PTER - 4 : HINTERLAND SITES 73

Chapter - 4 Hinterland Sites

Settlements

The classification of settlements can be made according to the geographic factors and the function of the site. The important sites of human settlements and trade-routes are generally located near contact points of hills and plain, and ridgeways Similarly market towns develop along the lines of relief features. In Western important emporiums and markets of great prominence flourished in the belt of fertile plains. Ter, , Nasik, Junnar, , Brahmapuri, Karhad became important emporia of trade, connected by caravan routes The dependence of Junnar on the tradelink with coast is substantiated by the fact that it was the silting of Sopara as a port settlement and abandonment of Buddhist monastic establishments, the largest of these being at Kanheri in the vicinity of Kalyan and 60 kms from Chaul. Probably these factors necessary for a gainful overseas trade provided an impetus to Maharashtra in initiating and also in continuing trade relations with foieign countries throughout the ancient period.

Unlike the port or passes the hinterland sites were primarily settlements and due to the surplus of agricultural produce carried out trade activities. Beyond this there were almost certainly specific factors which triggered off change in individual circumstances. Once the process of city formation was set in, there follows a series of complementary developments, including an expansion of the site hierarchy to include a new tier of larger settlements at its apex; craft specialization etc.; an increase in craft production of all kinds; evidence of greatly increased trading activity, often over long distances; and the emergence of a new political and economic system, an appropriate, accompanying ideology. Unlike the other two categories, where trade is the most important function, hinterland sites had many additional functions. These settlements were not the out come of trade but initiators of trade. These sites are crucial as they both supplied the majority of trade goods and formed the markets for the imports. In contrast to the geographical inaccessibility of the western ghats, plain on the eastern side is dominated by major river systems with corresponding broad river plains, which are relatively flat, fertile, and 74 extremely productive agriculturally These river plains were conclusive to the development of centers by those seeking to cultivate wheat etc. in the rich soil of the plains The plain trade centers also proved easier to dominate politically than the more diffused centers of the western ghats. The great political systems of the past all had a geographical base in a fertile plain, for example, the rulers of western Maharashtra had their capitals at Paithan and Junnar

Habitational Sites and Trade Routes

In the Desh region eventhough the trade was seasonal these settlements were permanent. As these settlements were permanent the sites for settlement was chosen carefully. As far as settlements are concerned locational decision are taken, in general, so as to minimise the frictional efforts of distance. Movement costs human beings effort. For instance, settlements are not normally sited at any great distance from the arable land supporting them.

All locations are endowed with a degree of accessibility but some locations are accessible than others Accessibility implies the 'ease of getting to a place' but once again this is never constant, the passing of a new route generated accessibility where none existed before

There is a tendency for human activities to agglomerate to take advantage of scale economies. By scale economies is meant the saving of costs of operation made possible by concentrating activities at common locations. As a nucleated community, sharing the agricultural work, can prove a more effective way of sustaining output. Craftsmen serving a nucleated community, as their skill increases, gain advantages from concentrating where there is a larger market.

The fundamental linkages between individual places, settlement and the land beneath are to be found in the ideas of site, i. e., the area of land upon which a habitation is placed, and situation, i.e., the broader locational context of this site, where it is relative to the surrounding terrain: Important qualities which can affect the choice of site are aspect, shelter, flat land, free drainage, water supply, and local accessibility. The relative 75 importance of these varies from settlement to settlement and from region to region; thus those factors dominant in an area of plain land will differ greatly from those pursued in a mountainous region The ideas expressed by these key words describing qualities intrinsic to settlement sites remain useful and do form a basic currency of use when considering sites.

The basic requirement for the development of any settlement is hospitable environment with a permanent source of water, combined with the necessary technology and agricultural skills to produce adequate supplies of food, etc. For this purpose the sites were located within the meander of the river for example, the site of Paithan As the rivers in the Desh region were not perennial, settlements had to be located at the place where there was water through out the year. In this Desh region the rivers acted as the barriers between the different river valleys and similarly like passes these were crossed at the fording places where the settlements are located. The dike formation in the rivers were the fords where the settlements are located for eg. Prakashe and Thalner in the Tapi river basin. For example, the port settlements are orientated towards rivers, lakes or coasts In Western part of Maharashtra the industrial sites manufacturing beads etc. are located on the slopes of the which is the source of raw material. The sites can be homogeneous in character or diverse, but it will generally be located with that area of land from which the settlement's population must win a living, its situation Sites were selected not only for their intrinsic abilities but to gain access to the key economic resources which lay outside the site itself, extrinsic qualities, i.e. access to arable woodland, fuel and building materials, local and extra-regional communications, sea lake and river. This involved a complex set of evaluations, and every settlement site represents a complex interplay of all factors.

Figure 10 is a remarkable idealized map. This version is slightly generalized, but it is derived from a study which shows the physical sites of all the trading centers of Western Maharashtra. Historical security in a region often troubled by the passage of armies, coastal piracy and local warfare has stimulated the concentrated occupation of hill top and spur top sites. There is a broad responses of settlement to terrain contrasts. It is often the 76 junction between hills and plains that emerge as zones attractive to settlement because of the environmental contrasts present The settlements of the small area are concentrated on a free soils appearing on the waning slopes between uplands and plain, sites which also allow easy access to other landscape types.

The habitation corresponds almost exactly with the level of reliability of rainfall in the dry season and conversely the lowest percentage of its annual rainfall in the wet- season. A reliable water supply may be a crucial factor permitting the presence of larger settlements. Maharashtra although drained by the rivers, along with their tributaries, played an important role in the progress of trade. It was within the valleys of these rivers chief kingdoms, the important trade centers, the industrial belt, which helped the progress of trade were founded

The physical factors can be important in understanding the habitational sites but they are never free of other, often more powerful, cultural influences, deriving from the character of human societies

While looking for patterning both within and amongst habitation centers geomorphology provides some insight into how things are organized spatially. The location of a town can be explained in relation to its position at the lowest bridging point and head of navigation on a river, or as a sprinkling settlement established at an assured supply of fresh water. The trade centers from Western part of Maharashtra have been divided in the following table on their physical basis.

Table 4.1 SITES SITUATED ON THE DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES

Main River Foothill Meander Confluence Tributary 'ITialner (Tapi) Jimnar Prakashe (Tapi) Bahal (Giraa-Tapi) Nasik(Godavan) Paithan (Godavari) Karhad (Krishna) Bhokardan (Kelna-Godavari) Pitalkhora Nevasa (Pravara-( jodavari) Karhad Brahmapuri (Panchaganga-Kiishna) Brahmapuri Ter (Tenia- Krishna) Vadraphalva Vadraphalva (Dudhganga-Narmada) Roads and communications were built to facilitate easy movement of goods and further exchange of commodities. This early historic period also witnessed large scale- clearance of forest which brought more land under cultivation raising agricultural 77 production and thereby more revenue in return, since land revenue remained the main stay of state income in the agricultural economy.

Moreover excavations at a number of sites reveal the development and further growth of cities and towns in Western . Some of them were mere centers of trauc and commerce while other were agricultural villages catering to the needs of the urban people A few other towns were industrial centers which produced various objects of everyday use

As far as Maharashtra is concerned we are rather fortunate to have a number of habitational centers, inland emporiums, industrial centers as well as port-towns, on the main trade-routes. More and more trade centres kept emerging on the trade routes. The literary sources such as the Mahabharata, Ramamyana, the Buddhist and Jain literature, Prakrit works such as Vasudevahimdi and several other works of the later period, such as (kUhasaptasati of Hala, Kathasarilasagar of Somadeva and Leelavati of Kauhala throw light on the trade activities. These evidences are corroborated by foreign accounts like Periplus and Ptolemy, Cosmos, Al-Baruni etc.

Around the 3rd century B.C. cities flourished in Maharashtra after the so called dark age. Excavations have yielded cultural remains from the sites belonging to the Mauryan, the Satavahana, the Abhira, the Vakataka, the Chalukya, the Rastrakuta, the Kalachuryas, the Silahara, and the Yadava periods. It was characterized by the use of iron and urban-life. Except Nevasa the rest of the excavations were vertical, so, we do not get enough information about the extent of the cities, and the economic, social and religious life of the inhabitants. These cities are at Bahal, Brahmapuri, Karhad, Kaundinyapura, , Nasik, Nevasa, Paithan, Prakashe, Ter and Vadrapalya. (Map - 6).

The reports of most of these have been published except of a few A glance over the archaeological investigations carried out in Maharashtra in respect of the sites belonging to these periods has given an insight into their material culture, trade and commerce activities 78

The relationship of the Hinterland settlements to trade and trade routes, varies more significantly on an east to west gradient rather than on a basin wise manner. The sites on the Westerly flowing Tapi and Narmada, where the river itself breaches the major geographical barrier of the Sahyadris is again different from the Easterly flowing Godavari, Bhima and Krishna basins. The important Hinterland sites therefore will be discussed under the catagories of Tapi/Narmada basins, Sahyadris foothill sites, Riverine sites and sites on divides.

The sitewise data is as follows:

Sites in the Tapi & Narmada Valley

Tapi valley flows through the districts of and On the west, the junction of the Tapi rift valley with the coastal tract marks the end of this region. The Satpura range forms the northern boundary and the Satamala range forms the southern boundary. A major portion in the Tapi valley is less than a thousand feet above sealevel. The course of the rivei \ loper records a still lower level because of the deeply extended nature of its bed. The Tapi discourages population concentration on its banks. Erosion and the consequent 'bad land' topography prevents irrigation and intensive cultivation. Here settlements are smaller But it is along the central black soil belt that the large village and towns which are route centers, mark the cultural landscape. The trade between the north-eastern hinterland and India's premier port is controlled in the Tapi basin through the Manmad gap and the upper Tapi valley. This largely accounts for the growth of route towns like Prakashe and Thalner.

