigned to *c.* 400 to 300 B.C., was marked by the occurrence of the NBPW, buff-slipped ware, mud-brick houses and crystal beads. The Pd III occupation, dated between 300 and 100 B.C., was evidenced by the existence of mud-brick houses, punch-marked coins [3.1] and coins of Siri Sātavāhana. Belonging to Pd IV (*c.* 100 B.C. to A.D. 200) were extensive remains of a brick-built Buddhist *vihāra* yielding a steatite casket [12.8] and pottery with Buddhist symbols. Terracottas of Āndhra-Kushan style were also found. Pd V, dated between *c.* 200 and 400, gave mica-slipped pottery, glass and shell beads, brass and iron missiles and terracotta figurines with foreign affinities. Remains of a circular temple identified as Golakī-maṭha, a seat of the Pāśupata sect, of the Kalacuri period were also unearthed.
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However the subsequent excavations proposed a different sequence. Pd I, dated between *c.* 500 to 300 B.C., was represented by the NBPW, the black-and-red ware, houses with rammed floors, fire pits and copper bull figures. Pd II could be dated between *c.* 300 and 100 B.C. on the basis of copper punch-marked coins, coins of Tripurī-Janapada and a fine red ware with shining surface. Pd III, *c.* 100 B.C. to A.D. 200, yielded Sātavāhana coins and platforms built of fired brick. Pd IV, *c.* 200 to 400, gave coins of the kings of the Bodhi dynasty, the Red Polished Ware and terracotta sealings. This Pd also had very distinctive missiles with denticulated brass blades and socketed spearheads. The last Pd, V, could be dated between *c.* 5th century and the early medieval period and was documented by silver Sassanian coins and gold coins of Kalacuri kings.
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UJJAIN, Ujjayinī of ancient literature, the second major site excavated site in 1956 and onwards, lay on a major trade route. The excavations gave evidence of four major Pds of occupation. Pd I was represented by the PGW recovered in the clay rampart referred to above. The habitation inside the fortified area consisted of structures with rubble foundations and burnt-brick walls. The other ceramic industries associated with this Pd were the black-and-red ware and the Vesiculated Ware [11.17]. Iron was extensively used.
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Pd II was marked by the occurrence of the NBPW and the black-and-red and grey wares as also the Vesiculated Ware. The structures were built of mud-brick as well as burnt brick laid over a plinth of rubble and clay, with a smooth clay plaster over the flooring. A remarkable feature of the Pd was a bead workshop with beads of carnelian and agate in various stages of manufacture indicating that Ujjain was then a centre of bead making. Pd III has been given a very wide time-bracket and designated as Śuṅga-Paramāra, characterized by Śuṅga terracottas, brick constructions, soakage wells, brick drains, votive tanks [12.11] and fragmentary sculptures.
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The last period of occupation, belonging to the late medieval period, was evidenced by mica-dusted ware, glazed pottery and Muslim coins.
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[At NAGDA, Dt Ujjain, excavated by the ASI in 1955-6, Pd II. following Pd I, Chalcolithic, [4.14.5], was comparable with that of Pd I of Ujjain. Though pre-NBPW, it had a rich repertoire of iron objects but still retained some Chalcolithic features. Pd III, 500 to 200 B.C., had the NBPW and associated wares and also a rich iron industry.]
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ERAN, ancient Airikiṇa, was excavated for a few seasons by the Saugar Univ. from 1964-5. No full report is however available. The historical habitations here begin with Pd II, characterized by the black-and-red ware and terracottas in early Sātavāhana style, shell pendants and terracotta cart-wheels. Pd III could be dated on the basis of the coin moulds and coins of W. Kṣatrapa kings. The last Pd was evidenced by glass and lac bangles and medieval coins.
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The site of BESNAGAR, ancient Vidiśā, well-known for the Garuḍa pillar of Heliodoros, was excavated by the ASI in 1964-5 and subsequent years, giving a sequence of historical cultures from the PGW to the 2nd-3rd century A.D. However the excavation was carried out mainly to know more about the Garuḍa pillar and associated remains, if any. Pd I was Chalcolithic [4.14.5], but in its upper levels were encountered sherds of the PGW. The next Pd could be dated on the basis of NBPW and punch-marked coins. The remains of a temple with a superstructure of timber and a *pradakṣiṇā-patha* belonged to this Pd. In the next Pd, assigned to Śuṅga times, the temple was marked by a brick platform on a raised plinth. The Heliodoros pillar could be stratigraphically assigned to this Pd. Excavation revealed that there was a regular alignment of seven pits with the remains of pillar and capital fragments, thereby suggesting that the Heliodoros pillar was one of the seven in a row. The final Pd was characterized by Kṣatrapa coins.
