n e w s l e t t e r - castei.org.incastei.org.in/sites/default/files/newsletter 2017 website.pdf ·...

16
1 NEWSLETTER 2017 1 NEWSLETTER 2014 Editorial Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training turned twenty-one this year. We have been continuing our yearly programmes which involve production and dissemination of knowledge in the field of archaeology with moderate amount of success. This involved research work by two Fellows of the Centre and production of the archaeological atlas. We try to dissemination knowledge and impart skills to young students, which are achieved through workshops, training courses and outreach programmes. For the advanced scholars the Centre organizes lectures and seminars where participants present their latest research and debate on current issues in archaeology. Our peer-reviewed journal annually publishes research papers on every sub- discipline of archaeology. The following pages will elaborate these activities as carried out by CASTEI in 2016–17. Several new projects were initiated this year with the help of a grant from 13th Finance Commission. We got AMS dates of two of our previously excavated sites at Paharpur and Kusumjatra in Birbhum, cal AD 745 and cal 1395 BC respectively. We are now on our way to produce a report for the Bakreswar Project. A project has been initiated with IIT Guwahati for physical and chemical characterization of potteries from several sites of West Bengal. We hope it will give a better understanding of the manufacturing process, use, and a scientific parameter to compare potteries within the site as well as from other sites. We are also archiving materials that have been donated to the Centre from time to time. Our focus is on materials of Nirmal Kumar Basu, the first Director of Anthropological Survey of India and Tarapada Santra, who has extensively documented architecture of rural Bengal including the so- called Bengal style brick-temples. We are also undertaking documentation of Islamic monuments of Bengal. The Centre has earlier done geo- archaeological survey around the area of the famous site of Chandraketugarh and in the Nadia- Murshidabad region. This year we have started work on the extremity of the Bengal-delta. With so many exciting developments that are happening in archaeology, the Centre is also starting new projects which are multidisciplinary in character and which is a core issue of its foundation. We are happy that the government of West Bengal is extending its support and helping us to achieve our goals. 21 st Foundation Day Oration The foundation day oration was delivered by Professor Bhaskar Chakravarty, Centenary Professor of International Relations, Department of History, University of Calcutta. Professor Chakravarty delivered a fascinating lecture on the theme of ‘Archaeology, History and Public Culture: Bengal at the Turn of the 20th Century’ on 5 November 2016. Professor H.S. Vasudevan, Department of History, University of Calcutta was the Chief Guest of the seminar. The function was held in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Kolkata. N E W S L E T T E R CENTRE FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES & TRAINING, EASTERN I NDIA NOVEMBER 2017, NO. 22 Twenty-first Foundation Day Celebration

Upload: truongphuc

Post on 27-Mar-2018

221 views

Category:

Documents


2 download

TRANSCRIPT

1NEWSLETTER 2017 1NEWSLETTER 2014

EditorialCentre for Archaeological Studies & Training turned twenty-one this year. We have been continuing our yearly programmes which involve production and dissemination of knowledge in the field of archaeology with moderate amount of success. This involved research work by two Fellows of the Centre and production of the archaeological atlas. We try to dissemination knowledge and impart skills to young students, which are achieved through workshops, training courses and outreach programmes. For the advanced scholars the Centre organizes lectures and seminars where participants present their latest research and debate on current issues in archaeology. Our peer-reviewed journal annually publishes research papers on every sub-discipline of archaeology. The following pages will elaborate these activities as carried out by CASTEI in 2016–17.

Several new projects were initiated this year with the help of a grant from 13th Finance Commission. We got AMS dates of two of our previously excavated sites at Paharpur and Kusumjatra in Birbhum, cal ad 745 and cal 1395 bc respectively. We are now on our way to produce a report for the Bakreswar Project. A project has been initiated with IIT Guwahati for physical and chemical characterization of potteries from several sites of West Bengal. We hope it will give a better understanding of the manufacturing process, use, and a scientific parameter to compare potteries within the site as well as from other sites. We are also archiving materials that have been donated to the Centre from time to time. Our focus is on materials of Nirmal Kumar Basu, the first Director of Anthropological Survey of India and Tarapada Santra, who has extensively documented architecture of rural Bengal including the so-called Bengal style brick-temples. We are also undertaking documentation of Islamic monuments of Bengal. The Centre has earlier done geo-

archaeological survey around the area of the famous site of Chandraketugarh and in the Nadia-Murshidabad region. This year we have started work on the extremity of the Bengal-delta.

