Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v2.c42.s1.2

v2.c42.s1.2

Thermoluminescence dating by BARC, Bombay, has established that the settlement at Bhagwānpura started around 3000 BC and the change-over to the PGW culture took place around 1220 BC (Joshi and Madhubala, 1982: 193-94); this transition occurred between the sixth and seventh layers in the site. The onset of the PGW culture at the *Mahābhārata* site of Hastināpura, and also at Atrañjikherā, took place around 1100 BC; in these sites the earlier cultures thrived on OCP wares. At Bhagwānpura, the excavations yielded terracotta ear ornaments, bangles of copper, shell, faience and glass, *ghaṭa*-shaped beads, semi-precious stone beads, bone and ivory hair-pins, violin-shaped Mother Goddess (Sarasvatī?) statues, wheeled terracotta rams (*vāhana* of Sarasvatī?). Oval structures made of baked bricks found at Bhagwānpura, Dadheri, Nagar and Katpalon most possibly had religious affiliations. (Joshi, 1987: 19-23) This region of the Sarasvati Valley was considered to be holy in the later age of the epics, and quite significantly we find the principal characters of the epics, such as Balarāma in *Mahābhārata*, undertaking elaborate pilgrimage tours in the area.