3000-yr-old tribal colony discovered in Vidarbha regionVinita Chaturvedi, TNN Mar 29, 2013, 12.00AM IST

(3000-yr-old tribal colony…)

Move over Harappa and Mohanjo-daro! Vidarbha can now boast of its own important archaeological landmark at Mali, in Tiroda Taluka, at Gondia district, where remains of a 3000-year-old tribal colony of Megalithic age have recently been discovered.If all goes well, this could open new vistas for the History loversand put Vidarbha on the archaeological map as a major attraction, says Assistant Director of Archaeology, Nagpur region, Dr Madhukar Kathane.

(1) Dholavira

An ancient city, and locally known as Kotada Timba Prachin Mahanagar Dholavira, is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India, belonging to the Indus

Valley    Civilization.  It is located on the Khadir bet  an islandin the Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Great Rann of Kutch.  The site is surrounded by water in the monsoon season The site was occupied from c.2650 BC, declining slowly after about 2100 BCE. It was briefly abandoned and reoccupied until c.1450 BCE. The site wasdiscovered in 1967-8 by J.P. Joshi and is the fifth largest Harappan site in the Indian subcontinent, and has been under excavation almost continuously since 1990 by Mr. Bist the director of the Archaeological Survey of India. Eight large urban centers have been discovered: Harappa, Mohenjo Daro, Ganeriwala, Rakhigarhi, Kalibangan, Rupar, Dholavira, and Lothal. Dholavira is the only site where the SIGN BOARD – INSCRIPTION  of  TEN LETTERSfound during excavations . Also a large STADIUM re excavated .This city has 16 reservoirs for WATER and most of are inter connectby under ground canals . Also a dam on river!! |Narayan Rane|Rock Art Society|Maharashtra|Historical

Rock sculptures dating back to between 4,000-7,000 B.C. found in in the forests near Kudopi village in Sindhudurg district of coastal Konkan region.

Rock sculptures dating back to between 4,000-7,000 BC have been found in a well-preserved condition in the forests near Kudopi village in Sindhudurg district of coastal Konkan region, an official said here Tuesday.

There are more than 60 big and small images of Mother Goddess, birds and animals, found in a single location of around 20,000 square feet, considered one of the biggest such concentration anywhere in the country, Satish Lalit, leader of an expedition team

which made the discovery last May, said.

"Though similar carvings have been found in other parts of India, this is the first find on a red soil laterite plateau. These are petro-glyphs unlike the picto-graphs found in places like Amravati," Lalit, a member of Rock Art Society of India ( RASI), said.

With this significant historical find dating back to over 6,000 years from now, Sindhudurg district, around 490 km from Mumbai on the Maharashtra-Goa border, will be catapulted onto the global rock-art map.Lalit explained that the manner in which the rocks have been carvedindicate that they belong to the Neolithic era which flourished in southern Asia between 4,000-7,000 BC.

"The most striking carving is of a 15-foot tall Mother Goddess withall the internationally known symbols indicating her status. Duringthat era, women were accorded a very high social status, were revered and worshipped by human tribes," he added.

In 2002, Lalit had discovered another site of hard rock carvings inHivale, Sindhudurg. And similar sites have been found in Goa, Wirdi, Khanavli, and Nivli in Ratnagiri district, indicating the possibility of a 'lineage' of such art.

"This has a potential of becoming a major domestic and international tourist attraction. We shall appeal to the chief minister and Industry Minister Narayan Rane, the guardian minister for Sindhudurg, to take appropriate measures to save this treasure for posterity," Lalit said.Now, it was announced in January, a civilization has beenuncovered that would have appeared just as ancient to thepeople who built the pyramids as the pyramids seem to us.

According to marine scientists in India, archaeological remains of this lost city have been discovered 36 metres (120 feet) underwater in the Gulf of Cambay off the western coast of India. And carbon dating says that they

are 9,500 years old.

This news completely contradicts the position of most Western historians and archaeologists, who (because it did not fit their theories) have always rejected, ignored, or suppressed evidence of an older view of mankind's existence on planet Earth. Human civilization is now provably much more ancient than many have believed.Using sidescan sonar, which sends a beam of sound waves down to the bottom of the ocean, they identified huge geometrical structures at a depth of 120 feet.

Debris recovered from the site — including construction material, pottery, sections of walls, beads, sculpture, and human bones and teeth — has been carbon dated and found to be nearly 9,500 years old (BBC article).

Several reports confirm this estimate. Housden added, "The whole model of the origins of civilisation will haveto be remade from scratch."

Author and filmmaker Graham Hancock, an authority on archaeological investigations of ancient civilizations, reportedly said that the evidence was compelling. For example, he said that the oceanographers had found two large blocks that were larger than anything that's ever been found. "Cities on this scale," Hancock told BBC Online, "are not known in the archaeological record untilroughly 4,500 years ago when the first big cities begin to appear in Mesopotamia.

Theorists are postulating that the area where this city exists was submerged when the ice caps melted at the end of the last Ice Age.

Linda Moulton Howe, who investigates occurrences of this type worldwide, interviewed Michael Cremo about this new discovery. Cremo is a researcher and author of the book Forbidden Archaeology. Cremo, Howe said, has visited India and attended local meetings about the Cambay site.

"Within the past few months," Cremo told her, "the engineers began some dredging operations there and they pulled up human fossil bones, fossil wood, stone tools, pieces of pottery, and many other things that indicated that it indeed was a human habitation site that they had.And they were able to do more intensive sonar work there and were able to identify more structures. They appeared to have been laid out on the bank of a river that had been flowing from the Indian subcontinent out into that area."According to Howe:

Even if we don't know what the cultural background of thepeople is, if it does happen to be a city that is 9500 years old, that is older than the Sumerian civilization by several thousand years. It is older than the Egyptian,older than the Chinese. So it would radically affect our whole picture of the development of urban civilization onthis planet.