With so many exciting developments that are happening in archaeology, the Centre is also starting new projects which are multidisciplinary in character and which is a core issue of its foundation. We are happy that the government of West Bengal is extending its support and helping us to achieve our goals.

21st Foundation Day OrationThe foundation day oration was delivered by Professor Bhaskar Chakravarty, Centenary Professor of International Relations, Department of History, University of Calcutta. Professor Chakravarty delivered a fascinating lecture on the theme of ‘Archaeology, History and Public Culture: Bengal at the Turn of the 20th Century’ on 5 November 2016. Professor H.S. Vasudevan, Department of History, University of Calcutta was the Chief Guest of the seminar. The function was held in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Kolkata.

N E W S L E T T E RCentre for ArChAeologiCAl StudieS & trAining, eAStern indiA november 2017, no. 22

Twenty-first Foundation Day Celebration

NEWSLETTER 20172

Activities of the FacultyFellows

Dr Sharmi Chakraborty is conducting her archaeological exploration in the North 24 Parganas. This season she explored in Minakhan and Sandeshkhali.

Other Activities• Completed editorial work for Pratna Samiksha:

A Journal of Archaeology, New Series, vol. 8.• Working on Atlas project.• Continuing documentation of artefacts from

exploration in Bakreswar river valley.• Re-explored parts of the Bakreswar river

valley.• Explored Namkhana and Sagar Blocks of South

24 Parganas.

Publication• 2017: ‘Archaeological Sites of Lower Deltaic

Region of West Bengal and Their Context: Some Preliminary Observations’ in Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 8: 27–58. Kolkata: CASTEI.

Avick Biswas is continuing his research on prehistoric archaeology. The topic of his research is Prehistoric Investigations in the Kharla River Valley,

Western Odisha. He has analyzed and documented the prehistoric tools collected from the recent and earlier fieldwork from Kharla river valley, western Odisha as well as Susunia area, Bankura, West Bengal.

Other Activities• Post-exploration analysis of the stone tools

collected from Kharla river valley, western Odisha.

• Coordinated the rock art workshop and fieldwork at Gawilgarh rock art sites, Nagpur along with fourteen students from 24 to 28 November 2016.

• Delivered a lecture at Durgapur Govt. College, Durgapur on ‘Human Evolution and Prehistory’ on 8 February 2017 as part of an outreach programme of the Centre.

• Delivered a lecture on ‘Prehistory’ to the students from APC College, Department of Anthropology and demonstrated stone tools collected from Kharla, Odisha and Susunia, West Bengal on 15 and 16 February 2017.

• Attended an exploration at Birbhum, West Bengal along with Professor S.N. Rajaguru, former Professor and Joint Director of Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune from 4 to 8 March 2017.

• Coordinated and took classes in one-month course on ‘Introduction to Prehistory’ organized by the Centre from 7 August to 13 September 2017.

• Coordinated the exploration at Kharla river valley, western Odisha from 8 to 12 September 2017.

• Delivered a lecture at Durgapur Govt. College, Durgapur on ‘Human Evolution and Prehistory’ on 26 August 2017 as part of an outreach programme of the Centre.

Seminar Attended• Delivered a special lecture on ‘Prehistory’ at

West Bengal State University as an External Expert on 11 November 2016.

Foundation Day Oration delivered by Prof. Bhaskar Chakravarty

3NEWSLETTER 2017

• Delivered lectures as a Guest Teacher at West Bengal State University on ‘Prehistoric Archaeology’ since February 2016.

• Attended the Seventy-Seventh Indian History Congress at University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram and presented a paper entitled ‘Prehistoric Investigation of the Kharla River Valley, Western Odisha’ on 28–30 December 2016.

• Delivered a lecture at Habra Girls’ College as a part of Centre for Cultural Resource and Training (CCRT) programme on 10 January 2017.

• Presented a paper entitled ‘Neolithic Stone Tools in Kalimpong: A Typo-technological Analysis’ organized by Raiganj Surendranath Mahavidyalaya, Raiganj on 5 and 6 April 2017.

• Presented a paper entitled ‘Prehistoric Bardhaman & Prehistoric Kharla’ organized by Tarapada Santra Memorial Trust, Durgapur on 27 August 2017.