To the south-west of the Tapi basin tract, there is a change in relief and agricultural production, the land gains a greater elevation and is enclosed by the Satamala and Jalna hills to form a broad basin. Its natural outlet is the Girna valley which drains the land to the main Tapi basin. The trap soil bears a resemblance to the rest of the tract, but rich soil is limited to the valley of Girna and her main tributaries. Besides Girna . the southern Khandesh is drained by the rivers Bori and Panjhra. This forms and extensive area of fine rich alluvial soil near Thalner. The recesses of the southern tributary valleys 79 are more even and possess a deep black soil which promotes cotton cultivation. None of these rivers are navigable, and the Tapi flows in too deep a bed to be used for irrigation. It flows in a westerly direction traversing an open and partially cultivated plain, and then plunging into a rocky gorge of the Satapura Hills. The Tapi bed is crossed at several places by rigdes of rock. It is navigable till Prakashe from the Arabian sea

Regarded as a rift valley it has a deep alluvial accumulation eroded by the main river and its tributaries. The result is a typical 'badland' topography of entrenched streams and ravines in an alluvial plain characterized by leveled and isolated tops.

Narmada river just like Tapi is a east flowing river, but its tributaries are again west flowing for e.g. Dudhaganga on which the town of Vadraphalya is situated. The Narmada was navigable upto this town.

Vadrapalya

Vadrapalya (21°401 N: 73" 501 E) is mentioned as an important trade-center in the Sanjeli plates belonging to the reign of the Huna king Toramana. This town is situated on Dudhaganga, a small tributary of the Narmada about 10 kilometers to the South from the confluence of it with the great river. Interestingly, Vadrapalya is located a 30 kilometers to the North-West of Prakashe. The Sanjeli plates were originally edited by Dr. Mehta and Thakkar, and reedited by Dr. K V. Ramesh. The earliest editors suggested the identification of Vadrapalya with Varunda, near Sanjeli. However it was re-identified by Dr. Ramesh with Vadrapalya in the Akrani taluka of , which seems more appropriate on phonetical grounds (Ramesh, EI Vol. XL, 175-86).

Names of about 40 to 50 foreign traders have been mentioned in these plates who had assembled at Vadrapalya. They belonged to different places like , Mathura and Kanauj and several places from Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The traders referred to in the plate seems to have gathered at Vadrapalya, either on their way to Broach or on their return journey home. This definitely shows that the place lay on the junction of trade-routes leading to all four direction. Vadrapalya was probably 80 the terminus of land trade-routes and from here to Broach, goods were carried through vessels by the riverine route to the port It is substantiated by the Sanjeli plates that from Vadrapalya the Northern land route passed through Ujjain and Southern through Prakashe This also indicates that traders from all the three quarters traveled through land routes and at Vadrapalya their cargoes were loaded in vessels for onward transportation to Braoch. This is further confirmed by reference in the Sanjeli plates to different vehicles coming to the place such as carts, animals and vessels

The copper-plates discovered at Sanjeli (Thosar, March 1989) belong to different dates within the span of 16 years. In each of them endowments by foreign traders to three different temples at Vadrapalya have been recorded. This further shows that the place in question was frequently visited by traders coming from distant parts of India. Since the traders who had assembled at Vadrapalya had come from distant places, Vadrapalya also seems to have had a branch of such a trading organization. It was a linking station of trade-routes connecting the North and the North-East with Baroach on one side and the East and the South on the othei. Unfortunately no archaeological exploration or excavation has been undertaken at this place but even in the absence of such a positive evidence its geographical situation and its proximity with ancient sites of Prakashe and Bahal shows that this place also might have experienced a glorious past.

Thalner

Thalner (21° 20' N: 74° 55' E) is situated on the Southern bank of Tapi, towards the North-East of Dhule in Shirpur taluka of Dhule district. It was excavated in 1984-85 by Mr. S. P. Sathe (1997: 10-25). According to him it appears that in the Abhira period it was a district. Thalner was located on the Surat and Burhanpur route. It was an important trade center from the Satavahana period to Mughal period as is clear from the ceramic remains. Harishena's inscription of 5thc AD. found at Thalner mentions place names like Chabadi, Kasare, Bhatane, Vagadi which can be located in the area surrounding Thalner. As the excavation was of limited nature it is difficulte to say any thing about the extent of this center with certainty. 81

Prakashe

Prachhakasha is the inscriptional name of the present town of Prakashe in the Shahada taluka of Dhule district Prakashe (21°30' N: 74" 21' E) was an important trade center from the to the Medieval period It is situated on the banks of the Tapi near its junction with the two rivers namely Gomai and Purna. It is enclosed within the sharp meander of the latter (Thapar, 1967: 1-17, IA-R 54-55: 13). Near the site of Prakashe Tapi can be crossed due to the natural bridge provided by dyke formation. Moreover, the place is situated on the Tapi which joins the Western sea near Surat, an important port of the Mediaeval period. The ancient site is located to the South East of the present village The occurrence of continuos sequence of culture at Prakashe was definitely due to its geographical position as it was situated on the ancient trade route.

The vertical excavations were done by B. K. Thapar of the Archaeological Survey of India during February- April 1955.

The excavation exposed

The earliest epigraphic mention of this place is found in the Sanjeli plates refer to earlier which belong to the first quarter of the 6th century AD, (Ramesh, EI Vol. XL; 175- 86). These plates are very important from the view point of the study of the contemporary overseas trade of India. In these plates a gathering of about 40 to 50 foreign traders, among whom two were from Prachhakasha, who assembled at Vadrapalya has been mentioned. This reference is very important because it renders an authentic evidence about the participation of this place and its traders in trade. The reference is further supported by the text fact that Prakashe was one of the main stations on one of the busiest trade-routes connecting the Desh with the North (Deshpande, 1959: 66). From Prakashe, caravans going towards the North proceeded to Vadrapalya and from there, those who wanted to 82 proceed to Broach followed the West ward route and those who had to go to the North followed the North-ward route via Maheshwar, Ujjain and Vidisha.

The importance of this place in the overseas trade relations of India is not only substantiated by the epigraphical evidence but also be numismatic and archaeological evidences. The excavations have yielded such evidence which has further highlighted the important position of this place (Thapar, 1955: 6-154). It was established that Prahaske was a flourishing settlement right from the proto-historic period The antiquities discovered during the course of this excavation have revealed the contacts of this place with almost all the important contemporary sites in India There is no positive evidence to point out the contribution of this place in the international commercial activities of this period but since India's commercial contacts with Mesopotamia have been proved on archaeological basis, the possibility of Prakashe's contribution in it cannot be ruled out as it was situated on the main trade-route of India running from North to South.

As far as the role of this place in the Indo-Roman trade is concerned, it can be said that it was one of the centers of foreign trade during this period because coins of the Kshatrapas were found at this place which shows its close links with Broach (Ibid).

Prakashe definitely had a rich industry of beads and shell objects is proved by the antiquities recovered from the excavations. Products of precious stones were one of the major commodities of export. Prakashe must have had its share in it. Fragments of shell and glass bangles having multiplicity of designs indicates the existence of a prosperous industry of shell objects particularly bangles at this place (Dikshit, 1968 124).

The commercial activity at Prakashe during the Satavahan period was in full swing. It had also come into contact with Rome because the Red Painted Ware (RPW) which is taken to be an imitation of the Roman pottery was profusely traced in the Satavahana layers. The antiquities of the Kshatrapas are also found in the same (Thapar 1955: 20). Since the place was one of the nearest station to Broach, this is but natural. Even after the Satavahana period, Prakashe seems to have continued as a center of hectic trade activities The Sanjeli plates referred to above support this obserWtibti. 83

Prakashe seems to have been commercial center throughout the ancient period because pottery and other antiquities of the Post-Satavahana period have been discovered at this place on a very large scale. This contribution is further attested to by the discovery of the polychrome bangles on a very large scale. These type of bangles were used during the Early Medieval period

Site located at the Foothills

Sites in the Godavari Valley

The Godavari rises on the Eastern slopes of the Sahyadri near Trimbakeshwar in Nasik district and runs across the Deccan plateau. The general direction of the river is towards the south east. This basin is narrow in the west and becomes broad like a funnel in the east. Near Nasik Godavari flows along a narrow rocky bed and is not navigable in its upper reaches. Further east its banks are lower and more earthy.

Culturally the upper Godavari basin is rich in archaeological remains ranging from the Palaeolithic age to the Historical period, as the valley was fertile. The important sites on the Godavari are Nasik, Nevasa, Bhogavardhana and Paithan.

The Godavari is navigable for small boats between the sites of Nevasa and Paithan. Due to this the settlement at Nevasa commenced a little later than that of Nasik.

Nasik

Nasik (20° N: 73° 51'E) is an ancient town situated on both the banks of the Godavari (Sankalia & Deo 1955. 1-9). Literary, epigraphical and monumental evidence supplies almost an unbroken history of Nasik for nearly 2,500 years. This pre-eminent position it held probably because it lay on the best route between central India and the West coast.

Vertical excavations were carried out on the Eastern outskirt of the modern city by HD Sankalia of Deccan College, in 1950-51. The excavation revealed seven periods of occupation beginning with Chalcolithic. Between 200 B.C.- AD. 300, Satavahanas, Sakas 84 and Ahiras governed this region. It was definitely under the territories of the Traikutakas, the Kalachuris, the Western Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Muslims and finally the Marathas.

This place-name occurs 12 times in five early Brahmi inscriptions in the caves at Nasik in its prakrit form Govardhana belonging to the reign of the Saka Kshatrapas and the Satavahanas From this evidence there is no doubt that this place was of considerable importance during the early centuries of the Christian era. It is further interesting to note that the caves at Nasik were described as situated in the Govardhana Ahara though they are nearer to Nasik than Govardhana. This indicates that Govardhana was the headquarters of the Ahara division in which Nasik was included.

Nasik is one of the oldest places not only from Maharashtra but from the entire Deccan. The antiquity of this place has been established to about 1500 B.C. on the basis of the Chalcolithic antiquities discovered from excavation (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 7). Literary and epigraphical references to this place-name also point it out to be one of the oldest cities It is mentioned in Grammarian Patanjali and Katyayana's work, the Puranas and several other Brahmanical treaties (Majumdar Shastri, 1934 : 152-7). It is mentioned in earlier Brahmi inscriptions ranging from the period 200 AD. (Sankalia & Deo: 1955). These evidences establish not only the antiquity of this place but also its important position in the contemporary cultural life. It has also been mentioned by Ptolemy, in the inscriptions of Chalukyas of Badami, Rashtrakutas and accounts of Arab writers (Sankalia&Deo, 1955: 2-3). In this way Nasik seems to have continued to be a flourishing town right from the Chalcolithic period to the end of the ancient period.