Now, if it further happens that additional research is able to identify the culture of the people who lived in that city that's now underwater — if it turns out they are a Vedic people, which I think is quite probable giventhe location of this off the coast of India — I think that would radically change the whole picture of Indian history which has basically been written by Western archaeologists.

Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet • The British Museum, UK

(Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum)Last June, Austrian Assyriologist Michael Jursa was doing what he has done since 1991,poring over the more than 100,000 undeciphered cuneiform tablets in the British Museum. But while analyzing records from the Babylonian city of Sippar, he made a startling discovery with Biblical implications. It came in the unlikely form of a tablet noting a one-and-a-half pound gold donation to a temple made by an official, or"chief eunuch," Nebo-Sarsekim.

"At first I was just pleased to have found a reference to the title 'chief eunuch,' asthese officials are mentioned very rarely in the sources," says Jursa. "Then it suddenly came to me that this text was very close chronologically to an episode narrated in Jeremiah 39 in which Nebo-Sarsekim is mentioned, and that I might actuallyhave found the very man. So then I got quite excited and instantly went and checked (and double-checked) the exact spelling of the name in the Hebrew Bible and saw that it matched what I had found in the Babylonian text!"

The tablet is dated 595 B.C., the ninth year of Nebuchadnezzar II's reign. The Book ofJeremiah relates that after Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem in 587 B.C., he committed the prophet Jeremiah to Nebo-Sarsekim's care.

ADICHCHANALLUR

     The site was first brought to notice by Dr. Jagor of Berlin in 1876. Amateur British archaeologist Alexander Rea, who excavated the site for a few years from 1900,described it as “the most extensive prehistoric site as yet discovered in southern if not the whole of India. It covers an area of 114 acres, within which burial urns were found, at some places close together and at others more widely apart.” Rea’s results were published in the ASI’s Annual Report for 1902-1903 under the title ‘Prehistoric Antiquities in Tinnevelly’. According to Rea, the several thousand objects found at the site and inside the burial urns included finely made pottery, iron implements and weapons, bronze vessels and ornaments, gold diadems, bones, stone beads and stone household implements, together with traces of cloth, wood and mica. “Husks of rice andmillet were found in quite a large number of pots inside the urns.”

The sherds include hundreds with beautiful designs and graffiti, superbly crafted pot spouts and  tiered knobs from pot lids. One sherd had a twisted rope-like design running around it.     According to T. Satyamurthy, Superintending Archaeologist and Director of the dig, the urns and surrounding pots conform to descriptions of ritual in Tamil Sangam literature – ‘Manimekhalai’, ‘Natrinai’, ‘Raditrupattu’ and ‘Purananuru’. The remains of cremated bodies were placed in a burial urn, the mouth of which was covered by inverting another urn over it.

ADICHANALLUR has a history of excavation. The urn-burial site was brought to light when a German, Dr. Jagor, conducted a haphazard excavation at the place in 1876. An Englishman called Alexander Rea, who was the Superintending Archaeologist, excavated the urn-burial site between 1889 and 1905. A Frenchman called Louis Lapique had also conducted an excavation in 1904.

In his article entitled "Prehistoric antiquities in Tinnevelly", which appeared in theArchaeological Survey of India's annual report in 1902-03, Rea called the Adichanallursite "the most extensive prehistoric site as yet discovered in southern if not in the whole of India... . The site was first brought to notice in 1876 when it was visited by Dr. Jagor of Berlin, accompanied by the Collector of Tinnevelly and the District Engineer."

Excavations by Dr. Jagor had yielded "upwards of 50 kinds of baked earthenware utensils of all sizes and shapes, a considerable number of iron weapons and implements, chiefly knives or short sword blades and hatchets, and a great quantity ofbones and skulls". Rea says "these articles were taken away by Dr. Jagor for the Berlin Museum".

In his first excavations, Rea discovered about 1,872 objects, and about 4,000 more later. He said: "The objects yielded by these burial sites are finely made pottery of various kinds in great number; many iron implements and weapons; vessels and personal ornaments in bronze; a few gold ornaments; a few stone beads; bones; and some household stone implements used for grinding curry or sandalwood." Traces of cloth, urns with mica pieces, and husks of rice and millet were found in pots inside the urns. Lamp stands, hanging lamps, bell-mouthed jars, `chatties', necklaces, wire bangles, swords, spears and arrows were found.

Importantly, several gold diadems with a hole on each end for tying them around the forehead were found. Rea also discovered a number of bronze figurines of the buffalo, the goat or the sheep, the cock, the tiger, the antelope and the elephant.

He had this to say about how the dead were interred in the urns at Adichanallur: "In those urns which contained complete skeletons, and which were thus preserved by the lid remaining intact, the position of the bones made it obvious that the body had beenset inside in a squatting or sitting position. On its decay, the leg and arm bones fell over and rested against one side of the urn, while the skull, ribs, and vertebraedropped down to the bottom. This was the position in which every complete skeleton, without exception, was found; and the urns in which they were placed were all devoid of earth."

G. Thirumoorthy, Assistant Archaeologist with the ASI, who led the first phase of the excavation in 2004, said of Rea's excavation: "Above all, his excavation was importantfor the bronze objects discovered because they are quite unique in the proto-history of South India. Besides, he discovered a figurine of a Mother-Goddess. All this showedthat the Tamil culture was rich then."

Rea's discovery of gold diadems is intriguing, for gold does not occur at Adichanalluror any nearby place. The gold could have been brought from outside because of trade contacts, Thirumoorthy said.

Also intriguing is the fact that, although Rea found a number of bronze objects and several gold diadems, no bronze or gold objects have so far been found in excavations conducted by the ASI from 2004. Besides, the trenches dug by Rea have not been locatedso far, although they are said to be in the centre of the mound.