Publication• 2017: With S.N. Rajaguru ‘Revisiting Susunia:

A Geo-Archaeological Perspective’ in Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 8: 1–9. Kolkata: CASTEI.

Activities of Technical Staff

ReseaRch assistant

Sutapa Roy is actively engaged in the project An Annotated Archaeological Atlas of West Bengal, Vol. II.

Other Activities• Delivered lecture on GIS for the course

‘Introduction to Prehistory’.

technical assistant libRaRy

Jibanananda Basu is working at the Centre as a Technical Assistant, Library since 2001. He has submitted his PhD thesis at the Jadavpur University

Other Activities• Attended UGC Sponsored National Seminar at

Raiganj Surendranath Mahavidyalaya, Raiganj and presented a paper enitled ‘Uttarbange Sangrahasalar Bikash O Paribartan’ on 5 and 6 April 2017.

• Attended the Seventy-Seventh Session of the Indian History Congress at University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 28–30 December 2017 and presented a paper entitled ‘Jagajjivanpur and Jagaddal Vihara in Ancient Bengal’.

• Delivered lecture to the students from APC College, Department of Archaeology at Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India, Kolkata, on ‘History of Museum in West Bengal’ on 15 February 2017.

Publication assistant

Mithu Karmakar has successfully produced :• Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New

Series, Vol. 8.• Prehistoric Research in the Indian Subcontinent

edited jointly by Professor K. Paddayya and Dr Bishnupriya Basak.

• Paschim Banger Jalajan by Rangan Kanti Jana (in Bengali).

Ongoing Projects

An Annotated Archaeological Atlas of West Bengal, Volume II(eaRly histoRic PeRiod uP to ad 750)

The Atlas has been the lead research project of the Centre for more than a decade now. Survey and digitization work for maps are over and the pre-press work is being conducted now. This volume will cover the period between 1000 bc and ad 750.

Apart from general site distribution maps, there will be maps on find-spot of coins, inscriptions, terracotta and sculptures. Drainage, Geomorphology and Survey maps for as many as eight early historical sites have been developed.

NEWSLETTER 20174

Also there will be photographic representation of sites and artefacts. Maps will be accompanied by annotations and followed by site-index and detailed bibliography.

Exploration at Kharla River Valley, Western OdishaArchaeological exploration was undertaken in the Kharla river valley, western Odisha between 8 and 12 September 2017. This exploration was conducted by the Centre under the supervision of Sri Avick Biswas, with the help of Professor S.N. Rajaguru and Professor R.K. Chattopadhyay. They re-visited eleven prehistoric sites, i.e. Saida 1, Saida 2, Hagrudihi, Bheluapali, Niktimal, Amilchua,

Thakur Niktimal, Cowmaran, Lasha, Suipoda, Garidhola to understand the geo-archaeological background of those sites.

Pre-microlithic (heavy duty) artefacts were found in situ in ferricretized channel gravel resting on weathered gneiss with pegmatitic veins. Microliths occur on ferricretized or weathered bedrock surface in a loose gravelly granular matrix rich in ferrugineous pellets. This microlith-bearing sediment is capped by reddish sandy silt (2 m–2.5 m thick).

Training Courses

Introduction to PrehistoryThe one-month course was held between 7 August and 13 September 2017. This course introduced the participants to various aspects of prehistory and lithic studies. Topics included history of Indian prehistory, chronology of Indian prehistory, GIS and map reading, different cultural studies of prehistory, lithic typology, tool analysis, interpreting lithic evidence, various scientific methods required to study lithics, experimental knapping, the current state of lithic studies in South Asia and drawing of stone artefacts. This interactive course includes discussions among students and between students and teachers through question-and-answer sessions, practical

Site photographs at Kharla River Valley Lecture delivered by Prof. D.K. Bhattacharya

5NEWSLETTER 2017

sessions, video on knapping, museum visit, and field-visit as well as Power-Point presentation.

The lecturers for the course included the Centre’s own Avick Biswas, Fellow and Sutapa Roy, Research Assistant. Scholars specializing in prehistory, like Professor D.K. Bhattacharya, Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi; Dr Bishnupriya Basak, Department of Archaeology, University of Calcutta; Priyadarsini Sengupta, Bangabasi College; Professor R.K. Chattopadhyay, Presidency University; Professor S.R. Walimbe, Department of Anthropology, University of Pune were also invited to deliver lectures on various aspects of Prehistory. The course finished with field training at Kharla river valley, Sambalpur district, western Odisha with two teachers, fourteen students and two office staff.