The geographical position of the town was mainly responsible for its greatness. It is situated on both the banks of the Godavari which is the largest river in the Deccan. Secondly it is situated very close to the Sahyadri and the coastal region of through which it had trade contacts with the outside world from hoary antiquity. It was directly connected with Sopara through the Thai ghat pass (Gokhale, Jan 1984: 79-86). 86 in these excavations. Its discovery at Nasik certainly adds to the significance of this place in the economic activities of the contemporary period (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 32).

As far as the production of export oriented commodities is concerned, Nasik was probably not an industrial center because there was no indication among the finds from Nasik which would establish the existence of such an industry The variety of material existed but the total number of beads discovered was rather an indication of their import from other centers as unfinished beads or large cores of these stones are absent at Nasik, also point towards trade-contacts.

The potter's industry at Nasik seems to have been most nourishing. This is witnessed from the variety of pottery discovered at this place which prevailed during all the periods. Terracotta beads were found at Nasik from the layers of the proto-historical period to the Mughul- period From this it can be inferred that at least there has been an industry of terracotta beads at this place (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 37-66). Besides the evidence quoted above, contemporary inscriptional evidence also substantiates this observation. In one of the early inscriptions from Nasik itself, there is a reference to different guilds at Nasik. Among these guilds was the potters guild. (Mirashi, 1981: 146) The skill of the potters at Nasik is further evidenced by the ditto imitation of the Roman varieties of pottery As far as Maharashtra is concerned, Nasik is the only place where the existence of a potters guild has been confirmed by epigraphic evidence

Besides the potters guild, the same inscriptions also mentions, the guild of oil producers at Nasik This further shows that the place was known for oil and its by products. The same inscription further refers to the Sreni of "oda-Yantrika" which has been interpreted as "water-machine". The meaning is not clear but it is possible that the machine might have been used by marine traders. If it is so, it will establish Nasik as a production center of machines connected with maritime trade

Glass objects such as bangles and beads have been recovered from excavation at Nasik on a very large scale In glass bangles a variety in the decorative designs particularly 85

The contact between Sopara and Nasik has been confirmed by the mention of this place-name in a number of the inscriptions at Kanheri (Deo, 1984: No. 148) Nasik was also situated on another trade-route which probably ran parallel to the range of Sahyadri having important emporiums on it such as Junnar, Karhad, Kolhapur etc. This has been confirmed by the inscriptions at Karle which also lay on the same trade-route (Thosar JESI Vol.XV). To the South-East of Nasik were the most famous trade emporium of the Desh, i.e Paithan and Ter. The antiquities discovered at the excavations at Nasik have shown affinity with the antiquities found at these two places. It indicated close contacts between Nasik and these two trade-centers. (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 7). Nasik also must have been connected with Broach which was the chief center of foreign trade on the West coast. The name of Nasik appears in the inscriptions from Bharut which further established the link of this town with Northern India (Sankalia&Deo, 1955: 2).

The pre-eminent position of this town during the historical period was because of its proximity from the earliest royal capital of the Satavanahas, i.e., Junnar The testimony to this is provided by the concentration of most of the inscriptions of the early Satavahana kings at Nasik. The Abhiras and the Traikutakas who were the successors of the Satavahanas, also had their centre of activity around Nasik. Due to these factors, Nasik played a very significant role in the cultural history of Maharashtra, right from the beginning of settled civilization in this region.

The excavations have yielded very important results. According to these excavations, the first human settlement was established at Nasik about 4000 years back (Sankalia & Deo, 1955. 6). The occurrence of NBPW and its associated finds at Nasik indicate that it was a flourishing town during the Mauryan period. (Sankalia & Deo, 1955. 7). It was followed by the Satavahana period in which a further advancement was achieved. The occurrence of the Roman types of pot sherds like black Rouletted Ware of the Arikamedu type the Samian, and the RPW have corroborated that Nasik was also one of those placed which had come into the contact with the Romans (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 69). A rare coin of the early Satavahana, belonging to Satakarni I has also been discovered 87 the polychrome bangles indicates the possibility of a rich industry of glass and shell at this place (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 94-101).

Another notable production at this place was that of bone objects particularly bone points at Nasik during the early historic period (Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 118-21)

The trade contacts of Nasik were probably expanded due to foreign traders visiting this place One of the inscriptions at Nasik mentions the name of a Yavana trader who had settled in North India at Datamitri (Deo, 1984: No.466) It has been identified with Patala which was an equally important port on the West coast as Broach (Thosar JESI Vol XV). Reference to the trade relations of the Roman empire with this area occurs in the Per/plus as well in the Geography of Ptolemy The visit of a Greek or Roman trader to this area certainly speaks of the contemporary importance of Nasik as a center of foreign trade.

The commercial activity of Nasik has been attested to by several other inscriptions in cave number 6 and 12, which make direct references to traders or persons staying at the place who were connected will- trade (Deo, 1984. No. 454, 465). Besides these inscriptions, several inscriptions from other places such as Bhaja (JESI), Junnar (JESI) and Kanheri (JESI) mentions names of traders and bankers from Nasik. The traders from Nasik had their sub-centers at other places such as Kalyan and Chaul (JESI).

In this way, the archaeological and epigraphic and literary evidences testify to the continuation of Nasik as one of the most important centers of foreign trade from Maharashtra under the Satavahanas. During the following period also, it must have continued to be so as it is refereed to in almost all the important sources of the later period.

Govardhana

Govardhana (20"5'N: 73" 4CT E) has been identified as Govardhana-Gangapur, a twin situated on the banks of the Godavari about 10 kms West of Nasik (BG XVI). The place seems to have been established by Dr Bhagwanlala lndraji right upto the proto- historic period on the basis of the antiquities found in the stupa-like mound at this place 88

(Sankalia & Deo, 1955: 4). Govardhana was probably a suburb of Nasik of the first halting station from Nasik on the road which connected that city with the Konkan ports. The trade activity which was in full swing at Nasik must have had its impact on this nearby town. Textile products were amongst the major products of export from this area (Mirashi, 1981: 19) The absence of the evidence of the textile industry at Nasik suggests that it was mainly concentrated at this small town. Govardhana was surrounded by important trade-centers such as Nasik in the East, Junnar in the South and beyond the Sahyadri were the ports of Sopara and Kalyan.

Sites in the Krishna Valley

The upper Krishna basin situated between the Sahyadris and the Mahadeo hills forms a distinct geographical region It has an almost north-south orientation parallel to the Sahyadri and flows almost across the peninsula from wet to east. It forms a distinct geographical region lying between the Sahayadris and the Mahadeo hills.Near the hills the river channel is rocky and the stream too swift for navigation but it gradually opens out to form an almost flat tract Owing lu its Southerly course the Krishna centers a wetter region near Karhad at the confluence of the Krishna and the Koyna. South of Karhad the plain broadens out still further and the meandering course of the river up to its confluence with the Panchaganga gives the plain its rich alluvial cover In this region intensive diversified agriculture is typical on account of adequate rainfall and black fertile soil, which is the rich alluvial flood cover. It thus constitutes one of the richest agricultural tracts of the Western Deccan (Deshpande, 1948: 134-5).

The earliest indications of permanent settlement are during the Satavahana period. Excavations at Kolhapur, situated on the right bank of the panchanganga, have yielded a rich hoard of Satavahana antiquities (Sankalia &Dikshit, 1952). Fifty-four Buddhist caves are situated five kilometers South-South-West of the town of Karhad (Burgess, 1885: 60) Another three are located at Patan, thirty-two kilometers West-North-West of the same site Six kilometers from Patan East-South-Eastn are located the two caves of Tamkane. Six kilometers from Patan West-North-West are located the two caves of 89

Yerphal. Eight caves are cut in the soft trap rock six kilometers North of Wai on the left bank of the Krishna (Maharashtra State Gazetteer, district, 1963: 809).

Karahataka

Karahataka (17°17'N: 74"13'E), is the inscriptional name of the present town of Karhad, the headquaters of a taluka division in the It is located on the junction of the rivers Krishna and Koyana. This place was of considerable importance from a remote past and was esteemed with high sanctity (BISM 1949: 1-3). After the Satavahanas Karhad came under the rule of the early Chalukyas of Badami. In the 10th century AD. the Rashtrakutas and the Chalukyas of Trikalinga ruled here. They were succeeded by the Silaharas, later by the Chalukyas of Kalyani, the Vijayanagara rulers, the Muslims and the Marathas

The earliest literary evidence for the antiquity of Karhad is from the Mahahharata Morever, in the vicinity there are about 63 Buddhist caves assignable to the lKt half of the 2nd century B.C.

Explorations were carried out by the Bharata Itihasa Samsodhaka Mandal, , in 1948 at Pantacha Got in Karhad Karhad has yielded Satavahana remains. It is referred to in a dozen inscritpions form Maharashtra ranging from the Satavahana period to the Yadava period. Out of these, a small donative inscription at the rock-cut caves at Kuda in is very significant to understand the commercial importance of this town (Deo, 1984: No. 245) We have seen that most of the ancient Indian ports had rock-cut Buddhist caves in their vicinity. It is also proved through epigraphical eviences that these rock-cut caves were caused mostly by traders. The evidence of the visit of a Karhad based trader to Kuda indicates that he was on his way to the ancient port of Mandad. On the basis of this evidence, it seems that like the Naneghat pass between Junnar and Kalyan, traders might have travelled through Par pass connecting Karhad with Konkan.

Karhad is mentioned in as many as five inscriptions from Bharhut and one from Sravan-Belagola (Ludcr's List 705, 763, 767, 809, 891, Deshpandel987: 16-26) It is well 90 known that Bharut, like Sanchi, was a Buddhist centre as well as an important town ship situated on the trade-route linking the Deccan with NE India.

This further shows its contanct with distant places not only from North India but also from the South Karhad was probably one of the main stations on the route which ran from Broach in the North to Vaijayanti or Banavasi along the foothills of Sahyadri. It was also the capital of certain feudatory chiefs. In several copper-plate grants, Karhad is referred to as the native place of donee Brahmanas (Deshpande: 1987) These evidences indirectly suggest that the commercial activity referred to in the inscriptions of the earlier period must have continued throughtout the historical period.