Rea systematically documented all the objects that he discovered and handed them over to the Government Museum in Chennai, where they are on display.

centrepiece of the discoveries is this potsherd with the motifs of a woman, a stalk of paddy, a crane, adeer and a crocodile

the team of archaeologists, at the site.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) started digging the site in February 2004, about 100 years after the last excavation activity there. It is an extraordinarily large urn-burial site spread over 114 acres (45.6 hectares) on a low, rocky hillock onthe right bank of the Tamiraparani river, close to a lake and surrounded by paddy fields and banana plantations. The first phase of excavation in 2004, stretched between February 4 and July 5. In the six trenches that were dug then, the ASI ran into a range of spectacular finds. Each trench was a square, 10 metres by 10 metres. T. Satyamurthy, Superintending Archaeologist of the ASI, Chennai Circle, is the overrall director of the excavation.

excavation has brought to light the town's fortification/rampart wall, which was made of mud with stone veneering in parts. Three potters' kilns with ash, charcoal and broken pots were found, confirming, according to Satyamurthy, that this was a habitational site. "It looks like a crowded town which was busy. On the one side is the burial site. Within 500 metres you have the kilns, which means life was active. Itmay have been an urban centre," he said.

excavation has brought to light the town's fortification/rampart wall, which was made of mud with stone veneering in parts. Three potters' kilns with ash, charcoal and broken pots were found, confirming, according to Satyamurthy, that this was a habitational site. "It looks like a crowded town which was busy. On the one side is the burial site. Within 500 metres you have the kilns, which means life was active. Itmay have been an urban centre," he said.

It is called Tamil-Brahmi because the language is Tamil but the script is Brahmi. The Brahmi script was predominantly used for the Prakrit language from the period of Emperor Asoka (circa 270 B.C.).

Iravatham Mahadevan, an authority on the Tamil-Brahmi script, says in his seminal work"Early Tamil Epigraphy, From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D.", that "The Brahmi script reached Upper South India (Andhra-Karnataka regions) and the Tamil country at about the same time during the 3rd century B.C. in the wake of southern spread of Jainism and Buddhism." Mahadevan writes, "The earliest inscriptions in the Tamil-Brahmi script may be dated from about the end of the 3rd century or early 2nd century B.C. on palaeographic grounds and stratigraphic evidence of inscribed pottery.The earliest inscriptions in the Tamil country written in the Tamil-Brahmi script are almost exclusively in the Tamil language."

Satyamurthy, however, has proposed that the script inside the urn may belong to 5th century B.C.

According to M.D. Sampath, retired Director, Epigraphy, ASI, Mysore, the script has seven letters. He said: "It may be suggested that the writing is in Tamil-Brahmi in a rudimentary form. Attempts have been made to blow up the writing so as to decipher thesame. It may be tentatively read as follows: Ka ri a ra va [na] ta.

The chance finding of an rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script. It was written on the insideof an urn that held a human skeleton has the potential to upset theories about the date of origin of the Tamil-Brahmi script. Satyamurthy found the script under chance circumstances. After visiting the Adichanallur, he was returning to Chennai on a train. He was examining photographs of the urns with skeletons to see whether the skeletons had a primary or secondary burial. It was then that he noticed some letters written on the inside of the urn. He cut short his journey and returned to Adichanallur to examine the inside of the urn closely.

Interview with Gautam Sengupta, Director-General of the ASI, as the organisation prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

The red potsherd found at Bhirrana, Haryana. It has an engraving resembling the bronze dancing girl figurine of Mohenjodaro, now in Pakistan.

The story made the State government stop the quarrying, but the quarry owners went to court saying that the original lease agreement with the State Mining Department mentioned 50 m as the safe distance. The Madras High Court allowed their plea and so the quarrying has resumed now. How can you stop the quarrying?

Let me tell you that the ASI is a highly understaffed organisation. The government is aware of the problem and is making its best efforts to strengthen the ASI by providing additional manpower. Whatever may be the extent of additional manpower, such problems cannot be tackled by government initiatives alone. Unless civil society comes forward to defend our heritage, there is very little hope for our monuments. I am not saying this in order to evade our responsibility. Monuments in remote areas are guarded by one attendant. In many cases, the nationally protected monuments do not have the minimum

requirement of attendants. So by the time the communication reaches the authorities, the damage is already done.

Again, this is very important. The fast pace of industrialisationand urbanisation is indeed posing a threat to monuments and our built heritage. But the ASI's authority, legally speaking, is restricted to 3,675 nationally protected monuments. A positive amendment has been brought in 2010 in the existing Act [the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958]. Once this is implemented with all its vigour, it will act as a positive step in safeguarding the monuments and their surroundings.

But let me also try and reach out to everybody through you. Beyond these 3,675 monuments, there are several thousand monuments, some of which are protected by State governments. Let us accept that conservation of a very large number of built heritage cannot be handled by State governments or the ASI alone.Civil society, voluntary groups and learned bodies have their ownrole, and they should try to support our initiatives in protecting and safeguarding our past

dWARAKA UNDER SEA

7th National Conference on Marine Archaeology of Indian Ocean Countries : Keynote address

Keynote Addres s S R Rao

Former Emeritus Scientist, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula-403004, Goa, India

A diver who was given an opportunity at Dvaraka to learn diving and archaeology learnt only diving. He has raised the issue of date of Dwarka, I am only to say that archaeological dating of sites is not done on the basis of a single objects. Nowadays scientific methods of dating are available. The T.L. date for the pottery from the fortwall in the upper terrace at BDK-II in Bet Dwaraka is 1528 BC. The patches of large blocks of stone wall built on lower terrace in inter tidal zone must be earlier –say of 17th century BC. In 1998 two young diver-archaeologists who excavated the protohistoric mound in BDK-VI overlooking the mudflats of Balapur Bay, where we had sunk a trench, found a large copper fish-hook and its date has been fixed 18th century BC by scientific dating method

The 3-holed triangular stone anchors found in large numbers in Dvarakawaters suggest a continuity in the evolution of the triangular anchorsof Lothal and Mohenjo-Daro which had a single hole. The Dvaraka anchors of Late Harappan Phase are a couple of centuries earlier than the identical anchors of Late Bronze Age used in Cyprus and Syria.

