An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s6.t6.21

v1.c9.s6.t6.21

The three terraces on the slope of the local hill revealed, besides the two phases of Pd I, dwelling pits [14.13], also noticed at NAGARJUNAKONDA and BURZAHOM. These pits were of varying depths, cut into the natural soil, roughly oval or rectangular and oriented to the cardinal points. They either were divided into two parts by a row of stones, or had a ramped approach in the larger pits, in some cases with two stages of filling, respectively by stone slab flooring and rammed earth flooring 50 cm thick. A coarse red ware jar was found in one of them. Post-holes along the periphery suggested thatched roofs. In Phase B there seems to have been a definite predilection for built-up huts on wooden posts above the dwelling pits. Floors were often of stone chips and plastered with earth. The next three upper layers, constituting Pd II, though continuing the grey ware and the polished stone axes of the preceding Pd (Neolithic), registered an overlap with the Iron Age, yielding iron objects and the Megalithic Black-and-red Ware [11.15.3]. For Pd I the earliest available ¹⁴C data is 1725±110 B.C.; the start of the period could thus be still earlier. For Pd II the oldest and youngest dates are 640±105 B.C. and 210±100 B.C.