Consequently, nothing can be said about the exact nature of this trade-center. However, from the surface finds it seems that it was a properous township during the Satavahana period because the typical pottery of the Satavahana period along with the tiles described as Satavahana tiles and beads of faience and glass were noticed at Karhad. The epigraphical testimony with regards to the existence of trade and industrial guilds at Karhad referred to above had pioved the existence of glass industries at this place. The spacer beads of glass are said to be a peculiar production of this site (Dikshit & Sankalia, 1952: 97). Finds indicating Roman contacts were also noticed at Karhad It was also probably a centre of ivory carving as indicated by the discovery of an ivory dice at this place (Deo& Gupte, 1974: 188). In this way, Karhad was probably the most important trade-centre from Southern Maharashtra. It was also one of the main stations on the trade- routes running from North to South.

Brahmapuri

Kolhapur (16° 41'N: 74° 71'E), is the headquarters of a district of the same name. It is situated on the right bank of the Panchganga river, in the Western part of the city of Kolhapur, which is one of the Southern tributories of the Krishna From the inscriptional and archaeological evidences it appears that the city enjoyed two periods of prosperity. The first was under the Satavahanas. After an interval of some centuries the Silaharas built magnificent temples here. These continued to be patronized by the Yadavas. So Kolhapur 91 appears to have flourished under the Satavahanas, the Silaharas, the Yadavas and the Marathas.

Large scale excavations were conducted by H.D. Sankalia and M.G. Dikshit of Deccan College in 1945 (Sankalia & Dikshit 1952: 1 -11, See also Gupta 1963: 38).

The evidence gathered from the earliest layers indicate that ancient Kolhapur was a center of foreign trade, particularly the trade with the Roman empire (Sankalia & Dikshit: 1952). Coins of the early Satavahana rulers and contemporary chiefs establish the antiquity of this township upto the early Satavahana period. The earliest inscriptional evidence to this place-name belongs to the 1 llh century (IA XVI ).

In Ptolemy's Geography, a place-name Hippokoura is mentioned as the headquarters of a chief named Baleokuros Coins bearing the name Vilivayakura have also been found during the course of excavations at Kolhapur. On the basis of this, some scholars have expressed the possibility of the identification of Kolhapur with Hippokura (Bhandarkar 1928: 43-44). It is tWefore possible that ancient Kolhapur might be having a different name from the present one having affinity with the Greek name Hippokoura.

The excavations at Brahmapuri have shown that the site was occupied by its earliest settlement a few centuries before the Christian era (Sankalia & Dikshit: 1952) During the Satavahana period this settlement appears to have become a flourishing commercial centre because in the layers of this period, most of the varieties of the Satavahana pottery was found. The occurrence of Kaolin covered pottery shows the cultural contacts of this place with other contemporary trade-centers of the Desh such as Paithan and Ter, and Kondapur from (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: 59-65). Two complete vessels that were exact imitation of the Graeco-Roman bronze vessels are the most important evidences of the direct commercial contact of this place with the Roman Empire (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: PI. XIX.A). RPW that is supposed to be another important imitation pottery, clay bullae, a bronze dish with the figure of a Greek- goddess Eros, the status of Poseidon, the Graeco-Roman god of the sea, a bronze trefoil moulted jar certainly indicates that when there existed a brisk trade between the Deccan 92 and the Roman empire during the early centuries of the Christian era, Kolhapur was one such centre involved in this trade

The presence of foreign traders at Kolhapur is rather surprising because it was not a sea-port, but when we take into account the rich bead industry that flourished at this city, it provides the answer to the presence of foreigners (Sankalia & Dikshit 1952: 87- 114). Some of the amulets found at Kolhapur show affinity with its proto-type found at Mohenjo Daro

Kolhapur was probably rich in the field of manufacturing the glass beads. Blue and gold-leaf glass beads have been found in Java, the island of Corsica and in Danmark and are common in Egypt and Syria, where they are known as Roman beads. As we have direct evidence from the Satavahana sites in the Desh about the Roman influence felt there, it is probable that the Kolhapur specimens were brought by the Roman who had extensive trade relations with the Desh in the Satavahana period The lapislazuli beads found at Kolhapur show that the place was commercially connected with Badakshan, and Persia.

During the post-Satavahana period, Kolhapur had flourishing industry of glass bangles, particularly, the polychrome glass bangles. Along with these bangles, certain specimens of glass bangles of an earlier period have also been found which were made up of transparent glass and were indentical with the colored beads supposed to be essentially a product of foreign or Roman imitation.

The absence of the name of this place in any source between the periods of the Satavahana and Chalukyas of Kalyana shows that the site was abondoned following its burning. It was probably rebuilt sometime after 1000 AD. as several inscriptions from Kolhapur as well as other places in the vicinity mention this place (Graham: Kolhapur) In the same period, Kolhapur became the capital of one of the branches of the Silaharas ruling in the Deccan as the vessels of the Chalukyas of Kalyana and the Yadavas (Mirashi, 1977: Intro). During this period Kolhapur once again became a centre of trade, is evident by an inscription at this place dated 1136 AD (Deo, 1984: NO. 285) This shows that 93

Kolhapur continued to be an important trade emporiums on the route running parallel to the Sahyadri connecting Broach and Sopara with the Southern Deccan. Though slightly away from the famous sea ports on the Western coast, it too had felt the impact of the brisk trade with the Western world particularly Roman Kolhapur was probably linked with all the port in Southern Konkan like Mandad, Pale, Reddi etc.through the Phonda and the Amba passes.

Sites in the Bhima Valley

The river Bhima, although a tributary of the Krishna, may be treated as a separated system since in the Western Maharashtra a major area is drained by it together with its tributaries the Ghod, the S'ma, the Mutha, the Nira and the Man (Despande, 1948 138) The Bhima rises in the Sahyadris and, for the first sixty kilometers of its course flows through a narrow and rugged valle>, farther East the gradient is lower and the banks are low and predominantly alluvial, though broken here and there by dykes of rock. There is a rapid transition from the rainy Mr.-,,' to the dry area of the basin. Rainfall rapidly declines to the east. Due to this rapide decline in the rainfall Bhima culture developed very late. Lowlying valley tracts are known for their rich black soil in the western borders where the site of Junnar is situated. With in the Bhima valley Junnar area forms a separate geomorphic region The north-eastern half of the basin is essentially a drier tract with an average rainfall varying betwen 450 to 700 mm In parts of this basin the land is capped by poor soil and reddish loams which hamper agriculture.

In the early historic period the upper Bhima basin formed an important center as indicated by the conglomeration of settlements. The Borghat provided the much-needed line of communication between the hinterland and the coast and had a series of Buddhist caves in its vicinity The growth of cotton and the other natural resources gave rise to industries in the Krishna and Bhima basin.

Junnar/Dhenukakata

Junnar (19"10'' N TS'^Z1 E) has been identified with the ancient town of Dhenukakata, a place-name which occurs in 20 early Brahmi inscriptions from Kanheri, 94

Karle, Shelarwadi and other places. Junnar is situated at the foot of the Naneghat range of the Sahyadri through which passed the caravan route linking Konkan with the hinterland. As Kalyan was the first important town on this route in the low land of Konkan, on the plateau of the Sahyadri, Junnar was the last station. This explains why such a large number of Greek traders had settled at this town.

It was identified with Dharnikota in the Guntoor district of Andra Pradesh by Dr. Bhagvanlal Indraji, R.G. Bhandarkar and Buhler. This identification was neither accepted nor rejected. D.D. Kosambi suggested its re-identification with Devgad near Karle caves but there is hardly any phonetical similarity between these two place-names. Recently Dr. Thosar has examined all the views with regard to identification of this place and has drawn the conclusion that Dhenukakata was the original name of Junnar - the first capital of the Satavahanas and one of the leading trade-centers of Western Maharashtra (Thosar, Dec 1988: 14-21). He has quoted some references from the inscriptions at Naneghat near Junnar indicating Dhenukakata as the original name of this ancient city. According to him, as a result of the conflict between the Sakas and the Satavahanas, Junnar was captured by the former and the later had to shift their capital to Paithan The Sakas probably renamed Dhenukakata as Minnanagar which is referrred to in the Periplus as one of the market- towns. Minna means the Sakas and on the basis of this, the newly conquered city was probably named. It has been further pointed out by the same scholar that Ptolemy mentions in his accounts an emporium, as Omenagara. According to Dr Bhandarkar, Omenagara and Minnarnagar represent the same place and were probably the names of the present town of Junnar under the Sakas. As a result of this renaming, the old name Dhenukakata was probably forgotten. The Saka occupation of Junnar was for a very short period which was because reconquered the whole of Western Maharashtra from the Sakas. But the capital which was shifted to Paithan was not reshifted to Junnar. On this process of naming and renaming, the original name Minnagara were probably thrown into background and the town came to be designated by an adjective as Junninagara (old capital) to differentiate it from Paithan. In the inscription of the Satavahanas there is a reference to Navanagara which is probably refered to Paithan as 95 it was the new capital. The epithet 'Junninagara' during the course of time became the proper name of this town and it came to be known as Junnar. It is like the conversion of the ancient township of Girinagar in Saurashtra into the modern Junagad. Due to this redical change, the memory of Dhenukakata as the original name of Junnar was totally wiped out (Thosar: Dec 1988a).

The inscriptions referred to above mentioning the name of Dhenukakata indicate it to be a great centre of overseas trade because six inscriptions record endowments by Yavana or Greek traders which certainly points out to Junnar as one of these trade emporiums which prospered due to Indo-Roman Trade (Thosar JESI Vol. XV).

The settlement of foreigners at Junnar is further confirmed by inscriptions at the place. The inscriptions at Junnar mentions the name of a Yavana trader and a.saka trader. These references in local inscriptions confirm it to have a settlement of foreign traders. This is further substantiated by the discovery of the status of the Greek Goddess Eros at Junnar (Thosar: 1988a).

