EXCAVATIONS AT RAKHIGARHI [1997-98 to 1999-2000] Dr. Amarendra Nath Archaeological Survey of India 1 DR. AMARENDRA NATH RAKHIGARHI EXCAVATION Former Director (Archaeology) ASI Report Writing Unit O/o Superintending Archaeologist ASI, Excavation Branch-II, Purana Qila, New Delhi, 110001 Dear Dr. Tewari, Date: 31.12.2014 Please refer to your D.O. No. 24/1/2014-EE Dated 5th June, 2014 regarding report writing on the excavations at Rakhigarhi. As desired, I am enclosing a draft report on the excavations at Rakhigarhi drawn on the lines of the “Wheeler Committee Report-1965”. The report highlights the facts of excavations, its objective, the site and its environment, site catchment analysis, cultural stratigraphy, structural remains, burials, graffiti, ceramics, terracotta, copper, other finds with two appendices. I am aware of the fact that the report under submission is incomplete in its presentation in terms modern inputs required in an archaeological report. You may be aware of the fact that the ground staff available to this section is too meagre to cope up the work of report writing. The services of only one semiskilled casual labour engaged to this section has been withdrawn vide F. No. 9/66/2014-15/EB-II496 Dated 01.12.2014. The Assistant Archaeologist who is holding the charge antiquities and records of Rakhigarhi is available only when he is free from his office duty in the Branch. The services of a darftsman accorded to this unit are hardly available. Under the circumstances it is requested to restore the services of one semiskilled casual labour earlier attached to this unit and draftsman of the Excavation Branch II Purana Quila so as to enable the unit to function smoothly with limited hands and achieve the target. Necessary instructions may kindly be issued at your level for restoring the same. With regards Your‟s Sincerely, Enclosure: as above (Dr. Amarendra Nath) Dr. Rakesh Tewari Director General Archaeological Survey of India New Delhi- 110011 Copy to the Superintending Archaeologist , ASI, Excavation Branch-II, Purana Qila, New Delhi, 110001 in response to his letter F.No. 9/66/2014-15/EB-382 Dated: 15.10.2014, and with a request to restore the services of semiskilled casual labour engaged earlier for the report writing work. (Dr. Amarendra Nath) 2 Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 4 Chapter 2 Environment 26 Chapter 3 Site Catchment Analysis 55 Chapter 4 The Cuttings and the Stratigraphy 93 Chapter 5 Structural Remains 103 Chapter 6 Burials 127 Chapter 7 Ceramic Asssemblage 168 Chapter 8 Graffiti 205 Chapter 9 Terracotta Objects 222 Chapter 10 Copper Objects 228 Chapter 11 Harappan Bead Industry 230 Chapter 12 Shell Objects 278 Chapter 13 Bone and Ivory Objects 285 Chapter 14 Stone Tools and Implements 301 Appendix 1 Explorations around Rakhigarhi 306 Appendix 2 Defining the Economical Space of Harappan Rakhigarhi: 333 An Interface of Local Subsistence Mechanism and Geologic Provenience Studies Appendix 3 Initial geologic provenience studies of stone and metal 365 artefacts from Rakhigarhi-Amarendra Nath,Randall Law & Tejas Garge 3 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION The present report unfolds discovery of the earliest civilization of South Asia that flourished at Rakhigarhi, Haryana India during the fourth- third millennium B.C. The cultural milieu typifying the civilization was first reported in the Indus plains at Harappa (1921) followed by Mohenjodaro (1923), subsequent fieldwork witnessed the distribution of these sites in parts of Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and Gujarat. After the partition in the subcontinent into two independent republics of India and Pakistan, majority of the Indus sites fell in the political territories of Pakistan, leaving Kotla Nihang Khan, Roper on the Satluj and Rangpur on the Bhadar in Kathiawad within the territory of the India. Thereafter, substantial explorations were carried out to trace the signs Indus civilization in the borderlands of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Continuous efforts have brought to light large number of sites on the one hand in the Saraswati- Ghaggar- Hakra- Drishadvati valley and in the upper reaches of the Yamuna- Hindon divide, besides Gujarat and upper reaches of the Godavari in Maharashtra. In view of the above distribution pattern of the sites, scholars may argue the nomenclatures „Indus Valley‟ given to this cultural milieu in the light of discovery larger number of on plains of the Sarasvati -Ghaggar-Hakra-Drishadvati. Without debating the issue here it is preferred to identify the cultural components after the type site: Harappa (i.e. Harappan Civilization) as is understood by majority of scholars working in the field. Now the signature of the Harappan Civilization in extended over a vast area covering the northwestern part of the subcontinent. It extends in the north- Manda in lower Jammu and Kashmir and Shortughai in upper Afghanistan, in the south to Daimabad covering more than 1600 km, in the east Alamgirpur and in the west to Sutkaghar Doe covering more than 1600 km. It may not be out of place to record that the area covered by the Harappan Civilization