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MAHESHWAR, on the left bank of the Narmada, about 80 km due s. of Indore, has been referred to frequently in ancient Indian literature. The *Mahābhārata* refers to Maheśvarapura, whereas the Purāṇas speak of Maheśvarasthāna. However both these sources also mention that the city of Māhiṣmatī was situated on the Narmada and was associated with the Haihayas. Some scholars tried to equate Maheshwar with Māhiṣmatī, whereas some identified it with Omkara Mandhata, again on the Narmada. However the excavations carried out here by the Deccan College and the M.S. Univ. of Baroda in 1952-3 have proved that the present-day Maheshwar represents ancient Māhiṣmatī.
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The habitations of the historical period at Maheshwar—though there was also evidence of earlier Chalcolithic [4.14.5] habitations—could be divided into four Pds. The early historical Pd I habitations were evidenced by the occurrence of the NBPW, early cast coins and punch-marked coins [3.1] and remains of a *stūpa* at NAVDATOLI on the opposite bank, which was destroyed by floods. This Pd has been dated from 400 to 100 B.C.
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The early historical Pd II, *c.* 100 B.C. to A.D. 100, was characterized mainly by the early historical black-and-red ware and the absence of the NBPW. Pd III was evidenced by the occurrence on a large scale of the Red Polished Ware and typical terracottas of the early centuries of the Christian era. The final Pd saw the introduction of Islamic glazed pottery and late medieval antiquities.
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For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—S.B. DEO
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*4.18.8 N.-e. Deccan.* Nothing prior to the two sets of the rock-edicts of Aśoka can be said to belong to the early historical period of Orissa. Aśoka who conquered Kaliṅga in the eighth year of his reign (*c.* 265 B.C.) has left his records at two places in Orissa—Dhauli and JAUGADA. These sets of edicts are significant in that they omit all reference to his conquest of Kaliṅga which his edicts engraved elsewhere mention, evidently to avoid any offence to the people of that country, of whom a hundred thousand had been killed in the war. In one of them he proclaims: ‘All men are my children.’ These edicts are respectively addressed to his officers (*mahāmātras*) posted at Tosalī and Samāpā. The Samāpā edict is engraved on a boulder in the fortified town of JAUGADA itself and the Tosali one on a boulder at Dhauli, 5 km n. n.-w. from SISUPALGARH, also a fortified town. In the absence of any other ruined towns near by SISUPALGARH may be safely identified with Tosalī and Jaugada with Samāpā.
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Early historical sculptural art is well represented in Orissa. The earliest example is the forepart of an elephant carved on the top of the edict-bearing edict at Dhauli. The animal, though lacking the typical Mauryan polish, is represented faithfully with a stately movement, vibrant with life and inner strength emerging out of the boulder in harmony with its configuration.
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SISUPALGARH, under the name Kaliṅganagara, attained the height of its prosperity under Khāravela of the Mahāmeghavāhana dynasty in the 1st century B.C., whose achievements are described in his famous inscription in the UDAYAGIRI(-KHANDAGIRI) hill, not far from Sisupalgarh, where Khāravela and members of his family excavated a number of caves and an apsidal temple for Jaina monks. Born out of the common art tradition of *c.* India, the sculptured friezes of caves have a distinctive flavour of their own in their depth, plasticity and volume.
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Like SISUPALGARH, JAUGADA was built in the fullfledged Iron Age but probably had a substratum of the Neolithic culture [4.6.7], a large number of stone celts of oblong section having been found on the surface except one occurring immediately over the natural soil. Probably in this cultural backwater the beginnings of the early historical period were not far removed in time from the end of the Neolithic.
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*4.18.9 Upper Deccan.* Most of the Chalcolithic sites in the upper Deccan [4.14.6] were deserted by the beginning of the first millennium B.C. but for those in the Bhima valley where the Jorwe culture continued to survive, albeit in a poorer form, till 700 B.C. The deserted sites remained unoccupied for centuries and were reinhabited only during the 3rd-2nd centuries B.C., when this region came under the control of the Mauryas. Some sites in the Tapti and the Godavari valleys, however, are believed to have been in occupation even earlier in the sixth century B.C. The evidence from such excavated sites as PRAKASH and BAHAL in the Tapti and PAITHAN and NASIK in the Godavari valley shows that they were occupied by a people who had mastered the technology of iron. The stone blade-flake industry of the preceding Chalcolithic period was now replaced by iron tools such as knives, sickles, nails, arrowheads, spearheads, ferrules, axes, etc. The principal ceramic industry was the black-and-red ware represented by the bowl and dish and a non-descript red ware. Contact with n. India is indicated by the occurrence at some sites of the welldefined NBPW [11.16], which can be attributed to the expansion of the Mauryan empire s. of the Vindhyas in the 3rd century B.C. The structures of this period were mud-walled houses as at NASIK, and there is also evidence of the arrangement for the drainage of rain-water through ring-wells [14.15] and soakage jars. Punchmarked coins [3.1], hoards of which have been reported from sites like BAHAL, also belong to this period. These are essentially the elements of an organized civic life which mark the ushering in of urban development in this part of the country.