Unfortunately, till date no systematic archaeological excavation or exploration has been undertaken at Junnar but from the surface finds as well as its references in inscriptions, we get an idea of the past glory of this township. There are about 185 rock- cut caves in and around Junnar. These caves belong to the early phase of the rock-cut architecture, i.e., Hinayana. Further, there are 36 Brahmi inscriptions ranging from 2nd century B.C. to 3rd century AD. engraved in these caves (Jadhav: 1981). It has been observed that generally rock-cut caves were excavated in the neighbourhood of a port town or a trade-emporium. On the basis of this, the large number of caves near Junnar, must be taken as an evidence of the high status of Junnar in the commercial activities of the contemporary period. Most of the commodities exported to the Roman empire were brought from distant marts such as Tagara, Paithan and Bhogavardhan to Junnar & Dhenukakata from where they were further carried to Kalyan and Sopara for their export. Junnar was thus one of the most important stations on the trans-penninsular trade-route. The inscriptions at Junnar also render some information about the commercial activities at this township. From the 20 inscriptions found in different caves in Western Maharashtra, 96 mentioning the name Dhenukakata, 16 of them were found at Karle and one each at Kanheri, Shelarwadi, Nasik and Pitalkhora Out of these places, Kanheri was near Sopara Pitalkhora was situated on the land route connecting the Deccan with Broach as well as North India, and Karle was on the Dhenukakakta had regular traffic with important trade- centers on all these three prominent routes. The export was carried through Sopara.

The presence of Greek traders has already been established by inscriptional evidence This is further corroborated by the discovery of sherds of Roman Amphora pots among the surface collection at Junnar It centainly indicates that Junnar was one of the chief trade-centers from Maharashtra during the most flourishing stage of India's trade with the Roman empire

Sites on the Rivers

Bahai

Bahal (20° 35'N: 75" 5'E) is a large village in the Chalisgaon taluka of It is situated on the Girna river which is one of the major tributaries of the Tapi Bahal, like Prakashe, seems to be a busy center of trade right from the Chalcolithic period to at least upto the 7lh & the 8,h century AD. is indicated by inscriptions where it is mentioned as Bahulapuri (Deo, 1984: No. 583, 648) The site was re-occupied during the Yadava and the Muslim times.

It can be presumed that Bahal was an important commercial center in the Deccan during the Early Historic period. It must have been a rich trade-center as the Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), the largest hoard of punch marked coins (PMC) indicating its close contact with North India and the coins of the Satavahana and the Kshatrapa rulers have been found on a large scale during the course of a short excavation by M N Despande of South-Western Circle of the ASI (IA-R 1956-57: 17-18). RPW was recovered from the Satavahana layer (AI Vol XX 9). Proves that it made a contribution in India's trade with the Roman empire. 97

Being one of the important rice producing centers during Satavahana period, it may have had its share in the export of rice as mentioned in the Greek accounts. Besides this Bahal also had a flourishing glass industry, like several other contemporary sites of this period

The simultaneous occurrence of Megalithic antiquities with Chalcolithic finds at Bahal can be taken as an indication of the probability of Bahal as a junction of different trade-routes. The present situation of Bahal shows that it was another important station on the same trade-route on which Prakashe was situated and it was the next important station to the South of Prakashe. Different routes lead to different directions from this place. The Eastern route proceeded to along the Tapi and its tributary Pravara. The Southern route proceeded to Paithan via Pitalkhora. The Northern route led to Prakashe and beyond, whereas a route to the West connected this place with Nasik.

Nevasa

Nevasa (19"3 l'N: 75"E) is the headquarters of a taluka division in the district of Maharashtra. It is situated on the Southern bank of Pravara, a major tributary of the Godavari The town of Nevasa is located on both the banks of the river

The place-name itself is indicative of its wealth and prosperity which has been confirmed by the excavations at this place. These excavations have revealed that this place had human habitation right from the beginning of settled civilization period were found at this place on a very large scale (Sankalia at el., 1960: 114-149)

Inscriptional reference to Nevasa is so for only one from Neurgaon in the district in which the place has been referred to as Nidhivasa and Nidvase (Deo, 1984. No. 479). This is in a record of Yadava Ramachandra of 1278 AD.

A horizontal excavation was carried out by H. D. Sankalia in 1954-56 on the Ladmod mound. The site and its neighbourhood has provided a complete sequence of cultures starting from Early Palaeolithic to Maralha period 98

During the Satavahana period Nevasa witnessed the climax of its growth. Nevasa is situated between Junnar and Paithan which were the two capitals of this ruling dynasty. The geographical position of this town helped for increasing its importance during this period. The rule of the Satavahana synchronized with the enhancement of India's trade relations with the outside world more particularly with Roman empire Several places in the Deccan such as Paithan, Ter and Sopara attained the status of international emporiums. Naturally, other places connecting these emporiums with different trade- centers also prospered. Nevasa is probably one of the best example of such places.

It was situated on the main trade-route connecting the Satavahana capital Junnar with Sopara.

Since Nevasa was situated on a half-day's distance from Paithan, it probably developed as an important stations on the trade route referred to above. This is confirmed by the discovery of the coins of the Roman emperors in India as well as the discovery of other antiquities like RPW which were either imported from the Roman empire or were their imitations. Another important find discovered along with these coins was the bullae which was an imitation of Roman coins (Sankalia at. el., 1960: 201). This evidence certainly points to the contact of this place with the Romans and the Greeks during this period. Nevasa continued to be a chief trade-center of the region right upto the end of the ancient period, because antiquities of the post-Vakataka period have also been discovered at this place during the course of excavations. The Roman contact with this place was but natural because its situated to the North of Paithan and to the South of Junnar where the Greeks and Romans had their settlements (Thosar, Dec 1988: 14-21).

Besides having been a center of commercial activity, Nevasa was also an industrial township during this period. The textile industry was probably one of the local industries This has been substantiated by archaeological evidence about the existence of cotton at this place (Sankalia, et al., 1960: 2) Even now, the place is the leading center of cotton trade 99

Among other industries, the bead industry was the most flourishing one (Sankalia, et al., 1960: 346-74). This industry was probably in its initial stage during the pre- Satavahana period and the Satavahana period witnessed a sudden growth because nine new materials were added in this period to this industry. The Satavhana period is therefore regarded as the most flourishing period for this industry at Nevasa. The reason was obviously the great demand for Indian beads in the Western markets. Most of the materials used for the manufacture of beads were indigenous except lapislazuli which was imported from Afghanistan and Iran. Interesting, it is observed that during this period which marks the close contacts between India and the Roman world, faience and glass were the main materials in place of precious stones which were mostly used during the earlier period.

This period probably can be regarded as the best period for the Indian glass industry (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: 354). Archaeologists observe that the contact with the Roman world was one of the factors responsible for this industries progress. This observation seems to be based on reality because two specimens of the fine polished and purely transparent blue Roman glassware found during the course of excavations at Nevasa. The use of glass and faience which is also a type of glass, a material, articularly during this period also indicates the same. The moulded chain bead of green glass which is found only at Paithan and Nevasa is regarded as unique. (Sankalia, et. al., I960: 355).

Nevasa was one of the very few sites yielding different vaiities of pottery during different periods. This pottery was manufactured at this place itself is confirmed by the discovery of a large number of pots of various types (Sankalia, et. al., 1960. 250).

Reference to potters guild occurs in several inscriptions as well as literary works (Mirashi, 1981: 146). The possibility of the existence of such a guild at Nevasa is indicated by the pots with certain marks of identification, said to be the trade-marks of the potters guild. The potters industiy at Nevasa continued to flourish even during the Satavahana period. Six varieties of the Roman amphoras found from the excavations are certainly imported from Italy as evidenced by the resinous coating over it but other varieties of Italian pottery were manufactured at Nevasa itself. For example, the Rouletted Ware is originally Italian but at Nevasa, its imitation variety was discovered which was evidently a 100 local manufacture. The occurrence of Red Polished Ware and the Megarian Ware further conrifm this conjecture. It is further interesting to note that this pottery is found only in the 5th layer which belongs to the Satavahanan period (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: 275) Besides pottery, the potters from Nevasa also manufactured clay bullae as well as terra­ cotta and Kaolin figures. The terra-cotta and kaolin figures have the influence of Roman iconography. The figures on one clay bullae is exactly the imitation of the mark of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (37A.D ) (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: 201). These figures as well as bullae were manufactured with the help of a double mould, the remains which have also been found along with the associated material. This is another evidence of potters industry at Nevasa as one of the flourishing industries.

The occurrence of the Chinese "Celadon Ware" as well as the glazed pottery found in the upper layers at Nevasa shows that even during the early Medieval period the place continued to be a center of trade and industry. The most flourishing industry of this period seems to be the industry of glass bangles. The site was particularly known for the polychrome bangles which were in vogue from the Yadava to the Bahmani period (Sankalia, et. al., 1960: 202). It certainly indicates that right from the Chalcolithic period to the early Medieval period Nevasa continued to be one of the prominent center of trade and industry. Th 10/35 Ter

The ancient trade-center Tagara has been identified with Ter (Chapekar, 1969: I- VII, 1-7, Fleet 1901: 537-552, IA-R 57-58: 23-24). It (76°12'N: 18°19'E) is 24 kilometers far from Paithan, in the district and taluka of Osmanabad, situated on the West banks of the river Terna which is a tributary of the Manjra. It is situated about 14 kilometer North- East of Osmanabad. This village, however, has long earned reputation as a site of archaeological interest owing to the richness of surface finds and a large number of important antiquities in local private collection.

P.M. Joshi, Director of Archives and Historical Monuments, Government of , had in his view, the immense and promising archaeological potentialities of the 101 site of Ter. Hence, at his instance, K D Banerjee and B.N. Chapekar carried out excavation in February 1958.

Further excavation was resumed by the Director of Archives and Museums (IA-R 1967-68: 35, 1968- 69: 17-18). This revealed the cultural sequence from pre-Mauryan to modern times. Both vertical and horizontal digging were undertaken.