Occasional Lecture• 22 December 2016, Dr K.K. Muhammed,

former Regional Director (North) of the ASI, was invited to the Centre; he delivered a lecture on ‘Caught between Chambal Dacoits and Mining Mafia: the Story of Challenging Conservation of Temples in Chambal Valley’.

• 8 March 2017, Professor S.N. Rajaguru, former Professor and Joint Director of Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, delivered a lecture on ‘Pleistocene Climate Changes in Peninsular India: A Geo-morphological Approach’.

Prof. S.N. Rajaguru and our exploration team

• 8 May 2017, Nandini Bhattacharya-Sahu, Regional Director (East) of Archaeological Survey of India, delivered a lecture on ‘Recent Discoveries in Gawilgarh Hills’.

• 5 July 2017, Dr Anup Mishra, Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, delivered a lecture on ‘Black and Red Ware Culture of Indo-Gangetic Region and Upper Ganga Yamuna Doab: An Appraisal’.

• 13 July 2017, Dr V. Selvakumar, Department of Maritime History and Marine Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur, delivered a lecture on ‘Decolonizing the Practice of History and Archaeology’.

• 20 July 2017, Dr Sukanya Sharma, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, IIT Guwahati, delivered a lecture on ‘Human Impact on the Environment: The Megaliths of Cherrapunjee’.

• 20 July 2017, Dr Rukshana Nanji, formerly of Deccan College, delivered a lecture on ‘Ceramic Dialogue between China, the Islamic World and India – Cultural and Technological Exchanges in the Indian Ocean (9th century ce – 13th century ce).

• 31 August 2017, Professor Vinay Srivastava, Director, Anthropological Survey of India was invited to the Centre; he delivered a lecture on ‘Anthropology in Archaeology’.

NEWSLETTER 20176

Occasional lecture delivered by Dr K.K. Muhammed

Lecture delivered by Dr V. Selvakumar

Lecture delivered by Nandini Bhattacharya-Sahu

Lecture delivered by Prof. S.N. Rajaguru

Lecture delivered by Dr Sukanya Sharma

Lecture delivered by Dr Anup Mishra

7NEWSLETTER 2017

Lecture delivered by Dr Rukshana Nanji Lecture delivered by Prof. Vinay Srivastava

Visiting Fellow LectureProf. Swadhin Sen, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, was invited to the Centre on 7, 20 and 21 February 2017, and he delivered a series of three lectures on the topic of ‘Inhabiting the (un) Comfortable Archaeology of Early Medieval: Problems and Perspectives with Regard to the Northern Part of Bengal’.

WorkshopEight-day workshop on ‘Rock Art Studies’ was held from 6 to 18 November 2016 and from 24 to 28 November 2016. There were fourteen undergraduate and postgraduate level participants. The experts in different aspects of rock art study gave lectures in their field of specialization. They include Prof. (Retd.) Somnath Chakravarty,

Teachers describing the rock art at Gawilgarh

NEWSLETTER 20178

Bangabasi College; Dr Prabash Sahu, Nagpur University; Dr Ruman Banerjee, University of Bristol, UK and Dr Nandini Bhattacharya-Sahu, Regional Director (East), ASI. The workshop ended with field training at Gawilgarh hill’s rock art sites, Nagpur.

Field trip to the rock shelters of Gawilgarh hill range that lies in the Betul district along the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh was organized for this workshop. In a three-day exploration the team visited four major groups of rock shelters comprising as many as thirty-eight rock shelters. The decorative elements on the walls and ceiling of these shelters comprise both petroglyphs and pictographs.

Students’ visit at CASTEI from APC College

Students’ visit at Gawilgarh Hill, Nagpur

Students Visit from APC College

Students from Department of Anthropology (BSc final year) of APC College under West Bengal State University visited CASTEI on 15 and 16 February 2017 to attend lectures delivered by Jibanananda Basu and Avick Biswas who also explained to them stone tools collected from Kharla, Odisha and Susunia, West Bengal. The sessions were attended by twenty-two students.

Outreach ProgrammeThis year the Centre organized an outreach programme at Durgapur Government College, Durgapur on 8 February 2017 on ‘Human Evolution and Prehistory’. This course aimed to introduce the participants to various aspects of Prehistoric Archaeology with Power-Point presentation as well as practical demonstration.