is more than that of the contemporary civilization of Egypt and Mesopotamia.1 Apart from following the term „Harappan Civilization‟ the term Pre- Harappan attributed to the cultural components of Period I at Kot Diji, Kalibanagan and Sothi-Siswal has been replaced with „Early Harappan‟. The term Early 1 B.B. Lal, The Earliest Civilization of South Asia, New Delhi 1997, p.4 4 Harappan has further been sub-classified as formative urbanism and pre-formative urbanism wherein urbanism at that point of time was incubation. Past Endeavours Among the recorded past endeavors to an Indus civilization site- though not recognized then as such- is accredited to Charls Masson, who in 1826 saw at Harappa ruinous brick castle having remarkably high walls and towers spoiled by the ravage of time and decay.2 Like Masson, conspicuously, James Tod, while describing the antiquities of the erstwhile Bikaner state has reported Kalibanagan (Kalibeng) along with other sites located on its northern periphery. However, in the years to follow the antiquities of Harappa continued to remain in limelight.3 Alexander Burnes also witnessed the ruined castle on the river-side of the Harappa Town.4 The archaeological survey carried out by Alexander Cunningham at Harappa in 1853 and 1856 reported extensive mound along the banks of Ravi. His excavations at the site among other antiquities reported a recognizable Harappan seal depicting bull and six characters. The bull over it was described outlandish origin, while the characters read: Lachhmiva in „archaic Indian letters of an early age as Buddha himself.5 In 1886 more seals were reported at the site,6 which in 1712 a corpus of them was also published.7 Eventually, in 1920 and 1921 exploratory trenching at Harappa by Daya Ram Sahani,8 and at Mohenjodaro by R.D. Banerji yielding identical finds together with exotic seals, the sites came to be identified as the repository of a forgotten civilization. Marshall announced that the finds of these two widely separated sites distinct from anything previously known in India and took antiquity of Indian Civilization to 3000 years earlier.9 The distinct cultural entity of the Indus valley civilization could be realized only after horizontal excavations conducted by Vats at Harappa10 and Marshall at Mohenjodaro.11 Mohenjodaro was further subjected to 2 Charles Masson, A Narrative of various Journeys in Baluchistan, Afganistan and the Punjab, London, 1842, Vol. I, p.452. 3 James Tod, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan: the Central and Western Rajput States of India, 2 vols. London 1829-32. 4 Alexander Burnes, Travels into Bokhara, London 1834, Vol.III, p.137. 5 Alexander Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India, Report for the Year 1872-73, Calcutta, 1875, pp.105- 108, Pl.XXXIIII. 6 M. Dames „ Old Seals found at Harappa‟, Indian Antiquary, 1886, 15, p.1 7 J.F.Fleet, Seals from Harappa‟ Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, 1912, pp.-669-670. 8 Dayaram Sahani „Excavations at Harappa‟ Annual Progress Report of the Superintending, Hindu and Buddhist Monuments, Northern Circle, Lahore, 1920-21, pp.8-26 9 John Marshall, „Fresh Light on Long forgotten Civilization‟, Illustrated London News, 20 September 1924; Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India, 1923-24,1926. 10 M.S. Vats, Excavations at Harappa, 2 Vol. Delhi, 1940. 5 excavation by Mackay between the years 1927 and 193112 with a view to ascertain growth of the city and excavation of the immediate surroundings leading to „the knowledge on the conditions in which its citizens lived, their avocations and mode of life.‟ Such an attempt of interpretation of archaeological data could be considered forerunner of settlement archaeology in India. Following the discoveries of Mohenjodaro and Harappa, explorations were undertaken in Sindh and Baluchistan by N.G.Majumdar, who reported mounds at Chnhodaro and Amri.13 Stain explored northern and southern Baluchistan between 1927 and 1928, reported a number of sites of Harappan affinity.14 As regard to these rewarding results, Stain undertook the first planned survey work of ancient sites located along the dry bed of Ghaggar- Hakra between Hanumangarh and deltaic portion below Derawar.15 Prior to Stains exploration archaeological reconnaissance carried out by Tod in the erstwhile princely state of Bikaner16 and by Tessitori.17 It is interesting to note that certain sites visited by these explorers coincide with those explored by Stain, Ghosh18 and Dalal.19 In the dry beds of Ghaggar-Sarasvati river Henry Field on the other hand explored the continuous region of Hakra-Ghaggar in the Cholistan desert of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.20 Admiralty, the data surfaced during some of these field surveys could be published with limited information while some remained unpublished. For example, Ghosh explored around 100 sites but list of 47 sites could be published.21 Nevertheless, the exploration of Ghosh brought to light more than 25 Harappan sites in the dried up river bed of Ghaggar- Sarasvati, disregarding the Stain‟s conclusion of absence of Prehistoric sites with Chalcolithic pottery in this area.