The third and the most recent excavation was undertaken by SB Deo and TV Pathy of Deccan college and Marathawada University, respectively, to confirm the cultural sequence of the site (IA-R 1974-75: 32)

The earliest literary reference is to be found in the Periphis of the Erythraean Sea written in the lsl century of the Christian era. Ptolemy, the Greek geographer writing about the middle of 2ml century AD places Tagara in the region called Ariake. Both of these Greek works mention Ter as one of the two top ranking marts of India for exporting cloths of various kinds (SHCGEM 158). These evidences certainly highlight the commercial importance of this place in India's foreign trade relations during the early centuries of the Christian era.

Epigraphical evidences testify to the existence of this city from the 7,h to 17th century AD. The city appears to have been under the rule of the Chalukyas, Silaharas and perhaps Muslim (AR ASI 1901-02: 1, 1903-04: 21). For quite a long time Ter was not exactly identified Dr. B. Indaji equated it with Junnar whereas others identified it with other places from Maharashtra such as Devagiri of Daulatabad, Dharur etc.

Ter was one of the most prominent inland trade-center from Maharashtra. It was situated on the ancient trade route that connected Broach with A.P. as well as . Ter not only was the main feeding center of export materials but a connecting station with distant trade-centers in the East as well as in the South The close link between Ter and in A.P. has been testified by the affinity of antiquities found at Ter (Anusamdhan Patrika Thosar) Ter was indeed one of the most prominent industrial towns 102

So Tei seems to have been consistently occupied since the dawn of the Christian era. Routes connected Ter with other flourishing indigenous trading centers viz, Bharuch, Kondapur, Nevasa, Paithan, Nagarjunikonda, etc. Trade contacts are also evident from the Kaolin figurines and Lapis-Lazuli beads since these materials are not locally available at Ter. These excavations have yielded sufficient material shedding light on the material culture of this ancient emporium. Though at present it is an insignificant place, the remains of the old city of Tagara are found scattered on both the banks of the Terna river in an area of about 10 square kilometers. The rich potentials of the site can be witnessed even at present. The antiquities from the government museum at Ter as well as the materials collected during the course of excavations bring out the following main factors connected with the commercial and industrial status of the city of ancient Tagara

Following industries existed at this place :

The Periplus records that Ter was famous for the manufacture of rich muslin cloth as well as common cloth of all varieties which formed the major commodity exported to the Roman empire. The excavations at Ter have yielded certain antiquities used for spinning and dyeing which confirms this. Besides local manufacture, (Thosar SHCGGM 158) Ter must have acted as middle man for the textile products and traded it.

Ter had a very prosperous industry of ivory and bone carvings (Ter Vastusangrahalaya 10-11)

Shell beads and bangles making was the most prosperous industry (Chapekar, 1969: 12-15).

Beads making was another prominent craft (Chapekar, 1969: 23-26) Besides all materials and varieties found at Paithan, Bhokardan and Nevasa, Ter manufactured the golden beads

Ter also had an equally rich glass industry during the Satavahana period (Chapekar, 1969: 25-6) The most remarkable find is a glass - jug a rare antiquity in India. Recovery of a large number of bangles and beads with the glass jug proves that it was 103 locally manufactured. The lumps of glass of this type were imported from the Mediterranean region and different products were manufactured from it in India. After Kolhapur Ter seems to be another example of a glass industry (Sankalia & Dikshit, 1952: 219).

The potters industry was another important industry at this place. The most important find connected with this industry is the roller with particular designs which were used for stamping the neck portions of the pots. (Ter Vastusangrahalaya 17-23).

Ter had very close contacts with foreigners particularly the Romans. This is substantiated by several antiquities found at Ter such as the NBPW, megarian ware, RPW, amphora, kaolin ware, clay bullae imitated from Roman coins, Roman type of lamps, pieces of amphora, votive tanks and the blue and green glass which was imported from Italy. Besides these evidences the reference to this place in both the Greek sources prove that Ter was one of the most active centers of trade and industry during the peak period of the Indo-Roman trade.

Ter also had close contacts with almost all the contemporary flourishing trade- centers in India. The name of Ter is mentioned as the native place of one of the donor in the inscription at Sanchi (SHCGGM). The remains of a large stupa and a chaitya were also found at Ter. Interestingly the stupa was constructed out of the Shahabad stone which is exclusively found in A.P. The sculptures carved on these stones have a striking similarity with the sculptures from Amravati in A.P. This indicates that Ter was also linked with the Eastern coast

In this way the ancient city of Tagara continued to flourish as a center of trade and industry throughout the Satavahana period. During the course of excavations it was noticed that on the top of the Satavahan layers every where, burnt objects were found. From this its presumed that this city was completely burnt at the end of the Satavahana period and is suddenly disappeared from the field of commercial activities (SHCGGM).

Ancient Tagara could not completely recover from the calamity referred to above but the continued activities of traders and industrialists are noticed right upto the 8th 104 century of the Christian era The rock-cut caves at Dharashive or Osmanabad were excavated by the Buddhist and Jain traders from Ter (Burgess G. ASWI Vol III 1978 4- 11) There caves were excavated during the period of the Chalukays of Badami and the Rashtrakutas. In the Jain literature Karakandu Chariya also, Tagara or Terapura is mentioned as a flourishing city in this area (Hiralal, 1934: 4-5). In inscriptions and copper plates of the Rashtrakutas, Tagara is referred to as the native place of several learned scholars (Thosar SHCGGM)

The Silaharas who ruled as feudatories in different parts of the Deccan claim themselves as the descendants of the Vidhyadhara kings of Tagara (Mirashi, 1977: Introduction). From these sources it seems during the post-Satavahana period also Ter continued to be a center of commercial activities though on limited scale

Paithan

The ancient city of Pratishthana is now represented by Paithan. Paithan (19"28'N: 75"24'E) is situated in a meander of the , (ASI WI 1876 Bird Vol.), a taluke headquarter in the Aurangabad district. The place has a long standing importance as a holy place because it is situated on the left bank of the Godavari which is regarded as the gems of the South. Paithan also seems to be amongst the earliest localities of the Deccan

Paithan was the capital of Petenikas', the early rulers of Paithan in the first century AD. This town was perhaps the most flourishing town of Peninsular India in the second century AD As the capital of Shalivahanas, it enjoyed their patronage and was the focus of all activities Periplns speaks of Paithan as the greatest city in Dakshinapatha It had trade relations with the Mediterranean countries exporting onyx. Ptolemy also refer to it. Geographical centrally has been a major factor with the Shalivahans who adopted and developed Paithan as their capital. Paithan, famous in ancient as Pratishthana, a town of self-importance, is referred to in Jaina, Buddhist and Brahmanical literature. The Jaina literature especially, and more so the Brihat-Kalpasutra-Bhasya, associates it with the Satavahanas and the Nagas. During the Satavahana rule, it was the capital town connected by trade-route to Bharuch in the NW, Naneghat in the West and 105

Ter in the SE Another inscription indicates towards an early trade route from the coast starting either from Masulipatnam or Vinukonda passing through Paithan and Ter to Chandore in Nasik and then crossing the Western ghats to reach Barygaza on the West coast. In the Yadava period it seems to have developed as a sacred place. In the Greek accounts, Paithan is described as the chief emporium of the Deccan where different commodities for export were brought by traders and from there were sent for export either to Broach or to the ports on the Western coast of Maharashtra. Due to this reasons the position of Paithan was enhanced and it became the central place among the inland emporiums. Several trade routes connected this town with other important towns and trade-centers of ancient India Paithan was connected with the chief trade-centers of North and North-East India such as Pataliputra and Shravasti. This route passed through other important trade-centers of central India such as Ujjain and Vidisha (Moti Chandra 1953: 53). A regular caravan route connecting Broach with the extreme South also passed through this trade-center As a result of this, Paithan not only became a national but an international trade-center.

Inspite of its long history and apart from the legends and the myths associated with it, Paithan has not been systematically excavated on a large-scale Some of the exacavations were by Yazadani, Dikshit etc

In 1936-37, G Yazadani, of the ArchaeologicalDepartmenl of Nizam's Dominion, excavated at Paithan. But full details of the dig were not adequately published (Syed Yusuf 1936: 39-42). M.G. Dikshit of the Department of Archives, Maharashtra State, conducted some trial excavations at Kausan near Paithan. The full report of this excavation is not yet published (IA-R 1965-66:28-29)

The antiquity of Paithan has been established right upto the beginning of human civilization in Maharashtra All the stages of stone age culture have left the mark of their existence in the vicinity of this ancient town (Thosar SHCGEM). This excavation has yielded a cultural sequence beginning with 1) Mauryan, and followed by 2) Satavahana and Late Satavahana, 3) Rashtrakuta, 4) Yadava and 4) Muslim- Mafatha 106

The meaning of the word Pratisthana is, "A firm Foundation". It was probably the first foundation of the Aryan culture into the Deccan (SHCGEM). Antiquities of halcolithic culture have been found at Paithan which speaks of the probable date of the human settlement at this township In the early historic period, Paithan figures as the chief town of Deccan It was the capital of the Alaka mentioned in the Buddhist literature as one of the 18 and was the oldest town of the Deccan as has been mentioned in the Imperial Gazetteer (Vol. XIX 317). Later on with the amalgamation of the and Mulakas kingdoms, Paithan seems to have continued as the royal seat of this twin Kingdom (Thosar, 1989: 13-16). It was the last from where the different trade-centers of South India were connected.

It was an exporting center of perfumes to the West specially for Egypt The Pitalkhora pillar inscription (Luder's List No 1187) of century 2'" century B.C. corroborates this statement. According to Periplus it was an important center of textile industry

Paithan was selected as the capital by the Satavahnas because of its important background referred to above It is generally assumed that in the early part of their rule, the Satavahana had their capital at Junnar in the of Maharashtra (Mirashi, 1981: 16). The conquest of Western Maharashtra and Konkan by the Saka Kshatrapas seems to have forced the Satavahanas to shift their royal seat from Junnar to Paithan which was away from the territories occupied by the Sakas and at the same time it has served as the chief town of the Deccan. This incident proved to be a boon because the glory of Paithan was enchanced due to this change. We have already referred to the role of the Satavahana regime simultaneously with the enhancement of India's trade relations with the Roman empire. As Paithan was situated on the ancient trade-route connecting the South with the North and the East with the West. It had already figured as a prominent commercial center With the establishment of Paithan as the imperial city, its importance as a center of foreign trade suddenly increased This is evidenced by the discovery of a large number of Roman type of amphora and other antiquities during the course of excavations at Paithan Most of these type of antiquities were found concentrated in the 107 area of the present state transport stand of this town. According to archaeologists, there may have been a settlement of Roman traders at this site (SHCGEM, Sircar, D C. Studies in the Geography of Ancient and 226-7).

