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Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c21.s1: Ahicchatra Archaeology

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c21.s1

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Ahicchatra Archaeology

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Excavations at Ahicchatra yielded potteries (Ghosh & Panigrahi, 1946) and terracotta (Agrawala, 1947-48) showing nine levels of cultural settlement, the last one (IX) spanning the period AD 850-1200, Period I before 300 BC, II 300-200 BC, III 200-100 BC, IV & V 100 BC to AD 100 and so on.

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Dikshit (1952) surveyed the patterns of the beads in Ahicchatra. Among the stone beads, agate and carnelian constituted the largest number. A large majority of the former is banded. The spherical beads are distributed over all the strata, with their dates ranging from 300 BC to AD 1100. The long barrel circular beads dated around AD 350 resembled similar ones at Kauśāmbī, Taxila and Valabhi. There was an early specimen of a fine leech-shaped bead with interchanging bands of black and white. Such beads were found at Harappa, the Mauryan strata in Bhir Mound at Taxila and during the early centuries of the Christian era at Sirkap. The most popular shapes of the carnelian beads at Ahicchatra were spherical and long barrel circular.

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Since the Harappan era, the etched varieties, the beads having decorative patterns etched on their surfaces by some chemical process, were known in India. (Dikshit, 1949) According to the method of their manufacture, three principal types of etched beads have been recognized. These are white patterns on red background (Type I), black patterns on whitened surface of stone (Type II) and black patterns etched directly on the stone (Type III). In type I, the thick liquid applied on red carnelian contained potash, white lead and the juice of the Kirar bush. In Type II, the surface was whitened by alkali treatment and patterns in black lines were drawn using mineral salts of copper and manganese. In Type III the salt liquor was used directly on the surface. It is quite likely that Chanhu-Daro, during the Harappan era, and Cambay, during the Historical Period, were the active centres for the production of the etched beads.

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Etched carnelian and agate beads of the spherical, short barrel and long barrel circular varieties were found at Ahicchatra. Similar ones were found at Taxila, Kauśāmbī, etc. during 300-200 BC. None of these places showed any evidence of local bead-making. It is quite likely that these settlements had common sources of finished beads — etched agate and carnelian from Cambay area and the rest from the southern India.

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Bicone truncated chalcedony beads, having a pentagonal section were first met in the fourth century BC. Taxila and later appeared in 100 BC Ahicchatra. The crystal beads found were mostly hexagonal. The natural shape of the crystals required less cutting and polishing. Beads or yellow quartz from Ahicchatra were dated 300-200 BC. Similar beads were found in the Mauryan strata at Tripuri, Taxila and later at Kauśāmbī. The use of this stone was prescribed against jaundice, as recorded by Pliny in his Natural History (37.139). In this connection, we may mention about the half-inch serpentine pendant from Ahicchatra, which, imitating Śuṅga art, depicted a pregnant woman in a squatting position with bent legs. This pendant was probably used as a charm against difficult labour. (Dikshit, 1952: 50)

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Also found were a bead of milky quartz, tortoise-shaped amulet bead of garnet, long barrel bead of amethyst representing Śuṅga tradition. Green jasper beads resembled those of the Sātavāhana period of the Deccan. The hexagonal beryl bead probably corresponded to the Gupta date.

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Green-coloured āmalaka-shaped faience beads became popular in Ahicchatra during the Christian era. Most of these are dated after AD 350. Faience beads had been popular in the Harappan era, but lost their appeal on account of the extensive use of glass. Their uses were resumed only during and after the post-Mauryan period in the Sātavāhana era, in Sirkap, Taxila during the early Christian era.

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More than one hundred glass beads have been recovered at Ahicchatra: 28 green glass beads (containing copper and/or iron), 12 blue-green beads, resembling the Persian blue shade, blue glass (containing cobalt or copper), blue millifiori glass small barrel lenticular bead, short-barrel annular beads of orange glass (AD 100) containing cuprous oxide, red glass with white core from Ladakh, gold-foil glass beads in which a layer of gold foil is sandwiched between layers of transparent glass (similar specimens from Kauśāmbī are dated between 300 BC and second century AD), dark red opaque glass beads containing copper, bright red, black and black and white glass-beads etc.

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A few beads obtained were made of copper. Terracotta and glass beads imitating conch-shells were common. Similar beads made of coral were found by Cunningham at Gayā. Terracotta beads, baked very hard under a high temperature, were assigned to the Gupta Period. (Dikshit, 1952: 33-63)

Cites (9)