Another young diver wanted that I should reply to the former diver's doubts about the date of anchors. I may point out that just because a particular type of anchors is used for thousands of years one should not rush to the conclusion that it is of modern age.An example is the steatite vessel used in the Neolothic Age (as early as 6000 BC in Mehrgarh and later in Indian Neolithic sites), just because such vessels are in use today we should not date Neolithic sites to 2000 A.D. Pottery and other relative evidences should be taken into accountfor dating a site. When Leshnik doubted whether Lothal dock was meant for shipping I did not reply to his note in American Anthropologist. But a highly experienced prehistorian Dr. Sankalia wrote later in 1984“Leshnik is initially prejudiced ….. He says Lothal is not a port although he concedes its proximity to the sea” Subsequently Dr. Nigam's investigation cleared all doubts. The date of both the submerged Dvarakas has been confirmed by the excavation in Balapur site by Gaur and Sundaresh. As regards the cause of submergence of Dvaraka I have a separate paper on the subject and the geologist, who has done much research on the subject seems to have assessed correctlythe cause for submergence of Dvaraka, which appears more convincing.

Magan

It is gratifying to learn that a few days ago a group of enthusiastic prehistorians and mariners from Oman who built a replica of the reed boat of Harappan times set sail from Sur in Oman to Mandovi in Kutch. Unfortunately it sank within a few km from the port of Sur. Even so, the group deserves congratulation for the daring experiment they attempted. I wish they try again and succeed.

Several ancient habitational sites were discovered in the coastal area of Bet Dwarka island during thelast two decades of marine archaeological exploration. A large amount of protohistoric and historicalpottery was collected from the sites. An excavation was undertaken at Bet Dwarka during 2001-2 toobtain a cultural sequence of the island. The following cultural sequence was observed from theexcavation. The remains of the Late Harappan period were found near Balapur village on the island.This is a single culture site. A large number of potsherds including carinateddishes, bowls, and jarswere recovered. A few sherds with black painting on red were also collected. Important antiquitiesfrom this trench include a copper fish-hook and an antimony rod. The remains of the historicalperiod were noticed over a large area of the island. Three trenches were laid on the southern coast.The important activity during this period was the exploitation of marine resources like differenttypes of shells and fish. The important factor which led to a continuous habitation at Bet Dwarka wasthe availability of marine shells which were exploited on a large scale. The island also served as a

The present excavation has thrown a light on the culturalsequence of Bet Dwarka Island. Around the 17th centuryB.C. Late Harappan people had established their settlementand they perhaps migrated from Nageshwar which is closeby. They have exploited marine resources such as fish andconch shells. It appears that Late Harappans of Bet Dwarkaisland had interaction with the Saurashtra Harappans andthey might be visiting ports on the coast of the northernSaurashtra region. The scanty habitational deposit suggeststhat the site was abandoned after a couple of centuries .The island was again inhabited during the 8th century B.C.on the southeastern coast of the island. However, at a later

stage the habitation was vastly extended. Hectic maritimeactivities were witnessed during this period and Mediterraneanboats also visited the island. The reference of Baracamay be identified with Bet Dwarka island. Perhaps one ofthe Roman ships was also wrecked here and that may be one of the reasons that the author of Periplus of theErythreanean Sea has mentioned the difficult navigation inthe Gulf of Baraca. The island continued to be an importantcentre of maritime activity until the emergence of the Okhaport in the Okhamandal area. The discovery of a largenumber of anchors of different types near present jettysuggests that this point has served as an anchoring point ofthe ships for a long time.

Bhimbetka Rock sheltersRock shelters and paintings at Bhimbetka (22° 56'05"N: 77036'41" E) were discovered in 1957-58 by Dr Vishnu Shridhar wakankar. Out of the 750 rock shelters, 500 are adorned with paintings. The site remained acenter of Human activity right from lower Paleolithic time up to medieval period. the subject of paintings include linear depiction of human figures hunting, riding, communal dances, warfare, and other scenes, depicting details of the day to day activities of the ancient man. The mineral colors used for painting are green, red, ochre and white. The cup marks made on the rock surface at Bhimbetka has been dated to 100000 B.P. This pushes back the date of the cognitive development of man at Bhimbetka to many thousand years earlier than that of similar sites in various parts of the world making it one of the earliest cradles of the cognitive human evolution.

Other antiquarian remains include fortification walls, minor stupas, stone, built houses, inscription of sunga gupta period, Shankh inscription and evidence of temples of parmara period. These rock shelters and paintings are under central protection of archeological survey of India, Bhopal circle.

Epigraphical Studies in India - Sanskrit and Dravidian

Antiquity of writing in India

The earliest known system of writing is found on the seals and sealings used by thepeople of Indus Valley Civilization or Harappan Civilization dating to about circa2600 – 1900 B.C. However, this script is not yet deciphered and hence the contents ofthese inscriptions are unknown.For the period between the fall of the Harappan

Civilization and advent of the Mauryan Emperor Asoka (3rd century B.C.), nothing isknown about the system of writing, but for the references to writing in ancientliteratures like Vedas, Puranas, Brahmanas and Upanishads. Further, the knowledge ofBrahmi script at least among the elites over a considerable period of time prior tothe appearance of Asokan edicts cannot be denied as when these edicts were engravedeverywhere, there were meant to be read, understood and conveyed to everybody.