The political and commercial importance of this city helped for its all round progress. It became a chief center of literary men, artists and industries The potters not only manufactured various varieties of indigenous pottery but also manufactured the imitation fabrics of the Roman type of rich pottery. The industry of terra-cotta and kaolin figures was a leading industry of this town. Hundreds of this type of figures showing the impact of the Greek sculptural art, of the Satavahana period were lbund in the excavations. This was obviously the result of the contact of this ancient town with the Greeks and Romans which was mainly due to foreign trade. Terra-cotta bullae were also manufactured at Paithan which mainly the imitations of Roman coins

Bead making industry was another important local industry at Paithan. Several varieties of beads made up of different materials having different shapes and sizes have been discovered at this ancient town (Ibid) The Periplus mentions products of precious stones as one of the chief commodity. The Beads of various precious stones found in Paithan give an idea of the role of this ancient industrial town in the export trade of the Satavahana period.

As Paithan was the royal capital as well as the leading center of trade, the possibility of the existence of a mint at this city cannot be ruled out. The evidence in support of this conjecture be gathered from the excavation reports. In the excavations which were undertaken in 1937, a coin lump has been reported from an early Satavahana layer This is an evidence which shows that the casting of the coins was undertaken at this site (Shanna, IK. Coinage of the Satavahana Empire: 33). The second evidence which is yet more important is found in the collection of Shri Balasaheb which is a coin mould made up of stone and used for casting coins (Thosar SCHGEM). The third evidence is the large number of coins found at Paithan mostly belonging to the later Satavahana kings Some of the new type of coins belonging to Yajnashri Satakarni have three types of hair style of the king. This clearly shows that these coins were cast with three different moulds 108 which is possible only where the coins are actually minted (I K. Sharma) From these evidences it can be concluded that there was a mint at this town.

In this way Paithan played a predominant role during the Satavahana period as a chief center of trade and industry. These factors helped for the material growth of the city. The urban life depicted in contemporary Buddhist, Jain and some Prakrit works such as Halas Gahasatsati sheds significant light on the affluent and urban life in this city. In this work a very colourful life of the people living on the banks of the Godavari is described at length (Thosar: Jan 1988) In the Kathasatasagar of Somedeva there is a reference to a beautiful garden at Paithan which was constructed on the banks of the Godavari by a person who had come from Broach (Ibid) This is a direct evidence not only of the affluent urban life of Paithan but also of its direct link with Broach The Kathasaritsagar is full of references which point out to Paithan as a town of trade and merchants Some of these references are connected with foreign trade. The references to the currency of Dinars is another evidence. There is a very interesting story in the Kathasaritsagar in which a trader narrates of his skill before as assv., 'Hly of merchants as to how he amassed wealth on the capital of a dead mouse (Ibid) This story may be an exaggeration but it certainly brings to light the traders skill as well as his enterprising nature which were seen in those days mainly due to foreign trade

Its generally observed that Paithan lost its importance as a commercial center with the fall of the Satavahanas. It is true that we do not get archaeological evidence of the post-Satavahana period but there is sufficient data which proves that even during the post- Satavahana period Paithan didnT experience a total eclipse. Literature and inscriptions indicate the continuation of the commercial importance of this town even in the post- Satavahana period (Ibid)

The Sanjeli plates of the 6th century AD refers to a gathering of as many as 40 foreign traders at a place which connected Broach with Paithan on one side and North India on the other (Ramesh K. V EI Vol XL). This certainly speaks of the hectic commercial activities between Paithan and Broach even during the post-Gupta-Vakataka period. 109

Under the Chalukyas of Badami and also under the Rashtrakutas, the fame of Paithan seems to have continued uninterrupted as a center of commercial activity. In the Jain literature of the Chalukya-Rashtrakuta period, we come across a graphic account of the enormous wealth of Paithan (Deo, Marathawada Samsodhana Mandal Varshik 1975: 1-9). The prakrit Jain work Lilavati of Kauhala belonging to circa 800 AD. clearly gives an idea of the richness of this town The same work frequently refers to traders, merchants, markets and shops which existed in that town Under the Chalukyas of Kalyana and the Yadavas too, Paithan seems to be continued its tradition as a center of religion, art as well as trade and industry In the Udayasundharikatha of Soddhala written at the middle of the 1 1th century, the life of Paithan is described in the same manner as that of Lilavati. Even allowing some amount for exaggeration, the description quoted above certainly indicates of the continued commercial activities of this town According to the "Mahikavatichi Bakhar", several cities in Konkan were built with the aid of the inhabitants of Paithan (Ibid) This further shows the link between Paithan and the Konkan even during the 11th and 12lh centuries

During this period Paithan had become the famous center for the manufacture of a very rich variety of silk sari named Paithani. This is evidenced by an inscriptions of the Solanki rulers of Gujarat according to which Siddharaja Solanki invaded Paithan and while returning back carried with him expert weavers of this variety of rich garment. On the testimony of the Mahanubhava literature also, Paithan seems to have been the center of commercial activities even during the 13th and 14th centuries (Ibid). However during the post Yadava period the town seems to have been gradually thrown into oblivion This was mainly due to the plundering and devastation caused by the Muslim invaders. In the Burhan-E-Masir of Sayed Ali Taba, detailed description of the plunder of Paithan by the Mughul prince Murad is given (SHCGEM) Several such incidents took place which effected the importance of this city which once enjoyed the highest position in almost al walks of life 110

Sites on the divides between rivers

Due to the advancement in the technology unlike the earlier site the medieaval site were situated on the divided.

Bhokardan

Bhokardan (20° 16' N: 75° 46' E) is situated on both the banks of the now dry bed of the river Kelna, a tributary of the Godavari (Deo&Gupte: 1974). Excavated by S. B. Deo and R. S Gupte of and Marathawada universities respectively (IA-R 1972- 73: 20-21; 1973-74: 20) ancient Bhoga-vardhana, is headquarters of the taluka division of the same name in the Aurangabad district of Marathawada

Bhokardan was probably one of the richest trade-centers of Maharashtra during the early historic period Its history in Kalachuri-Rashtrakuta, Yadava and Khilji periods is well known from literary sources. The name Bhogavardhana connotes "increaser of wealth" (Deo &Gupte, 1974: 1-5), which shows that this center was commercially significant. Although the excavah-j^s at Bhokardan have confirmed that Bhokardan was one of the major trade-center of this region during Mauryan-Satavahana period, surprisingly this is the only great emporium of the Satavahana period from Maharashtra that does not occur in the accounts of the Greek writers.

Bhogavardhana is mentioned in several early literary works (Yazdani, 1960: 25) In the later works also it is mentioned as an important town. During the 6th century of the Christian era, it was a headquarters of a vishya division in the kingdom of the Mahismati Kalachuris (Deo&Gupte 1974: 105).

Bhogavardhana is also mentioned very frequently in early Brahmi inscriptions It was an important center of Brahmanical worship as corroborated by a cave here which is assigned to the 8 l century AD Inscriptions of about the same period engraved in the Vaishnava caves at Bhokardan indicate its contact with the distant region of Andhra Pradesh (Thosar, Jan 1987: 1-14) The epigraphical testimony of Bhokardarfs contact /// with other prominent places of North India is substantiated by the archaeological evidence recovered from the trenches at the place.

The occurrence of NBPW along with its associates in the excavations at Bhokardan have shown that it was a flourishing town from the 3r century B.C. Being a trade center during the Mauryan period, this town appears to have come to lime-light under the Satavahana.

This was very natural as it was situated on one of the most important trade route. The commercial contact between Bhokardan and the outside world was mostly through the coastal region of Konkan This is revealed by the discovery of a clay seal of a female which mentions the name of IDA or Indra who had either gone to Thanenagara from Bhokardan or vice-versa (Deo&Gupte 1974. 77-9). The contact of Bhokardan with the coastal region of Gujarat as well as the North India trade centers has also been confirmed by the recovery oC the coins of Satavahana, Kardamaka, Kshatrapas, and Gupta emperors (Deo&Gupte 1974: 60-61) The brisk trade relationship between Bhokardan and Broach is further revealed by the discover) f two terra-cotta coin moulds used for minting the Kshatrapa coins (Deo&Gupte 1974: 58-9).

Bhokardan seems to have developed into a center of toys and bead making, shell industry potters' industry, and ivory carving industry for local and foreign markets during the 1st three centuries of the Christian era. So this center supplied beads, a commodity that formed a large share in goods for export (Deo&Gupte 1974. 213-214). The articles of luxury like carved shell bangles, amulets and pendants, a variety of stone and terra-cotta beads and pendants, ivory figurines which decorated possibly the mirror handles were purchased by the caravans from the local craftsmen These finds show that Bhokardan was more renouned as an industry than a trade-center

India's trade relations with the Roman empire got a tremendous impetus during the 1st two centuries of the Christian ear. The trade contacts of Bhokardan with the Roman world have been attested to by occurrence of pieces of Roman amphora, Megarian pottery, the RPW, clay imitation of the coins of Roman emperor, Tiberius The rich bead 112 industry in lapis lazuli along with a series of votive tanks and a pot with the spout in the form of a female figure, a parallel to which was reported from Afghanistan throws light on the commercial contact of Bhokardan with the later.

The most precious discovery in ivory objects at Bhokardan is the sculptured ivory mirror handle. The ivory figurine on the handle from Bhokardan which comes from the lower layers confirms the dating of this industry to 1st century A. D. In many respects the figure on the ivory resemble with its counter parts found at Ter in India as well as Pompeii in Italy This find has confirmed that ivory figure traveled to Italy from this region itself, due to the stratified evidence found at Bhoakardan.

In this way despite its absence in the contemporary Greek accounts, the wide appearance of its contacts in inscriptions, scattered over a large area from Sanchi and Bharut in the North to Vijayawada in the South East, sufficiently corroborated the archaeological evidences.

