An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s19.t1: 4.19.3 Middle region
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s19.t1
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4.19.3 Middle region
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ing organizations. It was also the administrative capital of Tīra-bhukti, with royal princes as governors, but no imposing structures have been brought to light, nor any religious edifices. The flimsy ruins of the age bear a sad contrast to well-built Kushan structures lying beneath them. On the basis of the present data therefore one has to conclude that in building activities the Guptas, at least in the mid-Ganga valley, did not show any spurt at the habitation sites. The only notable feature was the construction of a burnt-brick defensive wall about 3 m wide and of military barracks. Within the fortified area only a few walls of fragmentary structures of indeterminable character were traced. Remains of only one structure may suggest its substantial character, as a wall was traced to a length of about 17 m with a large number of rooms attached to it. The building was roofed with tiles. At KUMRAHAR were found a brick-built well and numerous remains of brick houses, the walls of which could be traced to small lengths, limited to a few courses of bricks. The only noteworthy and somewhat substantial building complex belonging to the period is the Ārogya-vihāra monastery-cum-sanatorium complex, with small and large rooms, roofed with brick tiles. The smaller rooms may have been occupied by patients individually and the bigger ones could have been for prayers. (Fa Hien refers to monasteries with hospitals at Pāṭaliputra.) In the very limited excavations at CAMPĀ a few brick walls have been traced to some length with mud floors or floors rammed with brickbats, but there is no structure of a substantial character.
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The only exception is the NĀLANDĀ monastic complex founded in the Gupta period, where we have clear evidence of well-built brick monasteries, *stūpas* and temples. The structures are massive by any standard and have been laid according to a well-drawn plan with separate monasteries, temples and *stūpas*. The plinth of a stone temple decorated with a number of relief sculptures shows the utilization of stone. The main temple, with stucco images in the well-built niches, add grace and beauty to the establishment. The ruins of a Viṣṇu brick temple at APHSAD, Dt Nawada, belong to the close of the 7th century at the time of Ādityasena. The plinth walls of the temple are decorated with stucco panels depicting the *Rāmāyaṇa* story in a clear sequence. As many as eight such panels *in situ* have been exposed on one side of the plinth wall and in style and treatment they are near the time of the NĀLANDĀ stuccos. With the 8th century, in the Pāla period, building activities appear to have made remarkable strides. While VAIŚĀLĪ, PĀTALIPUTRA, SONPUR and RAJGIR are almost blank after 600 years or even more. At NĀLANDĀ the period marks a glorious chapter for its massive structures laid in many cases on previous Gupta *stūpas*, temples and monasteries. The excavations at ANTICHAK, the site of the Vikramaśilā monastery, have revealed a *caitya*-cum-monastery broadly of the Paharpur type. The *caitya* has two circumambulatory paths one above the other and the walls are decorated with terracotta plaques, both sacred and secular. The method of construction is peculiar: two parallel brick walls were constructed at a distance from one another, and the intervening space was filled up with rammed debris and brickbats. And on the floor thus constructed, the same process was repeated finally leading to the drum of the *caitya*. On each of the four cardinal sides huge images (three of clay and one of stone) of Buddha or the Bodhisattvas were installed. There is also a large monastery, with hundreds of cells all around, and the entire complex was surrounded by a wall which had large gates supported on stone pillars. In massiveness it compares favourably with NĀLANDĀ though there are architectural differences. At CAMPĀ some brick walls of structures belonging to this period have been traced to some length. It appears that more attention was devoted to Buddhist monasteries than to secular buildings. The Khalimpur inscription of Dharmapāla (late 8th century) refers to the grandeur and prosperity of the great commercial city of PĀTALIPUTRA, but excavations in various localities of Patna have not corroborated it even partly. One thing, however, that should strike us is that in the mid-Ganga valley remains of numerous forts made of brick and brickbats belonging to the Pāla period exist at such places as INDPE, Dt Monghyr, Odantapurī, Dt Nalanda, Naula and Jaimangalgarh, Dt Begusarai, Katragarh, Dt Sitamarhi, etc. This may suggest a difficult political condition and disturbed law and order situation during the period.
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The pottery throughout the period is non-descript. It is mainly a red ware with no painted designs, though with incised and applied decorations have been found at ANTICHAK. Among the forms the jar, bowl and offering stand crowned with a bowl with a flared rim may be mentioned.
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Very few coins have been found in excavations. Only a few Gupta gold coins and a coin mould were discovered at NĀLANDĀ, though it may be surmised that Gupta gold and copper currency was in general use. Copper coins of Chandragupta II have been found in exploration at Checher mound, opposite Patna across the Ganga. Pāla coins are also rare. Only a few *drammas* of Vigrahapāla III were picked up from Jaimangal and Naula complex. It is apparent that external trade was on the decline.
