History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c15.s3: Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP)
History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c15.s3
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Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP)
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The ochre coloured pottery constitutes a knotty problem in the archaeology of north India. The pottery was first found in the excavations at Bisauli, a copper hoard site in Dist. Badaun, U.P. and Rajpur Parasu, Dist. Bijnaur, U.P. Later in 1952 it was encountered at Bahadarabad (Dist. Dehra Dun, U.P.). Several OCP sites have since then been discovered and it has been observed that the pottery is usually found at the Copper Hoard sites in the Ganga Yamuna Doab, but the excavations so far carried out at such sites have failed to produce any evidence of Copper Hoard artifacts from stratified levels. There is thus circumstantial evidence to associate the OCP with the Copper Hoards. However, the only solitary site where both occur together in a stratified context is at Saipai (Dist. Itawah, U.P.) where the excavations have yielded a barbed harpoon of copper, a characteristic Copper Hoard type (PURA, No. 5, 1971-72, Spl no. on OCP, p.6). More evidence of this nature in future may connect the Copper Hoards with the OCP.
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The OCP occurs in north India over a large area from Bahadarabad near Dehra Dun to Noh near Bharatpur and from Kathpalon near Jullundar to Ahicchatra (Dist. Bareilly, U.P.), that is roughly the present states of Punjab, Haryana and western U.P. The forms include bowls, basins and jars of various sizes (Ibid). The OCP has affinities with Harappan pottery as is evident from such forms as the dish-on-stand, basins with beaded or beaked or everted rim, storage jars and bowl-shaped lid with a central knob. However, it is as yet a moot point whether or not the OCP has been derived from the Harappan.
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It may be recalled in this connection that Stuart Piggott (p. 238) once identified the authors of the Copper Hoard culture as Harappan refugees.
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The enigmatic feature of the OCP is its rolled nature. It has been generally attributed to its being ill-fired, and hence it is reasoned that the ochre colour of the surface has a tendancy to rub off easily. Since both the surfaces of the potsherds are considerably rolled, it has not been possible to ascertain whether the pottery is wheel thrown or hand made. It is, however, thought that the pottery is wheel made and the peeling off of the slip has been stated to be due to its being underfired (Thapar, p. 31). However, water logging and association with river silt are also said to be the causes of the rolled nature of the pottery. Examination by B.B. Lal of the OCP potsherds have shown that the surface has completely broken down due to weathering on account of prolonged action of subsoil moisture coupled with injurious soluble salts (Sinha, p. 91). According to him, “the conditions favourable for weathering may be present in the soil itself on account of subsoil moisture containing carbon dioxide and soluble salts (Sinha, p. 91). His tests indicates that the pottery is not underfired as is generally thought by archaeologists, but that it is at a sufficiently high temperature in an oxidising atmosphere (Sinha, p. 92)”. Lal does not agree that the rolled nature of the pottery is due to water- logging. He rightly questions : “How is it that at Bargaon, where ochre coloured pottery is associated with another red pottery, the effect of water logging is exhibited only by Ochre coloured pottery and not by the other pottery (Sinha, p. 92)”.
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Lal has offered a plausible explanation of the rolled nature of the OCP. In his opinion, “the pottery remained in contact with saline moisture throughout its long period of burial in the soil. An equilibrium was established between the pottery and its saline and moist environment and there was no surface erosion or disintegration in this condition of equilibrium. Once the pottery was excavated and brought to the surface, the moisture present therein evaporated leaving the solidified salts in the pores. The crystallization of soluble salts in the new environment brought the disintegration of the pottery (Sinha, p. 95)”. Lal concludes that the OCP remained exposed to atmosphere for a considerable period and consequently it underwent weathering before it was sealed by the debris of the succeeding occupants.