Pre-historic eraFor the gods have abandoned us

like migrating birds they have goneUr is destroyed, bitter is its lament

The country's blood now fills its holes like hot bronze in a mouldBodies dissolve like fat in the sun. Our temple is destroyed

Smoke lies on our city like a shroud.blood flows as the river doesthe lamenting of men and women

sadness aboundsUr is no more

 

Ur (biblical, Ur of the Chaldees), ancient city of Mesopotamia. Its ruins are approximately midway between the modern city of Baghdâd, Iraq, and the head ofthe Persian Gulf, south of the Euphrates River, on the edge of the Al ajarah Desert. The site of Ur is known today as Tall al Muqayyar, Iraq. In antiquity the Euphrates River flowed near the city walls. Controlling this outlet to thesea, Ur was favorably located for the development of commerce and for attaining political dominance.

Ur was the principal center of worship of the Sumerian moon god Nanna and of his Babylonian equivalent Sin. The massive ziggurat of this deity, one of the best preserved in Iraq, stands about 21 m (about 70 ft) above the desert. The biblical name, Ur of the Chaldees, refers to the Chaldeans, who settled in thearea about 900 BC. The Book of Genesis (see 11:27-32) describes Ur as the starting point of the migration westward to Palestine of the family of Abrahamabout 1900 BC.

Ur was one of the first village settlements founded (circa 4000 BC) by the so-called Ubaidian inhabitants of Sumer. Before 2800 BC, Ur became one of the most prosperous Sumerian city-states. According to ancient records, Ur had three dynasties of rulers who, at various times, extended their control over all of Sumer. The founder of the 1st Dynasty of Ur was the conqueror and temple builder Mesanepada (reigned about 2670 BC), the earliest Mesopotamian ruler described in extant contemporary documents. His son Aanepadda (reigned about 2650 BC) built the temple of the goddess Ninhursag, which was excavated in modern times at Tell al-Obeid, about 8 km (about 5 mi) northeast of the site of Ur. Of the 2nd Dynasty of Ur little is known.

Ur-Nammu (reigned 2113-2095 BC), the first king of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur, who revived the empire of Sumer and Akkad, won control of the outlet to the sea about 2100 BC and made Ur the wealthiest city in Mesopotamia. His reign markedthe beginning of the so-called renaissance of Sumerian art and literature at Ur. Ur-Nammu and his son and successor Shulgi (reigned 2095-2047 BC) built theziggurat of Nanna (about 2100 BC) and magnificent temples at Ur and in other Mesopotamian cities. The descendants of Ur-Nammu continued in power for more than a century, or until shortly before 2000 BC, when the Elamites captured Ibbi-Sin (reigned 2029-2004 BC), king of Ur, and destroyed the city.

Rebuilt shortly thereafter, Ur became part of the kingdom of Isin, later of the kingdom of Larsa, and finally was incorporated into Babylonia. During the period when Babylonia was ruled by the Kassites, Ur remained an important religious center. It was a provincial capital with hereditary governors duringthe period of Assyrian rule in Babylonia.

After the Chaldean dynasty was established in Babylonia, King Nebuchadnezzar II initiated a new period of building activity at Ur. The last Babylonian king, Nabonidus (reigned 556-539 BC), who appointed his eldest daughter high priestess at Ur, embellished the temples and entirely remodeled the ziggurat of Nanna, making it rival even the temple of Marduk at Babylon. After Babylonia came under the control of Persia, Ur began to decline. By the 4th century BC, the city was practically forgotten, possibly as a result of a shift in the course of the Euphrates River.

The ruins of Ur were found and first excavated (1854-55) by the British consulJ. E. Taylor, who partly uncovered the ziggurat of Nanna. The British Museum commenced (1918-19) excavations here and at neighboring Tell al-Obeid under the direction of the British archaeologists Reginald C. Thompson and H. R. H. Hall. These excavations were continued from 1922 to 1934 by a joint expeditionof the British Museum and the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley.

In addition to excavating the ziggurat completely, the expedition unearthed the entire temple area at Ur and parts of the residential and commercial quarters of the city. The most spectacular discovery was that of the Royal Cemetery, dating from about 2600BC and containing art treasures of gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones. The findings left little doubt that the deaths of the king and queen of Ur were followed by the voluntary death of their courtiers and personal attendants and of the court soldiers and musicians. Within the city itself were discovered thousands of cuneiform tablets comprising administrative and literary documents dating from about 2700 to the 4th century BC. The deepest levels of the city contained traces ofa flood, alleged to be the deluge of Sumerian, Babylonian, and Hebrew legend. All scientific evidence, however, indicates that it was merely a local flood.

The "Poem of the Righteous Sufferer," which exists in both Sumerian and Babylonian, apparently reflects the beginning of this great change in Outlook. It tells of a man who has lost his prosperous and exalted position and suffers from ever-increasing afflictions despite his strict adherence to established religious practices - sacrifices, supplications, incantations, and magic. (His religiosity clearly seems to be ceremonial and cultic rather than ethical.) Forsaken by gods and men, he movesfrom perplexity and doubt to blank despair. The greater part of the poem, however, is a defense of the whole system oftraditional doctrine and ritual. It glorifies Marduk, the great god of Babylon , who restored the sufferer to happiness and prosperity. In the conclusion, only a few lines of which are given here, the implied answer to skepticism is that the evils which afflict the pious are only temporary.

 Were there Greeks in India before the advent of Alexander the Great? WasAlexander the first Greek to conquer India? The ancient Greek historians Pliny (VI..xxi.4-5), Solinus (52-5) and Arrian(Indica, I. ix) all assert that Alexander was not the first Greek to invade andconquer India.  Their accounts are a mixture of myths and history; and it isnot easy to separate the one form the other. According those historians, with some variations, Dionysus was the firstGreek King to invade India. And, an incredibly long period of 6451 years and 3months separates Dionysus from Alexander’s conquest of India. During thatinterval about 153 0r 154 kings reined. Diodorus Siculus (60 – 30 BCE) anotherhistorian mentions that there were three kings bearing the name Dionysusseparated by long periods of time.  According to Diodorus it was the firstDionysus, the eldest - Dionysus of India (Indos) who conquered India.And,after his conquest he reigned over India for 52 years and died of old age,thereafter his sons ruled in unbroken succession. Arrian (Indica, I. vii)drawing from the book of the Greek Ambassador Magasthenes writes “Dionysusfounded cities and gave laws to those cities and introduced the use of wineamong the Indians as he had done among the Greeks, and taught them to sowland, himself supplying the seeds….It is also said Dionysus first yoked oxento the plough and furnished them with implements of agriculture, and also madehusbandmen of the Indians He also mentions lot of other things introduced byDionysus. Dr. Nagendra Singh in his monumental Encyclopedia of Hinduism (pages 1712-15)after a lengthy discussion surmises that Dionysus the eldest, the Indos is thenearest equivalent to Prithu Vainya – Prithu the son of Vena in Indianmythology. Prithu is celebrated as Adiraja the first anointed monarch and the

