Benwa/Sikar: Digging is underway at Sikar’s Benwa village, but diggers are not looking for iron or copper ore in Rajasthan’s mining belt. An Archaeological Survey of India team is digging into layers of rock and soil for pottery shards and remnants of a ‘copper culture’ that is as old, if not older, as the Early Harappan Civilization (3300 BC to 2600 BC) Might be possible. This is the first time that ASI has authorized excavation here.
The village rests on a mound which is surrounded by the copper rich Aravalli ranges. In this bleak landscape, vegetation withers and shrivels under the sun. The skeletons of animal carcasses gleam under the bushes. But Benwa has come under the notice of ASI as a site of potential archaeological importance.
“The goal is to find the oldest culture here, to understand the chronology of all the cultures that lived here,” says Vinay Gupta, the archaeologist leading the Sikar excavations.
The site could yield a wealth of ancient artefacts because of its rich copper mines
“If any civilization is found here, it will open a new chapter in history,” says archaeologist Rajeev Ranjan, head of history department at Seth Nand Kishore Patwari Government College, Neem ka Thana, Rajasthan.
The proximity of the village to Ganeshwar is also a reason for the excavation. Barely 15 km away, archaeologists excavated arrowheads, spearheads, chisels and ornaments such as hairpins and bangles, which now date back to the same period as the Harappan civilization. It was revealed by a series of excavations – the last one in 2013.
Artifacts are part of Ganeshwar Jodhpura CultureWhere copper was traded with other contemporary civilizations such as Harappa and Ahar-Banas culture (3000 – 1500 BC).
“This area has been a copper smelting belt. The rock here is rich in copper and iron. Nearby is the Khetri copper complex, which is famous all over the world for copper. That is why this place is probably ancient. was supplying to the subcontinent during the period as well,” says Gupta.
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Detailed analysis
Gupta’s team – five trainees and three ASI employees – are camping on a plot just opposite the government school in Benwa. Every morning, armed with the tools of their trade, they walk a rough and rocky path to the excavation site.
Since the start of the excavation on January 18, archaeologists have unearthed a sling ball, a broken spear, pieces of pottery, knobs from a pot, bangles, remains of a furnace with charcoal, and much more. Remains of temples and a piece of terracotta from the time of the Kushan Empire (30–375 CE) have also been found. But none of the excavated objects is similar to the one excavated at Ganesha. Gupta hasn’t found what he’s looking for yet.
“We want to study the culture here and how pottery and deposits change. We want to get down to the very bottom of this area.”
The mound the team is excavating is a rare feature in the area’s topography, the only one that hasn’t been encroached upon. It was also mentioned in an earlier researcher’s account as having archaeological significance, to which Benwa drew the attention of the ASI. Work is going on simultaneously in nine trenches of 10 meters long and 10 meters wide. It is a slow and laborious process.
Work on one of the trenches stalled as the team discovered structures dating back to the Sultanate period (1206 CE to 1526 CE) only on the upper surface.
“We have reached the Mauryan period (321 BCE-185 BCE),” says Tarun Puri, who is part of Gupta’s team, pointing to another trench on the slope of the mound.
It’s still not deep enough for Gupta.
The team is racing against time to uncover as much as they can before the scorching heat of Rajasthan begins in May. A warm March is already presenting a challenge. Gupta has asked his team to dig a trench around some nearby trees. “Shade trees will become available as it gets warmer,” he says.
Every evening they gather to discuss the day’s excavations. “Different people are handling different trenches. We discuss things found during the day, and everyone shares information about how their trench is behaving,” says Lolimb Raj Mishra are, which Old Fort Excavation In 2017.
The main objective of the excavation at Sikar is to find out regional settlement, regional identity and variation in pottery.
gap in time
The excavated site is in close proximity to several other cultures in Rajasthan.
The Ganeshwar Jodhpura culture in northeast Rajasthan is believed to have been Largest copper producing community Around 3000 BC in South Asia The entire complex is located to the east of the Harappan civilization while the Ahar-Banas culture is to its south and southwest.
The lack of “absolute dates” from the Ganesha site is a shortcoming that has been highlighted by other historians as well.
“The only date we have is that they go back to 2800 BCE, which is contemporary with the early Harappan civilization. But we don’t have any other information like date range, chronology of the culture,” says Gupta.
In several excavations, the upper levels of Jodhpura date back to 2900–2500 BC. paper Published in peer reviewed journal, Society of Ancient Asia, South Asian Archeology (SOSAA).
Ranjan says, “This area may have been associated with trade in the past, although now many villages have been settled around here, due to which a large part of the site has been destroyed.”
real treasure
Before Gupta and his team landed in this tiny village, its 250 villagers had a knack for foraging for old coins.
Jagdish Prasad Gurjar, whose house is a short distance from the excavation site, proudly displays some old coins, which according to archaeologists date back to the medieval period during the rule of Delhi Sultan Ghiyas ud Din Balban.
“One day I found these coins under the ground near a neem tree. People here have been getting such coins and old things from time to time.
The Guptas also agree that the place was probably of great importance during the Balban period. “must have been a Taksal (mint) here in those days,” he says. “This place must have been very prosperous at that time.”
He had to quell a rumor among the villagers that his team was digging for gold and silver. For the Guptas, the real treasure would be to find the remains of a regional culture somewhat contemporary to the pre-Harappan civilization. So far no solid proof has been found for this.
“But digging never goes to waste,” he says.
(Editing by Therese Sudip)