It is observed that with the decline of the Satavahana empire the commercial importance of Bhokardan declined but since the activity of carving and painting at Ajanta continued at least upto the 7th century and as contemporary epigraphic evidence gives a testimony to the continuation of Bhokardan as an important place. It can be said that although not with the same vigor, the traders and craftsmen of Bhokardan maintained its earlier position upto the 71 and 81 century AD. The Muslim writers described Bhokardan as one of the most important cities of the Deccan till the beginning of the 14lh century (SHCGEM: 179)

Bhokardan was situated on the main trade-route of Maharashtra that connected Paithan with Ujjain via the (Motichandra 1977 24) Further, it is the nearest ancient township to the Ajanta caves, which were caused mostly by monks and merchants It lies half-way between Ajanta and Aurangabad It was situated only on a day's march from Paithan This route connected North India as well as Broach with Paithan and Ter. The inscriptions at Bhogavardhana referred to above suggest that sometimes traders from Andhra Pradesh used the trans-penninsular route linking the East coast with Broach 113

(Thosar Nov 1987). This also seems to have been linked with Junnar, Karle, Kanheri and Kalyan

Petrigala & Pitanagalya

Pitalkhora (20"20,N: 75°00,E) on the Northern fringe of Aurangabad District and 67 kilometers North-West of Aurangabad, are approached from a place called Bhamarwadi, on Aurangabad-Chalisgaon road, in Chalisgaon taluka of Jalgaon district

It is mentioned by Ptolemy as one of the chief marts of the Deccan. The place remained unidentified for a pretty long time M.N. Deshpande suggested the identification of Petrigala of Ptolemy as well as Pitangalya of the Mahamayuri with Pitalkhora, on the basis of the sculpture of Yaksha found in the Pitalkhora caves (1959: 66-93) According to him Pitangalya, a seat of a Yaksha, mentioned in the Buddhist work Mahamayuri is the same as Teptrigala of Ptolemy The identification appears justifiable since along with phonetic similarity between these names there are several rock-cut caves at Pitalkhora of the early phase of rock-cut an'lecture in Maharashtra. As is evident from other caves there must have been nourishing trade-center at this place This is again proved by the fact that Pitalkhora was situated on one of the chief trade-routes of ancient India connecting the Deccan with Broach as well as North India (Deshpande, 1959). The caravan leaders after leaving Paithan, reached Pitalkhora via Devagiri or Daulatbad and Ellora and thence preceded to wither Broach or Maheshwar via Bahal and Prakase via Outram ghat (Ibid). From the Sanjeli plates of Toramana also, the evidence of this route has been confirmed. Besides being very close to Paithan, it was also very close to other chief trader-centers of this region like Bhogavardhana. The caves at Pitalkhora also bear some inscriptions. Two of these inscriptions record the endowments by two traders from Paithan (Deo, 1984: No. 505, 512). These traders must have been on their way to Baroach. There inscriptional evidences clearly point out that Pitalkhora was situated on a trade-route which connected the major commercial emporiums of that period such as Paithan, Ter and Junnar in the South, Baraoch in the West, Ujjain and Maheshwar in the North and Bhokardan in the East 114

The evidence quoted above leaves no doubt about the existence of a flourishing trade-center in vicinity of the Pitalkhora caves but so far no evidence has come forward to indicate the existence of a township at the site. However, while cleaning the debris in the caves, the old specimens of pottery resembling the Roman Samian Ware as well as the RPW were found Some sherds of NBPW also found Thus, antiquity of this place can be easily traced right upto the Mauryan period (Deshpande: 1959). The remains of a township have yet to be traced. At the foot of the Pitalkhora range there is an ancient town named as Patan which had a college specially founded for the study of the works of Bhaskaracharya, the great mathematician of the 12th century Patau may be the present equivalent of the ancient township near Pitanagalya or Pitalkhora (SUCGEM 108-9)

Table 4.2 OCCUPATION OF HINTERLAND SITES DURING

DIFFERENT DYNASTIC PERIODS

—.-^^^ Periods M S K A V R c BC KC SI KM Y Sites ~~"^\__ Bahal * * * * Bhokard.in * * * * * * Brahmagiri * * * * Dhcmikakata * * * * Kaiahataka * * * * * CJovadliana * * Nevasa * * Paithan * * Petrigala * * Prakashe * * * Iagara * * * * * * llmlner * * J * * Yadrapaha * * M Maurjan, S Satavahana, K Kshatrapa, A Abhiras, V - Vakatakas, R Rastiakuta, C C halukyas, BC Badami Chahkja, KC Kahani Chalukjas, SI Silaharas KM , kalacliuri of Mahismati, Y Yadavas

The number of sites in the hinterland area are less as it is easy to travel in the Desh region A person could travel for a long distance with less efforts as compare to the travel in the mountainous region In the Bhirna valley there are comparatively less sites as the rainfall declines rapidly in this valley Due to this in some of parts of the basin the land is capped by poor soil and reddish loams which hamper agriculture. With the advancementin technology the centers were located on the divides than on the river as were in the earlier period 115

Many other sites like have been partially excavated or explored known to yield Mauryan and Satavahana cultural remains (Map: 7). Other known early historic and medieaval site are given in the following table.

Table 4.3 KNOWN EARLY HISTORIC AND MEDIEAVAL SITES

Ahmadnagnr district Aurangabad District; 1'ime district Astagaon (IAR 1960-61: 19), (IAR 1955-56: 67-68), Agar (Jadhav: 1981), Bhalauni (1AR 1960-61: 19). .'\pegaon (Sankalia), Junnar (Jadhav: 1981) Brahmangaon-Bhand (IAR 1960-61: 19). Dukame(IAR 1972-73: 20). Klied (IAR 1956-57: 81). Changegaori, (IAR 1960-61: 19) Kausan(lAR 1965-66: 28), kusur (Jadhav: 1981), Chindio!i(lAR 1959-60: 10), Banotiwadi (IAR 1989-90: 55-6)-li' Manikdaha (Jadhav: 1981). Daradgaon (IAR 1960-61: 10), Dharkhurd Caves- Vakataka-Chalukva. Nirgude (Jadhav: 1981), DeolaliflAR 1959-60: 10). VctaKvadi (IAR 1989-90: 55-6), B{ I'adli (Jadliav: 1981), Ganjobhovaro. Oatewadi. Hoitga, Songaon (IAR 1964-65: 27). Jategaon (IAR 1960-61: 19). lliane district Kanadgaon (IAR 1959-60: 30). Cias(IAR 1955-56: 72), Puma valley. Kesapur (IAR 1959-60: 30). Cdapur (Jadhav; 1981); Kolhar-khurd(IAR 1959-60: 30), Nasik district Assnegaon (IAR 1965-66: 27). Kopre (IAR 1959-60: 30), Hankari(lAR 1969-70: 23), BahadarpurdAR 1965-66: 27), l.ondikolyachi-IIaveli(lAR 1960-61: 19), Nimklicd (IAR 1958-59: 23). Bclora(IAR 1965-66: 27). Mahenduii (IAR 1959-60: 71), Talegaoii (IAR 1970-71: 67). Ilralinii-lmdrkh Man (IAR 1965-66: 27), Mahisgaon (IAR 1960-61: 19), Dabarga.il (IAR 1988-89: 46) Tuljapur Garni (IAR 1965-66: 27), Manjrikangar-budnikhdAR 1959-60: 30). Dahandegaon(IAR 1988-89: 46) Mahnjtikatigai-khurd(IAR 1959-60 30). Dahigaon (IAR 1988-89: 46) Buldliana district Manori-Rcnapur (IAR 1958-59: 15), Nikv,are(lAR 1988-89: 46)1-,II&M Deulgaon Raja (IAR 1981-82: 248) Niglxtj (IAR 19(,0-61: 19), rimpaluadi(IAR 1988-89: 46) I.onardAR 1981-82: 248), Nimbhcre(IAR 1959-60: 30). Sadliagaon (IAR 1988-89: 46) Sinkhed Raja (IAR 1981-82: 248), l>al\ve-Uuird(l\R 1960-61: 19). Javada(IAK 1988-89: 46) IslI&M ratlire-khuid(lAR 1959-60: 30). Sholapur district I'impalgaon-lungi (IAR 1959-60: 30), 1 ' manabad district Korphalc (IAR 1986-87: 58) Pimpnvalan (IAR 1959-60: 30). lilc(lAR 1974-75, 1989-90: 32,69). Barslii laluka Ravatalo(IAR 1960-61: 19). Vadgaon (IAR 1974-75: 32). Sirkanegaon (IAR 1960-61: 19). Balaghat Hills IAR (1989-90: 56) S Cave Kolliapur district Songaon (IAR 1959-60: 30). WamdaOAR 1987-88: 88) KH Aundli(Dikshit,1968) Suitanpur (IAR 1960-61: 19). Nerle(Dikshit,1968) ThadiUAR 1960-61: 19), Dhulc district Siipur(Dikshit,1968) Yadner-budrukh ((IAR 1960-61: 19». Bhandrapada(IAR 1988-89: 46)1'.11&M Vadgaon (Diksbit,1908) \ aghunde-khurd (IAR 1960-61: 19), Vadga•li (IAR 1988-89: 46) Vahvane(IAR 1960-61: 19). Vagh,Hja(IAR 1988-89: 46) lte(l)iksliit.I968). Yambori(lAR 1958-59: 15). Wadi(IAR 1988-89: 46) Kapre(Dik.sliit,1968), VVavral(lAR 1960-61: 19). Kataipada(Dikshit.l968), S.Kara district Wai (IAR 1968-69: 20), I atur district I,ohari(Dikshil.l968). Norte (IAR 1956-57: 81). SoneS.manga(IAK 1988-89: 46) Mahigaon(Dikshit,1968). Kaote(IAR 1986-87: 58) l-'.II&M ligaon(IAR 1986-87: 58)iai&!I Kolaba district Raigad district Tarapui (IAR 1981-82: 218), Yaknil (IAR 1988-89: 46) S Caves Jalgaon district MandadflAR 1978-79: 98), Malapur(IAR 1988-89: 46)

However, reports of the excavations and exploration are not published adequately Publication of such reports in future will bring to light many more trade-centers.