9NEWSLETTER 2017

Interactive session with the students and demonstration of tool-making technique

Lecture with Power-Point presentation and demonstration of stone artefacts

This programme was appreciated by the students of Durgapur Government College and the Centre was requested to organize yet another Outreach Programme at their institute. Another outreach programme was held at Durgapur Government College on 26 August 2017 on ‘Human Evolution and Prehistory’.

Exploration at BirbhumArchaeological exploration was undertaken in the Birbhum district between 4 and 7 March 2017. This exploration was conducted by the Centre under the supervision of Prof. Rajaguru with the assistance of Sri Avick Biswas, Fellow of the Centre and a few students from the department of AIHC & Archaeology, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan to understand the geoarchaeology of a few prehistoric and protohistoric sites of the

river Kopai, Ajay and Bakreswar like Patherghata, Sekhampur, Mahisadhal, Ilambazar, Egaro Mile and Paruldanga.

Exploration team led by Prof. S.N. Rajaguru

NEWSLETTER 201710

Prof. S.N. Rajaguru

Financial Assistance

Tarapada Santra Memorial TrustA daylong seminar was organized by Tarapada Santra Memorial Trust, Durgapur, Paschim Bardhaman in collaboration with the Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India on 27 August 2017 on Archaeology, Anthropology, Folklore and Indian Art. The seminar was thematically divided into two parts; part one was devoted to the felicitation of noted archaeologists, numismatists,

litterateurs, folklorists and academicians; and part two to lectures presented by the eminent and young scholars. The seminar was inaugurated by Prof. Rupendra Kumar Chattopadhyay, Presidency University. A number of scholars took part in the seminar and presented papers including, Sankar Bose, Avick Biswas, Amar Nayak, Gautam De, Prabhat Naskar, Rajib Banu, Sandip Dutta, Dr Arunava Sengupta, Esha Mukherjee, Bhaskar Hazarika, Soumyakanti Sen, Arkaprabha Basu.

Bardhaman Itihas O Puratattva Charcha KendraBardhaman Itihas O Puratattva Charcha Kendra have successfully organized a seminar/workshop and field visit on exavated sites of archaeological importance with financial assistance. A one-day state level seminar/workshop was organized on 29 January 2017 at Jagari Hall, Good Shade Road, Burdwan from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Dr Bijan Mondal, researcher, University of Calcutta delivered the Keynote address at the beginning followed by detailed discussion on archaeological studies of West Bengal in the early medieval age. Fifteen more members participated in the discussion and they had also submitted papers on

Seminar organized by Tarapada Satra Memorial Trust

11NEWSLETTER 2017

Field visit: Dharapat Jain Temple

Seminar organized by Bardhaman Itihas O Puratattva Charcha Kendra

their discussion. The number of participants in the workshop were about 120, of which a good number were postgraduate and research students. The programme was presided over by Sri Ajay Kumar Ghosh, President, Bardhaman Itihas O Puratattva Charcha Kendra. A booklet was published on the day of the seminar/workshop with the gist of the presentations delivered at the seminar/workshop by fifteen members, a short summary of the works done by Bardhaman Itihas O Puratattva Charcha Kendra since August 2008.

Field visit to the places of historical importance was undertaken on 22 November 2016 in the district of Bankura, Bishnupur Block. The sites visited were Dharapat Jain Temple and a group of temples in Bishnupur. Dr Rupendra

Kumar Chattopadhyay discussed their historical importance.

Exploration and Excavation

OdishaExplorations in the districts of Khurda and Puri in Odisha were undertaken in continuation of previous year’s work (2015–2016). In 2015–2016 six sites were explored and the remains were documented.

Damanadhipa is located close to the confluence of rivers Ganguo and Daya. It is on the right bank of Ganguo and around 15 km from Bhubaneswar. According to the local people a high mound existed earlier but was levelled some 6–7 years ago. Ceramics was scattered on the site but very low in concentration, probably due to querying of the soil. Ceramics belonged to the Neolithic/ Chalcolithic type. Potsherds were found spread over an area of around 100 × 120 m.