starter of royal dynasties. He is also the earliest among the monarchs to behailed as Chakravarthin who ‘at the head of his army marched to every part ofthe world’. It was figuratively described that Prithu chased and conquered theearth which was fleeing from him like a cow. He was ‘Raja daivyena sahasa’ King withGod-force. .It was after his name that the earth we live came to be known asPrithvi. The Atharva Veda( 8.10.24) credits Prithu with introducing the art ofploughing; leveling the whole arable earth; encouraging cultivation, cattle –breeding, commerce; building of cities and villages. Prithu is also said tohave released the rapture of wine (Soma) from the earth for the delight of thegods.It appears Prithu the Indian monarch runs parallel to the Greek Dionysus theIndos. I hesitate to suggest that both refer to one and the same person.

 [There are several other versions of the Dionysus legend. In one of theversions (Diodorus Library of History, Book III, 62-74) Dionysus is describedas : “ The most ancient Dionysus was an Indian, and since his country, becauseof the excellent climate, produced the vine in abundance without cultivation,he was the first to press out the clusters of grapes and to devise the use ofwine as a natural product, likewise to give the proper care to the figs andother fruits which grow upon trees, and, speaking generally, to devisewhatever pertains to the harvesting and storing of these fruits. The sameDionysus is, furthermore, said to have worn a long beard, the reason for thereport being that it is the custom among the Indians to give great care, untiltheir death, to the raising of a beard. ….Furthermore, there are pointed outamong the Indians even to this day the place where it came to pass that thegod was born, as well as cities which bear his name in the language of thenatives; and many other notable testimonials to his birth among the Indiansstill survive, but it would be a long task to write of them.”

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.htmlB.The Great   Persian Empire

3. King Cyrus, the founder of Persian Empire and of the Achaemenid dynasty (559-530 B.C.), added to his territories the region of Gandhara, located mainly in the vale of Peshawar . By about 516 B.C., Darius son of Hystaspes annexed the Indus valley and formed the twentieth satrapy of the Persian Empire . The annexed areas included parts of Punjab . This became the twentieth satrapy, the richest and most populous Satrapy of the Persian Empire. In the inscription at Nakshi–e-Rustam(486.BCE) a reference is made to thetributes paid  to Darius by Hidush and others vassal such as Ionians, Spartans, Bactrians, Parthians, and Medes. 

4. Thus, the Indus region became the easternmost boundary of the vast Persian Empire, which sprawled across all of western Asia to include, after 546 B.C.,

most of the Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor. The skills and labor of all of Persia 's subjects, Greeks included, were employed in imperial buildingprojects. Many Greeks served as officials or mercenaries in the various Achaemenid provinces. Indian troops formed a contingent of  t he Persian army that invaded Greece in 480 B.C. Indian troopers were also a part of the army that faced Alexander at Gaugamela in 331 B.C. 

Source: India and the Greek World; A study in the transmission of culture Sedlar, Jean W. New Jersey, 1980 Encyclopedia of Hinduism (pages 1712-15) By Dr.Nagendra Singh

The Heliodorus ColumnAn archaeological discovery proves that there were western followersof Vedic principles twenty-two centuries ago

By Jack Hebner & Steven Rosen

Heliodorus was a Greek ambassador to India in the second centuryB.C. Few details are known about the diplomatic relations betweenthe Greeks and the Indians in those days, and still less is knowabout Heliodorus. But that the column he erected at Besnagar incentral India about 113 B.C.(1). is considered one of the mostimportant archaeological finds on the Indian subcontinent.

It is known that Heliodorus was sent to thecourt of King Bhagabhadra by Antiakalidas, theGreek king of Taxila. The kingdom of Taxilawas part of the Bactrian region in northwestIndia, conquered by Alexander the Great in 325B.C. By the time of Antialkidas, the areaunder Greek rule included what is todayAfghanistan, Pakistan and Punjab.(2)

The column erected by Heliodorus first came tonotice in 1877, during an archaeologicalsurvey by General Cunningham. The inscription,however, went unnoticed, because of thepillar's thick coating of red lead paste. It had been

the custom of pilgrims who had worshipped there to smear the column with vermillion paste. The column, Cunningham deduced from its shape, was from the period of the Imperial Guptas (3) (A.D. 300-550). Thirty-two years later,

however, when the inscription was brought to light, it became clear that the monument was several centuries older. (4)

In January 1901, a Mr. Lake discerned what he thought was some lettering on the lower part of the column, and removal of some vermillion paste proved him right. Dr. J.H. Marshall, who was accompanied by Mr. Lake, described the discovery in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1909. Cunningham, Marshall explained, had been mistaken about the age of the column and "could little have dreamt of the value of the record which he just missed discovering." A glance at the few letters exposed was all that was needed to show that the column was many centuries earlier than the Gupta era. This was, indeed, a surprise to me, but a far greater one was in store, when the openinglines of the inscription came to be read." (5)

A reproduction of the inscription, along with the transliteration and translation of the ancient Brahmi text, is given here as it appeared in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.