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But stone and bronze sculptural *ateliers* were very active. While a few Gupta stone sculptures have been found at NĀLANDĀ, and surprisingly elsewhere too in Bihar, the number of the later Pāla sculptures on black stone from Bihar is enormous. Remains of a bronzesmelting furnace have been found at NĀLANDĀ. Stucco was a favourite medium in Gupta and later times. Terracotta art shows no special development, reflecting the continuity from the past, though in equality and variety it is inferior to that of the Maurya-Śuṅga period. Metal objects—copper vessels, antimony rods [18.1] styli [20.5] and pins—outnumber iron objects, but daggers, swords and nails of iron have been discovered at ANTICHAK. The people's love of ornaments continued. We have stone beads of agate, carnelian and other stones, but compared to earlier periods their number is certainly limited.
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On the whole in many respects the material culture of the late historical period deduced from the archaeological data certainly does not impress us, in contrast to the Mauryan and Kushan periods, apart from vast Buddhist edifices and their contents.
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For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—B.P. SINHA
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4. 19.4 *Lower Ganga region.* The Ganga and its tributaries provide the natural background for the establishment of centres—commercial and political—in their valleys. The importance of Tāmralipta, TAMLUK in Dt Midnapur, whose antiquity going back to the Mauryan times has been mentioned above [4.18.5], does not seem to have continued as an important port-city during the post-Kushan period. The discovery of the foundation of a Gupta (or probably Pāla) temple and the surface collection of the bust of a stone Buddha image of the Mathura type (4th century) notwithstanding, CHANDRAKETUGARH [4.18.5] fails to produce any significant evidence to show its political and commercial importance after its Śuṅga-Kushan phase.
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The Gupta occupation of W. Bengal seems to have shifted its political focus from the Bhagirathi basin to the alluvium of Varendra. Stretching from the n. reaches of the flood-plain of the Ganga to the alluvial fan of the Nepal foot-hills, Varendra saw the growth of Koṭivarṣa (BANGARH on the Punarbhava river) as an important administrative city during the Gupta period. Pd I, pre-Gupta, of the site has been dealt with above [4.18.5]. Pd II, assigned to the Gupta period, contains the remains of a brick structure with small rooms. Pd III extends, according to the published report of the excavation, from the Pāla to still later times, though no chronological sequence of the excavated material, which includes inscribed clay sealings, terracotta figurines, medallions, toys, carts, punch-marked coins, iron implements, etc., is obtainable from the report of the excavation. A fortification with a ditch on three sides seems to have once surrounded this city. Another settlement of the Gupta period is represented by Asurgarh, Dt w. Dinajpur. Terracotta figurines, assigned on stylistic grounds to the Gupta period, have been reported from this site.
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The decline of the Gupta power in the Ganga valley witnessed the re-emergence of the Bhagirathi basin as the most dominant political zone in the region. During the 7th century Śaśāṅka, the king of Gauḍa, founded his capital at Karṇasuvarṇa. The two contiguous sites, Rakshasidanga and RAJBADIDANGA, at CHIRUTI in Dt Murshidabad are found to contain the ruins of this ancient capital city. Excavation at these two sites has exposed three Pds in the life of this city. Pd I, c. 3rd-4th century A.D., is not characterized by any significant find. Pd II is bracketed between *c.* 6th and 9th centuries. Several seals, some of which refer to the *Raktamṛttikā-mahāvihāra*, belong to this Pd with the foundation of a temple and the ruins of a large Buddhist monastery, and several stucco heads and iron implements and quantities of burnt grains. The burnt grains have been ascribed to 1200 ± 100 B.P.. on ¹⁴C basis. Pd III of the city yields no relic of importance.
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Very little has so far been published on the archaeological evidence of settlements in W. Bengal belonging to the Pāla-Sena epoch. A few sites ascribed to this period are all located in Varendra. Thus six bathing ghats at Sagardighi in Dt Malda are assigned to the 12th century. The site of Ballabari, Dt Malda, once surrounded by inner and outer fortifications, is believed to represent the combined residence and fortress of king Ballālasena. But this tradition awaits confirmation by archaeological probing.
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*Census 1971, W. Bengal Dt Handbook, Malda,* Calcutta. For sites see respective entries in vol. II—A.C. PAL
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4.19.5 *E. region.* For the first time a connected political history of the Brahmaputra valley in the late historical period is available under the Varmans (335-650), Śālastambhas (650-990) and Pālas (990-1138). At least 35 archaeological sites in the region could be ascribed to this period, out of which 31 are in Assam, with their concentration again only in three Dts—Kamrup, Darrang and Nowgong. This testifies to the fact that lower Assam was the centre of activity during the period. Yet out of all these sites there are hardly eight which throw any light on habitations; the rest are merely sites with temple relics and need not be dealt with here.
