Archaeological excavations

G.R. Hunter at Dorothy Deep and Jambu Dwip, Pachmarhi, 1936,1955

1. At Dorothy Deep hunter concluded that the shelter was first occupied by Mesolithic tool –users and later by pottery users. There were no Paleolithic predecessors and no Neolithic polished tools.
2. At Jambu Dwip there were no Paleolithic tools. In an upper layer containing only microliths, Hunter found a human skeleton. The layer above this produced pottery sherds.

1. Gosh, Baniya Beri, Pachmarhi, 1950

3. In a trench 22’’X 39’’ Ghosh found four layers. The lowest, consisted of weathered sandstone and yielded no finds. Layer 3, of yellow soil mixed with stone chips, gave geometric microliths of a pre-pottery period. Layer 2, of similar soil, also yielded geometric microliths. The top layer was of dark brown earth and contained no tools. Evidently the shelter was inhabited only during the Mesolithic period.

4. Trial pits at Apsar, Bihar, Bazar and Nimbu Bhoj shelters showed no regular stratigraphy, but yielded a few microliths.

1. S. Wakankar and H. V. Trivedi, Modi, 1959

5. This excavation in a painted rock shelter at Modi in Chambal valley showed ten undisturbed layer above bedrock. In the bottom, or 10^th layer there were middle and late Stone Age scrapers, points, burins, retouched flakes, triangles and one trapeze. In layer 9 there were geometric microlith: 45 parallel-sided blades, 34 triangles 6 lunates, and 3 trapezes.

In layer 8 there was one anvil stone and a small heap of haematite grains. The color of the haematite matched that of a painted stone near it and also the color of the earlier of two superimposed paintings of a bovid and round-headed archers on the wall of the shelters.

In layer 7, 6, and 5 there were additional microliths, a fireplace, but no pottery. Layer 4 was a sterile band of sticky black soil deposited by wind and water showing a very long period without occupation. Layers 3, 2 and 1produced pottery shards of the 11^th and 12^th centuries A. D. and a few unfinished beads.

When the excavations were carried out at Modi Upper Palaleolithic was not established in India. So, there is every possibility that microliths from layer 8 may represent Upper Palaeolithic phase (author) at Modi.

Allahabad University, Lekhania, 1961-63

6. At Lekhania shelter near Ahiraura, a team from Allahabad University found Mesolithic tools throughout several feet of occupational debris .The tools became smaller, finer and more varied in the sequence from lower to higher levels. Pottery appeared with increasing frequency near the top. Several skeletons buried in the accumulated debris were carbon-14 dated at c.1700 B.C.

R.V.Joshi, Adamgarh, 1964

7. In one trench with several undisturbed layers, lower Palaeolithic tools appeared at the lowest tool-bearing level, including Acheulian and post-Acheulian tools in transition to middle Palaeolithic handaxes, chopping tools and cleavers. Above this were fewer handaxes and chopping tools, but more cleavers; then a sharp change to flake tools including scrapers and points; and nearer the surface, a very large assembly of miroliths.

8. In another trench, Joshi found black soils 20 to 60 inches deep, without layers. There were microliths throughout. Points and blades were the principal tools, followed by lunates, triangles, and scrapers. At depths of 10 to 18 inches were found the bones of dogs, humped cattle, water buffalo, goats, domestic sheep, pigs, sambar, barasinga, spotted deer, hare, porcupine and moniter lizard.

A haematite nodule was found 22 inches below the surface. Material taken from above the haematite nodule was carbon dated to 5,500 B.C.E.

V.S. Wakankar and S.K. Pandey, Kharvai and Shahad Karad, 1967

9. Both of these locations are near Bhopal. In a trial trench at Kharvai the bottom layers produced microliths, pieces of a human skull, and no pottery. The middle layer gave Chalcolithic pottery and microliths and the top layer produced early historic pottery, iron, and microliths.

1. The trial trench at Shahad Karad produced results very similar to those at Kharvai.

V.S. Wakankar and S.K. Pandey, Archer’s Cave, Bhimbetka, 1967

1. The trial pit was 39” x 39” in a shelter near the western edge of Bhimbetka Mountain. Four layers were evident, tilting downward toward the back of the shelter. Layer 4, at the bottom, produced one polished stone and 13 microliths. Layer 3, next above, yielded microliths, pottery sherds and indications of a fireplace. There were 5 burnt stones, 279 chips, 107 parallel sides flakes, 14 triangles, 10 points, 4 lunates, 2 trapezes, 1 blade and 43 pottery sherds. The pottery had a fish-scale design similar to that of Harappa and fabric was like that of Kayatha ware.

Layer 2 was separate from those below by stone slabs, which might have fallen from the roof, but might have been brought in by man. Layer, produced 14 pieces of chalcedony brought in for making microliths, 86 waste flakes, 2 fluted cores and 55 sherds of Chalcolithic pottery. Layer 1, at the top, showed both microliths and pottery of the medieval period.

S.K. Pandey, Jambu Dwip and Baniya Beri, Panchmarhi, 1968

2. In the Jambu Dwip dig the deposit above bedrock was only 6 inches deep. It yielded small numbers of both microliths and pottery sherds.