1) Devadevasu Va[sude]vasa Garudadhvajo ayam

2) Karito ia Heliodorena bhaga

3) Vatena Diyasa putrena Takhasilakena

4) Yonadatena agatena maharajasa

5) Amtalikitasa upa[m]ta samkasam-rano

6) Kasiput[r]asa [Bh]agabhadrasa tratarasa

7) Vasena [chatu]dasena rajena vadhamanasa

" This Garuda-column of Vasudeva (Visnu), the god of gods, was erected here byHeliodorus, a worshipper of Vishnu, the son of Dion, and an inhabitant of Taxila, who came as Greek ambassador from the Great King Antialkidas to King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior, then reigning prosperously in the fourteenth year of his kingship."

1) Trini amutapadani-[su] anuthitani

2) nayamti svaga damo chago apramado

"Three immortal precepts (footsteps)..when practiced lead to heaven-self restraint, charity, conscientiousness."

From the inscriptions it is seems clear Heliodorus was influenced by Vedic principles that he could be considered to be a Vaisnava, a follower or worshipper of Visnu. Professor Kunja Govinda Goswami of Calcutta University concludes that Heliodorus " was well acquainted with the texts dealing with the Bhagavat [Vaisnava] relgion." (6)

To our knowledge, Heliodorus is the earliest Westerner on record to adopt Vedic principles. But some scholars, most notably A.L. Basham (7) and Thomas Hopkins, are of the opinion that Heliodorus was not the only Greek to adopt such principles. Hopkins, chairman of the department of religious studies at Franklin and Marshall College, has said " Heliodorus was presumably not the only foreigner who converted to Vaisnava devotional practices -- although he might have been the only one who erected a column, at least one that is still extant. Certainly there must have been many others." (8)

It is also interesting to note that theHeliodorus column has other historical merits.Around the turn of the century, a number ofIndologists (Weber, Macnicol, and others) hadnoted " points of similarity' between theVaisnava philosophy of unalloyed devotion andChristian doctrine. They had argued thatVaishnavism (worship of Visnu and Krsna) musthave been an offshoot of Christianity, and cited the similarity between stories about Krsna and about Christ to further support their claim.(9) But the discovery of the inscription on the Heliodorus column laid their speculations to rest. Here was conclusive archaeological proof that the Vaisnava tradition antedated Christianity by at least two hundred years.

The column also struck down another popular notion. For centuries it was a common belief among scholars that India's orthodox tradition did not accept converts. An Islamic historian, Abu Raihan Alberuni, who went to India in A.D.1017, tried to explain in his book Indica why the Indian orthodoxy did not admit foreigners. Alberuni suggested that the practice developed only after the Moslem incursion into India, sometime after A.D. 674.(10) Antagonism between the Moslems and Hindus seems to be the main reason behind the non conversion practice. For many centuries prior to Moslem presence, however, there had been no bar to conversion into the orthodox fold, as attested by theHeliodorus column.

Notes

1. Suvari Jaiswal, The Origin and Development of Vaisnavism (New Delhi: Munsiram Manoharlal, 1980), p.116

2. A.L. Basham, ed., A Cultural History of India (London: Clarendon Press, 1974), p. 431.

3. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (London: JRAS, Pub., 1909) pp.1053-54. 4. Ibid 5. Ibid 6. Kunja Govinda Goswami, A Study of Vaisnavism (Calcutta: Oriental Book Agency,

1956) p.6. 7. A.L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India 3rd ed.( Oxford: Taplinger Pub. Co,1967),

p.60. 8. Steven J. Gelberg, ed., Hare Krsna Hare Krsna ( New York: Grove Press, Inc.,

1983), p.117. 9. Jaiswal, Op. Cit., p.2 10. Ahmad H. Dani, Alberuni's India (Lexhore, India: Univ. of Islamabad,

1973), p.37.

(Adapted and reprinted from Clarion Call Magazine with permission.)

GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF A MAJOR TSUNAMI, COASTAL INDIA885

This ancient tsunami may have also impacted other partsof the southeasterncoast of India, as revealed in an earlier excavation inMamallapuram, an ancient portof lesser importance located to the north of Kaveripattinam. A period marked bycultural and commercial advancement during the time of the historically prominent

Chola kings of South India, this disaster may have led to the collapse of a thrivingport, never to regain its past glory. The combined regional database pointing to atransoceanic tsunami of the same period, reported from other shores of the IndianOcean, including those of northern Sumatra, located close to the epicenter of the 2004earthquake, suggests that the impact of the Chola-period event was regional, comparableto the transoceanic nature of the 2004 tsunami. Therefore, this event that musthave occurred between the 9th and 10th centuries qualifies as an early predecessorof the 2004 tsunami, comparable in terms of its rupturesize and magnitude. Furthergeoarchaeological explorations of the ancient ports in India might provide chronologicalconstraints for such lesser-known events in the past, thus contributing to thedisaster assessment of infrequent but high-impact coastal hazards.Table V. TL/OSL* dates of samples from Kaveripattinam.Location Sample ID Lab Code Age (years) Age (years A.D.) Sample Type11°07.420'N, T11/TL-1 WIHG 1182 _ 160 660–990 Pottery sherd (TL)79°50.954'E11°07.420'N, T11/OSL-1 LI 1091 _ 66 850–980 Sand (OSL)79°50.954'E11°07.497'N, T15/TL-1 WIHG 1017 _ 165 820–1150 Pottery sherd (TL)79°51.007'E (location further northof T11)11°07.420'N, T11/TL-2 WIHG 993 _ 73 940–1090 Pottery sherd (TL)79°50.954'E11°07.497'N, T15/TL-2 WIHG 676 _ 60 1270–1390 Pottery sherd (TL)79°51.007'E