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In Assam AMBARI in Gauhati may be treated as the most representative site. At least three constructional phases of an urban settlement with ruins of magnificent buildings, drains, ring-wells [14.15], pottery, sculptures, etc., ascribed to Pd I (7th to 12th centuries A.D.) have been brought to light. The period is characterized by a buff-coloured kaolin pottery, not reported in any other part of the country and hence labelled as Ambari Ware. Similar potsherds have been found on the Navagraha, Kamakhya and Sarania Hills in Gauhati, at some sites in Nowgong and Tezpur and BHISHMAKNAGAR in Arunachal. The ¹⁴C date of the stratum with this pottery is A.D. 1030± 130. Made of well-levigated pure clay, this fine fabric is baked at a uniformly high temperature. The principal shapes are the globular jar with flaring mouth and short neck, carinated bowl, dish-on-stand and horn-shaped vessel comparable to Greek *cornucopia*. Red ware, grey ware and ware with coarse fabric are also found in small quantities. Among the few terracotta figurines may be mentioned the torso of a female, stylistically dated to the 8th-10th centuries. It is the finest specimen of art of the period. The stone sculptures, essentially of Brāhmaṇical deities, stylistically belong to the 8th-10th centuries.
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At the foot of the Navagraha Hill in Gauhati a terracotta boat, 2·95 m long, 85 cm wide and 25 cm high, with a maximum thickness of 12 cm, was excavated in 1970 (Ansari and Dhavalikar, 1971) and dated to the 7th-12th centuries A.D. Similar boats have also been found at Jhalukbari in the Gauhati Univ. campus. Perhaps they were meant for enshrining mortal remains and have no parallels anywhere else.
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Though the Kamakhya temple on the Nilachal Hill, Gauhati, is a living shrine of a later period, the antiquity of the site goes back to the 7th-8th centuries. Pottery, a relic casket [12.8], Buddhist and Brāhmaṇical sculptures, etc., have been found at the site (Choudhury, 1966, p. 437).
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The Narakasura Hill, 8 km s. of Gauhati, where 22 bronzes have been found and variously dated between the 8th and 11th centuries A.D., was a royal fortress with a temple, in which deities were centred around Indra· (Choudhury, 1967; Choudhury and Chutia, 1970).
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Like Gauhati Tezpur stands on large mounds having ruins of ancient cities and temples. Here Dalton noticed black pottery with floral designs (Choudhury, 1966, p. 444). The collected architectural relics at Cole Park in Tezpur are surmised to be the remains of the palace of Vanamāladeva (835-60) (Barua, 1966, p. 112).
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At Jogijanor Mandir, 11 km from Hajai in Nowgong Dt are the ruins of a 10th-century brick-built fort with three temples (Niyog, 1969, p. 108). Deoghar, 5 km from Sibsagar, where a 10th-century Umā-Maheśvara image was found is said to be a potential site for excavation (*ibid.*, p. 47).
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In Arunachal Pradesh Bhalukpung in Dt Kameng, 31 km n. of Chardaur, is a brick-built hill fort of 10th century (Allen, 1905, p. 67). BHISHMAKNAGAR at the foot of the Mishmi Hills in Dt Lohit, excavated during 1968-71, is a fort of classical type, with the ruins of a five-room palace of Kauṭilya's specification, two gates, wholly in brick, and an earthen rampart of an elongated semicircular shape, covering an area of 10 sq km (Raikar, 1972, 1978). It is the only fort site of the period where the complete layout has been brought to light. The pottery is wheel-turned and comparable to that of AMBARI but the finials are a speciality. Crucibles speak for metallurgy. Among the terracotta objects horse figurines and plaques with animal designs are significant. The period of the site extends from the 10th to the 16th centuries. BHISHMAKNAGAR represents the first Hinduized kingdom of e.most India.
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In addition must be noted the scattered but unstudied remains of ponds called *pukhuris*, fortifications, embankments and roads at places like Gauhati, Tezpur, Nowgong and Sadiya in Assam, and Roing area in Dt Lohit. Most of them could be of this period.
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Allen, B.C., 1905, *Assam Dt Gazetteers*, 5, Darrang, pp. 67-8. Ansari, Z.D., & Dhavalikar, M.K., 1971, in *Jour. Univ. Poona, Humanities Section*, pp. 79-87. Barua, K.L., 1966, *Early History of Kāmarūpa*, Gauhati, Choudhury, P.C., 1966, *History & Civilization of the People of Assam to the 12th Century A.D.*; 1967, in *Jour. Assam Res. Soc.*, 14. Choudhury, R.D., & Chutia, D., 1970, in *ibid.*, 19. Niyog, M., 1969, in *Pavitra Assam* (in Assamese), Jorhat. Raikar, Y.A., 1972, in *Arunachal News*, Shillong; 1978, in *ibid.*—Y.A. RAIKAR
Linked texts (4)
- Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa — Vālmīki, Sanskrit
- Gauhati
- Ambari
- Tezpur