3. In the Banya Beri excavation there were two distinct layers. The lower one, of loose sandy soil, gave one large chalcedony piece, 2 jasper flakes, 2 triangles, and 28 chips. The upper layer, of brown earth, produced 1 fluted core, 4 parallel-sided flakes, 1 triangle, 1 lunate, 1 trapeze, 2 points, and 21 waste flakes. There was also no pottery.

V.S. Wakankar, Bhimbetka, 1969 ( Shelter III-7-14)

4. In a 2’ x 2’ trial pit the lowest layer produced Clactonian and early Acheulian tools. The middle layer gave Middle Palaeolithic tools of quartzite sand stone; and the lop layer, Mesolithic tools of fine-grained quartzite.

Sagar University, Bhimbetka, 1971 ( Shelter III-7-14)

5. A trial trench, about 6’ x 8’ in Auditorium Rock yielded the same results as were found by Wakankar in no.14 above.

6. In another dig at Bhimbetka in shelter II-F-13 in December 1971, a human skeleton was found. It was the first to be found from a painted shelter in the Bhopal area. The surface was covered by two bowls, blotchy black and red. The skeleton has not yet been dated.

V.S. Wakankar and associates: K.D. Gill, Narayan Vyas, Dr S. K. Arya, Bhimbetka, 1971-75

Bhimbetka Mountain consists of three deeply eroded sandstone –surfaced ridges separated by narrow valleys. The area is only two miles from a main highway, but is still wild enough so that in February, 1972 a tiger killed a sambar near where four Gond woodcutters were working near the excavators.

7. Soil profile trench in a valley between the first and second ridge.

Layer 1: Recent black soil
Layer 2: Black fossil soil
Layer 3: Gray sandy silt with carbonized wood
Layer 4: Red sandy silt containg Upper Palaeolithic tools
Layer 5: Kankary yellow silt
Layer 6: Loose laterite with Acheulian tools
Layer 7: Compact laterite
Layer 8: In situ laterization of bedrock
Layer 9: Bedrock

8. Shelter IV F-14, Trench 1 produced the same results as no 14 above.

9. Shelter IV F-14, Trench 2

Layer 1: Late historic
Layer 2: Mixed Mesolithic microliths and Middle Palaeolithic tools
Layer 3: Acheulian cleavers and flakes in highly cemented boulder conglomerate

1. Shelter II B-33, Trench 3

Layer 1: Early historic, flat stone pavement set in clay brought from outside
Layer 2:  Chalcolithic: pottery, microliths, copper ornaments, mace head, red pigment colour stones, pavement floor
Layer 3: Mesolithic: geometric microliths
Layer 4: Upper Palaeolithic: no geometrical tools
Layer 5: Bedrock

1. Shelter III F-24 (Auditorium Cave), Trench 1

Layer 1: Early Historic: Pottery, glass bangles
Layer 2: Mesolithic: microliths, no pottery
Layer 3: Middle Palaeolithic tools in breccia Bottom not reached; work continues

2. Shelter III F-24 (Auditorium Cave), Trench 2

Layer 1: Mauryan pottery, copper and silver punch-marked coins
Layer 2:  Chalcolithic pottery and microliths
Layer 3: Mesolithic:  microfiches and no pottery
Layer 4: Middle Paleolithic working floor, tools on sandstone
Layer 5: Acheulian II scrapers, cleavers, handaxes; cleavers dominant
Layer 6: Acheulian I scrapers, cleavers, handaxes; handaxes dominant
Layer 7: Gap of 60 cm, without tools
Layer 8: Pebble Tools on local flat stones
Layer 9: In situ laterite ((primary)
Layer 10: Bedrock

3. Shelter III F-24 (Auditorium Cave), Trench 4a

Layer 1: Early Historic: Partial human burial with an earthen pot on the right side, carbon-14 dated 2045+ 110 B.P.
Layer 2: Mesolithic: microliths
Layer 3: Bedrock

4. Shelter III F-24 (Auditorium Cave), Trench 4b

Layer 1: Partial human burial (torso only)
Layer 2: Mesolithic: microliths; layer carbon-14 dated 5855+110 B.P.
Layer 3: Bedrock

5. Shelter III A-30, Trench 6

Layer 1: Late medieval: late Muslim coins
Layer 2: Chalcolithic: pottery, microliths, copper objects, mace heads, pigment stones
Layer 3: Mesolithic: microliths, nongeometric tools, no pottery, pigment stones
Layer 4: An Acheulian wall: Alignment of rocks and stones parallel to the rear wall of the shelter; about 80 Acheulian tools found between the wall and the rear of the shelter.
Layer 5: Bedrock

6. Shelter II A-28, Trench 7

Layer 1: Medieval iron shield and iron arrow-heads, pottery
Layer 2:  Early historic pottery, iron arrow-heads, glass beads, pigment stones
Layer 3: Chalcolithic: painted Malwa pottery, microliths, steatite beads, copper objects, pigment stones
Layer 4: Mesolithic: microliths, mace heads, child burials with bone pendant, pigment stones
Layer 5: Upper Palaeolithic: nongeometric microliths, human burial, green pigment stones (terra verta)
Layer 6: Middle Palaeolithic tools
Layer 7: Bedrock