11°07.443'N, T9/Ch/1 WIHG 1846 _ 45 100–200 Pottery sherd (TL)79°50.073'E11°07.443'N, T9/Ch/1D RIN 1807 _ 394 195–550 Pottery sherd (TL)79°50.973'E* Thermoluminescence (TL) procedures used in the analyses are after Aitken (1985). TL and optically stimulatedluminescence (OSL) were measured with RisoTL/OSL (model TL DA-15) reader. The dose rate was determinedon the basis of assaying Th, U, and K by XRF analyses of the bulk samples. Standard laboratory procedureswere followed to extract quartz from the 90–125-mm size fraction. The extracted quartz grains were etched for80 minutes in hydrofluoric acid (40%) to remove the 10-mm layer (the HF treatment also removes any feldsparcontamination). The water content was determined for all the samples by heating at 100°C. TL/OSL ages backcalculated from A.D. 2006. The single aliquot regeneration protocol was used for equivalent dose (ED) determination(Murray & Wintle, 2003).LI: Department for Geochronology and Isotope Hydrology, Leibniz Institute for Applied Geosciences, Germany.WIHG: TL/OSL Laboratory, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, India.RIN: Duplicate sample T/14/Ch/1D analyzed at Research Institute of National Sciences, Okayama UniversityofSciences, Japan.

The HinduA panel of inscriptions of the God Narasimha adornsthe entrance to the main shrine of the temple, believed to have been installed by Tamil traders who lived in Quanzhou in the 13th century. Photo: Ananth Krishnan

The HinduLi San Long, a resident of Chedian village, offers prayers at the village shrine, which houses a deity that is believed to be one of the goddesses that the Tamil communityin Quanzhou worshipped in the 13th century. (Right) A stone elephant inscription on display at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. Photo: Ananth Krishnan

Historians believe the Chedian shrine may have been a network of more than 12 Hindu temples or shrines, including two grand big temples built in Quanzhou and surrounding villages by Tamil traderswho lived here during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties.

Quanzhou Maritime Museum vice curator Wang Liming had said China would welcome any help from Indian scholars "as this is something we need to study together."

While stating that ASI would like to research links of Tamils with China, Mani said expeditions of Indians to far away places had always been a subject of interest and pointed out that Sindhi traders had built the Baku Fire Temple in Azerbaijan centuries ago.

"Not only in Azerbaijan, but in several other countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Jawa, many structures have been built by various Indians in different times," he noted.

Asked to shed more light on the Tamil link to ancient China, noted archaeologist and historian S Ramachandran said the Tamils shared avery long history with the dragon nation.

Difference Between Pre-Harappan and roto-HarappanCulturesCultures that preceded Harappan culture are pre-Harappan, while proto-Harappan cultures are those pre-Harappan cultures which have some close similarities with the Harappan culture or which may be said tohave aniieipated certain essential elements of Harappan culture. In shun, all prolo-Harappan cultures arenecessarily pre-Harappan cultures, but all pre-Harappan cultures are not necessarily proto-Harappan cultures.Script and LanguageHarappan script is regarded as pictographic since its signs represent birds, fish and a variety of human forms.The script was boustrophedon. written from right to left in one line and then from left to .right in the nextline. The number of signs of the Harappan script is known to be between 400 and 600. The language of theHarappans is still unknown and must remain so until the Harappan script is deciphered.Pottery

Harappan Pottery is bright or dark red and is uniformly sturdy and well baked. It is chiefly wheel made, and consists of both plain and painted ware, the plain variety beingmore common. Harappan people used different types of pottery such as glazed,polychrome, incised, perforatedand knobbed. The glazed Harappan pottery is the earliest example of its kind in the ancientworld. On the whole, Harappan pottery was highly utilitarian in character, though the painted designs onsome pieces show a remarkable artistic touch.Seals They are the greatest artistic creations of the Indus people. Most commonly made of steatite (soft stone). The technique of cutting and polishing these seals with white luster was a unique invention of theHarappans. The majority of the seals have an animal engraved on them with a short inscription. Unicorn is the animal most frequently represented on the seals. Main type - (a) the square type with a carved animal and inscription, (b) the rectangular typewith inscription only.Some New FindsSite Location Discovered byDholavira Rann of Kachh (Gujarat) R. S. BishtGanverivala Pakistan Rafeeq MugalRakhiGarhi Jeend (Haryana) Rafeeq MugalBurial PracticesThree forms of burials are found at Mohenjodaro, viz. complete burials. fractional burials (burial of somebones after the exposure of the body to wild beasts birds) and post-cremation burials. But the generalpractice was extended inhumation, the body lying on us back, withthe head generally to the north.

Religion The chief male deity was the Pashupati Mahadeva (proto-Siva), represented in seals as sitting in a yogicposture on a low throne, and having three faces and two horns. Heis surrounded by lour animals(elephant, tiger, rhino and buffalo), each lacing a different direction, and two deer appear at his feel. The chief female deity was the Mother Goddess, who has been depicted in various forms There is sufficient evidence for the prevalence of phallic worship. Numerous stone symbols of female sex organs(yoni worship), besides those of the phallus, have been discovered. The worship of fire is proved by the discovery of fire altars at Lothal. Kalibangan and Harappa. Indus people also worshipped Gods in the form of trees (piapal,etc.) and animals (unicorn etc) Further they believed in ghosts and evil forces and used amulets as protection against them.Trade and CommerceInter regional trade was carried on with Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Maharashtra. South India, parts of WesternUttar Pradesh and Bihar. Foreign trade was conducted mainly with Mesopotamia and Bahrain. Trade wascarried on by overland as well as overseas transport. Bullock carts and pack-oxen were employed for landtransport. There is evidence of sea and river transport by ships and boats in several seals and terracotta models, apart fromthe dockyard at Lothal. The Sumerian texts refer lo trade relations with Meluha’ which was the ancient name given toIndus region and they also speak of two intermediate stations called Dilmun (identified with Bahrain) and Makan (Makrancoast).DeclineAfter 2000 BC, the Indus culture slowly declined and gradually faded out. Some ascribe this to the decreasing fertility of the soil t)ii account of the increasing salinity, caused by the expansion of the neighbouring desert. