An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c45.167

v2.c45.167

The excavation of the ash-mound has disclosed two thin floors, layers 4 to 6, variegated banded ashy with contradistinctly thick layers, 3 and 5, of scoriaceous glassy slag alternately capped by two layers, 1 and 2, of light-brown ashy soil and whitish grey ash from the top. The second floor at the lowest rests on dark-brown compact soil profile, layer 7. Besides objects such as the Neolithic, the Megalithic and early historical pottery and ground stone axes from the topmost layer, two red and a coarse grey potsherds as well as a brown-and-black red ware respectively from layers 3 and 5, two highly calcined stone chunks with deep cracks from layer 3 and patinated flake tools made on mainly quartz of the latter part of the pre-Mesolithic phase from layer 7 are the few other objects. Laboratory analysis of the ash and slag indicates them to be due to burning of cow-dung at 900°-950° C. and 1100°-1250°C. Further the presence of quartz and felspar grains especially in the ashy layer 4 seems to suggest that the site was not actually of a cow-pen but a heaping place for cow-dung, which goes against the cow-pen theory enunciated by Allchin on his findings from UTNUR. The ash-mound is assigned to the Neolithic phase.