7. Shelter II A-29, Trench 8

Layer 1: Medieval smith site, silver ornament, Ganesh image, glass beads, stone beads, crucibles for melting metals
Layer 2:  Chalcolithic: pottery, microliths
Layer 3: Acheulian: cleavers, scrapers, and handaxes in lateritic deposit
Layer 4: Pebble tools made from river stones embedded in compact lateritic deposit
Layer 5: Bedrock

8. V. N. Misra, Bhimbetka Shelter III F-23

Layer 1: Recent
Layer 2:  Mesolithic: microliths
Layer 3: Upper Palaeolithic complex of tools on sand stone
Layer 4: Middle Palaeolithic tools
Layer 5: Two working floors of Acheulian period
Layer 6: Bedrock

9. S. B. Ota, Bhimbetka, 2002-2005, Shelter No. ASI-28

Excavations were carried out at two spots in the precincts of the rock-shelter. Inside the tunnel beneath the ledge nine squares of 1 m each were excavated. Inside the tunnel the excavations were carried out up to Level No. 100 and outside, beneath the ledge up to Level No 26, respectively. The excavations revealed a large number of potsherds and some bangle pieces in the upper level in both the spots. In the lower levels below a large number of microliths including blades, backed blades, triangles and crescent besides cores. The squares inside the tunnel, which were excavated much deeper, yielded a large number of stones tools of earlier cultures. These include: scrapers and natural flakes with working edges. Palaeobotanical and entomological specimens were collected from each level assessing the palaeo-environmental backdrop of the evolution of human beings from the Lower Palaeolithic.

1. A.K. Sharma, Jhiri, 1993-1996, Rock shelter No.3, 8, 10 and 17.

Maximum depth 1.30 m was reached in RS No. 10.

The excavation yielded large quantity of microliths, pigment stones of various shades of red, a few white, hop-scotches on stone, pot sherds, charred fragments of animal bones and a few bone tools. From the top level of RS No. 3 two uninscribed cast copper coins datable to 3^rd-4^th century B.C. were recovered.

1. G. L. Badam, IGRMS premises, Shamla Hills, Bhopal, 2001-2002), Rock shelter No. 7 (Old No. 18)

Small excavation. The habitation debris indicates the time range from Mesolithic to Historic period and has yielded floor structures, stone artifacts, bones and mollusc shells, pottery, charcoal, iron bangles and iron arrowheads.

2. Giriraj Kumar et al., Daraki-Chattan, Chambal basin, 2002-2006, Lower Palaeolithic cupule site

Daraki-Chattan, on Indragarh hill near Bhanpura in Chambal basin, is Palaeolithic cupule site. It was excavated under the EIP Project. Narayan Vyas was the official representative of the Archaeological Survey of India and was nominated as the co-director of the excavation. A. Pradhan, P.K. Bhatt and R. K. Pancholi were the other members of the excavation team. Many scholars and scientists from India and abroad visited the site time to time during 2002 to 2009. The area excavated from 2002 to 2006 is 33 square meters. The major excavations were carried out just in front of the cave and in the associated rock shelter in its north.

In the excavation at Daraki-Chattan during five season’s work, we have exposed sediments up to a depth of -311 cm from A1 in the main trench. The sediments slope towards west by 150 cm over a distance of 5 m, i.e. up to XB6 (2). The nature of the sediments so far exposed in the excavation is fairly uniform with gradations of colour, size of the exfoliated flakes, stones, stone blocks and slabs. However, for convenience of study the sediments have been divided broadly in two parts, a lower deposit with sub-pseudo-layers 6, 5 and 4; and an upper deposit with sub-pseudo-layers 3, 2 and 1 (see below Table 1).

1. Lower deposit: The lowermost sediment is lateritic red soil that became slightly loose because of rainwater. It grades into the following compact brownish red soil and again into compact calcareous yellowish-brown soil (sub-pseudo-layers 6, 5 and 4). These sediments also comprise fallen large slabs and stone blocks. Most of these slabs have been weathered deeply because of water logging and became highly patinated with dark-brown mineral accretion. Such weathered rocks are locally known as barbarya bhata. These sediments bear Lower Palaeolithic artefacts. Their stratigraphic-typological variation has been given in Table 1.
2. Upper deposit: It is composed of loose brown sediment with exfoliated flakes and stones, generally of comparatively small size and progressively of lower number. It consists of the upper three sub-pseudo-layers 3, 2 and 1. The top 20 to 24 cm sediment grades into greyish-brown pseudo layer (2) and thin humus layer (1). At places sub-pseudo-layers 1 and 2 have been washed away by rainwater.

Table 1. Stratigraphy and tool typology, section facing south, main trench.

 Layers 1 and 2 are visible only in the area of XB3 and XB4 and are almost indistinguishable.

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