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Large tracts of the upper Deccan were occupied by 3rd-2nd centuries B.C. when the Sātavāhana rule was established over this region. Although the initial year of the beginning of the Sātavāhana rule is controversial, culturally the period from the 2nd century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D. may be labelled as the Sātavāhana period in the archaeology of the Deccan. The Sātavāhana rule is attested by the finds of their coins at most of the sites in the upper Deccan. The period is characterized by permanent structures of baked brick with stone foundations and roofed with tiles [14.6.4] having a longitudinal groove and two holes for fixing them to the roof by means of iron nails. The houses at NEVASA had large rectangular rooms (4·50×3·50 m); the bricks used in their construction measured 52·5×27·5×7·5 cm, but they were not laid in the header-and-stretcher fashion. The floor was made of clay sometimes with a basal layer of sand as at NASIK. Water was drained off from the house through soakage jars buried in a pit or through a ring-well situated at some distance from the house, and the approach to it was rammed with pebbles and broken tiles. At NASIK wooden planks were fitted over the soakage pit and at NEVASA the planks were secured by means of a wooden rod. At PAITHAN there was a bricklined drain joining the soakage pit. Structural *stūpas* built during this period have been laid bare at PAUNI, Dt Bhandara, TER, Dt Osmanabad, and Sopara near Bombay. But no fortified cities have come to light although Pliny records that there were 30 walled towns in the Sātavāhana empire.
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A kitchen of this period measuring 6 × 3 m was unearthed at NASIK inside which were found a *chulha* of clay, six large storage jars embedded in the ground and a quantity of charred bones. Legged querns, sometimes decorated with incised patterns, and cylindrical pestles [6.19] are quite common at the Sātavāhana sites. The remains of charred grains and animal bones collected at several sites show that the people consumed wheat, rice, *jowar*, *ragi*, *pea*, gain, etc., as also mutton, pork vension and fish.
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The principal ceramic industry of the period is a nondescript red-slipped pottery having a salt-glazed surface and represented by a variety of utilitarian shapes. The black-and-red ware of the preceding period also continues in this period. The ornaments consist of necklaces composed of beads of chalcedony, agate, carnelian, chert and also lapis lazuli which is used more as a spacer. Disc-shaped ear-studs too are made of these stones as well as of lead and glass. Animal- and bird-shaped amulets [12.1] also come into vogue in this period. Bangles are usually made of conch-shell, sometimes carved with decorative patterns. Ivory bangles, however, are of rare occurrence. Antimony rods [18.1] are made of copper but those of ivory are not wanting; those from NEVASA and NASIK are incised with delicate patterns. Combs [18.3] too are made of ivory. A variety of skinrubbers [18.4] has been found and the noteworthy among them resembles the half of a mango seed. (Even today in rural Maharashtra people use actual mango seeds as skin-rubbers.) A number of tools and weapons of iron comprising knives, daggers, ploughshares and other objects of daily use have been reported from several sites. Iron caltrops [19.3.5] from NASIK are most interesting.
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From the 1st to the 3rd centuries A.D. India enjoyed a flourishing trade with the Roman empire. The sea trade was carried through the ports on the w. coast such as Broach (Bhṛgukaccha), Sopara (Śūrpāraka), Cheul (Cemula), Kalyan (Caliene of the Romans) and other ones of lesser importance. This trade contact with the Roman world is reflected in the cultural equipment of the period—referred to as the Indo-Roman—at several sites, viz. KOLHAPUR, TER, NASIK, PAUNAR, BHOKARDAN and PAITHAN, where objects of Roman origin such as fragments of amphorae [11.19], glass beads, coins, bullae [6.4], lamps and the Megarian Ware [11.18] have turned up. By far the most important hoard of Roman objects, all of Alexandrian workmanship, has been discovered at KOLHAPUR. It consists of a number of bronze vessels, candelbra, stands and above all a statuette of Poseidon, the sea god, which is one of the finest of its class. Similarly objects of Indian origin found their way to the w., the most important among them is the famous ivory statue from Pompeii which is strikingly similar to one from BHOKARDAN.
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This Indo-Roman period is characterized by a fine ceramic usually referred to as the Red Polished Ware [11.23] which is represented by a variety of sprinklers. It is supposed to be the imitation of the Roman Samion Ware. Another object of classical origin is the rotary quern [6.19.1] which has also been found at several sites in the upper Deccan. Most of the sites have yielded terracotta figurines of kaolin produced from a double mould, a technique which is supposed to be of Roman origin [17.2].
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For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—M.K. DHAVALIKAR
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*4.18.10 S.-e. Deccan.* The cultural set-up of the s.-e. Deccan succeeding the late Neolithic/Chalcolithic [4.6.8., 4.14.7] and the advent of the Iron Age Megalithic [4.17.7] periods has not been fully worked out. The same is true of the historical period prior to the establishment of the Sātavāhana rule in the region. Except a few inscriptions, sculptures, coins, literary references and travel accounts, no systematic material evidence has been gathered from archaeological finds. Moreover the absence of cultural superimpositions at such a largely excavated site as NAGARJUNAKONDA has added problems rather than solved them, although the settlement patterns of each culture right from the Palaeolithic Age to the late medieval period are individually well documented at this site; but even here no material evidence exists for the historical period prior to the later Sātavāhana occupation. Any account on the early historical cultures would therefore suffer from a lack of authentic data. For the sake of clarity, however, this long period may be divided into the three following phases, the dynastic appellation of each being only meant for convenient labelling: I, 6th to 3rd century B.C. (pre-Mauryan); II, 3rd century B.C. to 1st century A.D. (Mauryan and early Sātavāhana); and III, 1st to 3rd century A.D. (late Sātavāhana).
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Phase I: The beginnings of the use of iron, the Black-and-red Ware [11.15.3] and Megalithic monuments in the Deccan can be assigned to the early first millennium B.C. generally but the habitations and other cultural relics, barring funerary vestiges, still remain an enigma. At KESARAPALLE, Dt Krishna, megaliths are found in proximity of the habitation site but their mutual link could not be established here or elsewhere. However an important discovery from the Megalithic assemblage of this site (Pd II, 5th century B.C.) is an NBPW [11.16] sherd along with plain wares, closely paralleled by the ceramics of Pd I of UJJAIN. Jami, Dt Visakhapatnam, revealed an iron-using Black-and-red Ware [11.15.3] occupation in Pd II, beginning from the 7th century B.C. but no megaliths were associated (Sarma, 1976). The extensive use of iron tools and implements and decorative objects in gold, silver and brass from the megaliths at NAGARJUNAKONDA and YELLESWARAM suggests an advanced technique and evolved traits, not very different from the contemporary historical sites of the s. and n., although at both the sites some of the Megalithic types belong to a late date, say 2nd-1st century B.C. At the present state of our knowledge it is not possible to place the cultural assemblages—iron, Black-and-red Ware, Megalithic or non-Megalithic associates—under the early historical group despite their contemporaneity and overlap.
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Phase II: As elsewhere, the earliest reliable historical relics belong to the Mauryan times by which period the Megalithic culture was perhaps in an advanced stage. Excavations at DHARANIKOTA and the *stūpa* site at AMARAVATI provide substantially new evidence. The earliest occupation at the *stūpa* site was characterized by the use of iron, Black-and-red Ware and more significantly the NBPW. The earliest inhabitants lived in huts raised on posts, although there is evidence of the use of burnt brick. Of far-reaching importance is the occurrence of the NBPW in large quantities (Sarma, 1974a, 1975) in well-stratified contexts for the first time in peninsular India and that too in levels preceding and contemporary to the foundation of the *stūpa*. On the basis of other reliable finds such as inscribed granite uprights and a fragmentary pillar edict of Aśoka, the earliest NBPW horizons admittedly below the *stūpa* levels can be assigned to *c.* 4th century B.C. The corresponding levels yielding a scatter of the NBPW and Black-and-red Ware at DHARANIKOTA have been dated by ¹⁴C method to 475 ± 100 to 205 ± 100 B.C. The horizons of NBPW in the pre-*stūpa* level indicates an early advent of Buddhist missionaries from the n. (Sarma, 1974b).