Panchgaon is on the left bank of River Ganguo, on the opposite side of Damanadhipa. Part of the recent village is on the laterite outcrop whereas the lower end that is the southern part is on the ancient habitation remains. Most of the mound is under habitation. Recently while digging for foundation local people have piled up the dug soil. It yielded ceramics of the early historic and medieval period. Such soil was found in two

The site of Damanadhipa

NEWSLETTER 201712

Ceramics from Damanadhipa Ceramics from Panchgaon

localities and local seniors informed that at times a huge quantity of ceramics are found while digging. The deposit might be around 2 m.

There are some pottery scattered near the present village of Kalyanpur at a place known as Mohanty Dhipo. This is close to the village school and to the embankment of Daya river. This site is around 2 ha in size and flattened for agriculture. The ceramics found belonged to the medieval period.

Pandya Pada (Selpur Dhipo) is located close to Mahura and Nandpur village. The mound rises up to 4 m from surrounding area and is circular in shape. It is covered with thick vegetation and pottery can be found only on washed away surfaces.

Dakhina Mundiya (Ogalapada) on the outskirts of Ogalapada village is similar in area to Golbai

The site of Pandya Pada The site of Dakhina Mundiya

Sasan, thereby it is the largest mound in the region. The diameter is 210 m that is around 7 ha in size. It is covered with thick vegetation. The rain-cut gullies have exposed cultural remains. At the southern side of the mound there is an enclosure wall made of laterite blocks of the medieval period. The pottery suggests occupation of the Neolithic/ Chalcolithic period and also historical periods.

Gadabalbadhrapur is located on the meeting point of Daya and Malaguni rivers. While exploring, a good concentration of pottery was found. The shapes, sizes and the fabrics of ceramics closely resemble the upper levels of Golbai Sasan (ferro-Chalcolithic according to B.K. Sinha). Early medieval pottery was also collected.

13NEWSLETTER 2017

The site of Gadabalbadhrapur

Modern memorials at Dakhina Mundiya 11 Ceramics from Gadabalbadhrapur

Lekhanpur is on the right bank of Rajuan River which breaks from Daya at Tirimal and joins it again near Gadabalbadhrapur. The site is around 400 m to the north of Lekhanpur. The deposit was around 2 m earlier but now the soil has been quarried. However, good concentration of pottery was found. Pottery was similar to that of Gadabalbadhrapur.

Aranbhanda Shahi is located south of Sri Mukundpur and Kesharpur villages. A temple is located on the southern side whereas the rest of the site is destroyed. Pottery is found in the dug-out soil of the temple pond. It is similar to that of Gadabalbadhrapur and Lekhanpur.(Courtesy: Prof. Rabi Mohanty, Deccan College, Pune)

The site of Lekhanpur

The site of Aranbhanda Shahi

NEWSLETTER 201714

Field visit at Dharapat Jain Temple

Deltihuda mounds(200°32´33˝N,850°41´50˝E) in Talagarh village of Cuttack district of Odisha was excavated for three consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2017. Antiquities and assemblages from seven trenches (of small size) spreading over three seasons of excavations revealed ceramic assemblage such as burnished ware with ochre colour paintings or white paintings, cord impressed ware, red slipped and black slipped ware and few black and red ware and antiquities such as adze, celt and beads of carnelian, agate, steatitite, quartz, shell, jasper and evidence of bead manufacturing in the site. Other important findings are the discovery of skeletal remains of a male adult, a pot burial of a child and a fractional cow burial. The excavations brought to light evidence of a circular house, including one circular structure with 25 postholes. The antiquities and pottery assemblage and its comparison with other Chaloclithic sites of coastal Odisha such as Golabai and recently excavated sites such as Suabarei (by ASI), Ostapur (Monica Smith and R.K. Mohanty) and Banga-Harirajpur (K.K. Basa) reveal that Talagarh belonged to the Chalcolithic period of Odisha.

Deltihuda A and B are 2.76 and 1.67 hectares respectively in size. The twin mounds are situated along the left bank of a perennial stream locally known as Sudei nullah, which merges with another stream, known as Kantia nullah, running south-west of the mound, which finally merges with the Mahanadi which flows at a distance of three km on the south southeast of the village. Lower Mahanadi starts at Naraj which lies to the southeast of the site. The Sudei stream originally flowed between the two mounds; but a tank in the upstream in historical times led to a diversion of its course.

