An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c28.261

v2.c28.261

The latest excavation of a mound at the site to the e. and n. of the *stūpa* by the writer in 1974-5 has provided a fairly reliable chronological framework of the early historical phase of the site. Of the five main Pds, Pd I can be subdivided into two phases, A and B, respectively of the 4th and 3rd centuries. Pd I A is characterized by pits dug into the natural reddish murram. Huts on posts appear to have existed near the pits, which yielded profuse quantities of the Black-and-red Ware [11.15.2] and NBPW [11.16] on a layer of compact dark-brown earth representing an occupational deposit. A flattish dish fragment in the Black-and-red Ware has a label *thusapāta* inscribed in early Brāhmī characters. Pd I B also yielded fair quantities of the NBPW of all shades—golden, silvery, steel-bluish and black—with the Black-and-red Ware and iron objects. ¹⁴C dates of a similar assemblage at DHARANIKOTA range from 475±100 to 205±100 B.C. A partial railing of granite uprights with Mauryan polish and limestone cross-bars and copings bespeak the beginnings of a *stūpa*, probably in the reign of Aśoka, though its exact nature cannot be made out.