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In the cuttings laid across the fortifications at DHARANIKOTA the earliest period yielded an embankment-cum-wharf abutting a navigational channel which had been in existence earlier than the rise of the fortifications of Sātavāhana date. The profuse variety of Mediterranean glass objects, mostly bangles, ear-rings, studs, etc., is indicative of the foreign trade during this period (Raghavachary, 1972-3). The occurrence of silver punch-marked coins [3.1] of archaic types in hoards at Singavaram, Dt Krishna (Altekar, 1960), and other places in Andhra lends support to the view that the region had come under Nanda-Maurya political and cultural impacts (Narayanan, 1975, p. 254). More direct and indisputable evidence is available from the time of Aśoka. The fragmentary pillar edict and certain early inscribed members of the Amaravati *stūpa*-railing stand witness to the importance attached by the emperor to this Buddhist centre. Buddhism rose to the level of a state religion and many strongholds developed with Amaravati as the main centre. During the post-Aśokan period a local king Kuberaka appears to have patronized Buddhism in the Krishna basin, as the BHATTIPROLU relic casket inscriptions and the monastery excavated at the site reveal. The various donatory records on the architectural and sculptural members, seals, etc., obtained from the Buddhist sites such as AMARAVATI, Jaggayyapeta, Bhattiprolu, Gudivada, Ghantasala and Guntupalli prove the existence of organized guilds (*goṣṭhīs*) and co-operatives (*nigamas*) right from the 2nd century B.C. These institutions served as rich promoters of trade between the n. and s. Less frequent are the vestiges of the Jaina faith, the notable examples being the rock beds and inscribed caverns at Malakonda, Dt Prakasam (*An. Rep. S. Indian Epigraphy 1936-7*, p. 75), and Guntupalli, Dt w. Godavari. At the latter site a pillar record reveals how a Mahāmeghavāhana ruler erected pillared halls for the Jainas (*Andhra Pradesh Epigraphical Series*, 3, 1968, pp. 1-7). The inscriptions and structural remains are assignable to the 2nd century B.C.
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Phase III: During the early centuries of the Christian era a spurt of structural activity backed by prosperous trade and political stability was witnessed under the Sātavāhana rule. The city of Dhānyakaṭaka rose to be the e. capital. Excavated evidence from DHARANIKOTA reveals that the town was expanded and the fortifications and wharf strengthened. It became a flourishing centre of Indo-Roman trade on the e. coast humming with merchants in the town and Buddhist monks at the adjacent Buddhist establishment. The profuse occurrence of the Rouletted Ware [11.21], amphorae [11.19] and the Arretine Ware [11.20], Roman glass and gold coins from AMARAVATI, DHARANIKOTA and various sites in coastal Andhra, right from MUKHALINGAM, Dt Srikakulam, to Ghantasala, Dt Krishna, speak of the extensive trade and religious contacts. Sātavāhana coinage in copper and lead from the time of Gautamīputra is abundantly rich in types. Sculptural art, mostly Buddhist, was patronized on a large scale. Several *stūpas* were raised and beautified with relief sculptures, marking the emergence of the Amaravati school. From Chandavaram, Dt Prakasam, to SALIHUNDAM, Dt Srikakulam, scores of monastic establishments came up and flourished till a couple of centuries later (middle of the 5th century). The dating of this phase to the early decades of the 1st century A.D. is based on the Rouletted Ware at such sites as KESARAPALLE, DHARANIKOTA, AMARAVATI and Jami. At SALIHUNDAM, however, this ware, profuse in quantity, has inscribed labels of an earlier date. But at the extensively excavated historical sites at NAGARJUNAKONDA the Rouletted Ware is conspicuously absent even in Sātavāhana horizons, not to speak of the succeeding Ikṣvāku levels. This shows that by the end of the 1st century A.D. the ware had lost its currency, though Roman gold coins continued to be valuable even as ornaments.
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Altekar, A.S., 1960, in Yazdani, G., ed., *Early History of the Deccan*, 1, Oxford, pp. 787-8 (for coins). Narayanan, M.G.S., 1975, in *Jour. Ind. Hist.*, 53. Raghavachary, K., 1972-3, in *Quarterly Review of Historical Studies*, Calcutta, 12, pp. 160-70 (for w. contacts of Dharanikota). Sarma, I.K., 1974a, in *Studies in Indian Epigraphy*, 2, Mysore, pp. 60-74 (for Amaravati); 1974b, in *Jour. Ind. Hist.*, 52, pp. 42-56 (for ¹⁴C dates, NBPW, etc.); 1975, in *Bhārati* (Telugu), 52, 8, pp. 16-27 (for Amaravati); 1976, in *Jour. Andhra Historical Res. Soc.*, 35, pp. 371-5 (for Jami). For sites *see* respective entries in vol. II.—I.K. SARMA