The first season excavation whose preliminary report has been published in the Man & Environment (June 2017) has yielded, among other things, skeletal remains of an adult male and a pot. The second season excavation was conducted in Deltihuda B with the objective of understanding the nature of this mound and understanding the

similarities and differences between the two mounds as well as the depressed landform that separates the two mounds. The third season was devoted to unearth a massive circular structure and also to find out various craft and other economic activities of the site.

Some of the notable findings of the 2nd and 3rd season excavations are as follows:

1. An arc of a massive circular structure in layer 5 of the 2nd trench of Deltihuda B mound was found in course of the second season of excavation in 2016. This structure is located on the southern part of the Deltihuda B mound. It was decided to completely expose the structure in 2017 season by extending the trench. A cow burial in layer 4 in the NW quadrant of the extended grid was

15NEWSLETTER 2017

found at a depth of 157 cm from the NW peg point. Only the upper and lower jaw was buried. Two miniature pots have been offered as votive burial offerings. The exact nature of offering has not been ascertained.

2. The radius of the circular structure was 4.11 m. The outer perimeter of this circular floor was rammed by kanker nodules. 25 postholes have been found in this part. The opening of the structure was most likely in the south-western direction as this section yielded no postholes.

3. A bead manufacturing workshop in Layer 7 and of DLT 4 trench of Deltihuda A Mound: 46 micro steatite beads with evidence of steatite roll which was cut into micro-beads by stone blades have been found. Large number of ear studs, ear buttons and beads made of shell and quartz numbering 124 have been found. Stone points, blades and debitage have been found indicating some kind of workshop at the site.

4. Pottery assemblage include well fired, fine chocolate and red burnished with ochre painting of birds, sun, etc. Black and Red wares have also been found.

(Courtesy: Umakanta Mishra, Utkal University)

West BengalExploration was carried out in Sandeshkhali I block of North 24 Parganas and Namkhana and Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas. The site of Mandirtala in Sagar Island is known for a long time to have yielded pottery and a mound that could be dated to at least early medieval period. Beads of semiprecious stones and glass have also been reported from the site. This site has been

completely eroded by the river Ganga. From Namkhana two sites were noted. Chandanpiri Bajar is presently a flattened mound. But locals say that there was a tall large ‘building’. The brick size that is visible is not large. It is similar to Deuli which has a deul. Locals also talked about larger bricks which have been removed and put to private use. The site may go back to the later part of early medieval. There is another low mound near Dwariknagar hospital where an administrative building of British period once stood. But it had yielded nothing other than early modern brick and brickbats and a few pot sherds of the same date. Two sites were discovered from Sandeshkhali block. Dighir Par is the place, where a medieval temple of Bengal style is sitting on a mound of about 3 m height. Early medieval pottery can be seen on the surface and the exposed section on the bank of the large pond. The other site is Patharghata, where a drained pond has revealed extensive pottery scatter.

Dighir Par

NEWSLETTER 201716

List of Publications

2009 Archaeology in India: Ideas, Institutions & Individuals (eds) Gautam Sengupta and Kaushik Gangopadhyay, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd in association with Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 1495 2010 The Bejewelled Buddha – From India to Burma Claudine Bautze-Picron, Sanctum Books, Delhi in collaboration with Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 15952010 Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 1 Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 10002012 Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 2 Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 10002012 Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 3 Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 10002013 Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 4 Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 10002014 Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 5 Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 10002014 A Sourcebook of Archaeology of the Himalayan Region: Arunachal Pradesh Sukanya Sharma, Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 5002015 Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 6 Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 10002015 Time Streams: History and Rivers in Bengal Graham P. Chapman and Kalyan Rudra R 502016 Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 7 Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 10002017 Pratna Samiksha: A Journal of Archaeology, New Series 8 Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India R 10002017 Prehistoric Research in the Indian Subcontinent edited jointly by Professor K. Paddayya and Dr Bishnupriya Basak R 1195

2017 Paschim Banger Jalajan by Rangan Kanti Jana (in Bengali) R 250

CENTRE FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES & TRAINING, EASTERN INDIA(An Autonomous Institution of the Government of West Bengal)

1 Satyen Roy Road, Behala, Kolkata 700 034email: [email protected] website: www.castei.org.in

Phone: (033) 2396 0145 (Telefax), (033) 2396 0174

Published by the Member Secretary on behalf of the CASTEIPrinted by: Sailee Press Private Limited, 4A Manicktala Main Road, Kolkata 700 054