An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c42.81

v2.c42.81

During the early Neolithic phase, according to the excavator, the people lived in pit-dwellings [14.13] cut into the natural soil, oval, circular and oblong on plan, with their longer axes along the cardinal directions. One of the pits is divided into two parts by a row of stones. The larger ones have an approach ramp. One stonelined pit shows two occupational phases, the earlier marked by a flat stone at the bottom and the later by a rammed-earth floor 50 cm thick. These dwellings had superstructures of perishable materials as evidenced by post-holes along the periphery. Considering the climatic and environmental conditions of the region the pits appear more to be storage bins or refuse pits rather than dwellings. In the later phase huts with floors levelled with stone chips and plastered with a mixture of mud and ash were the norm.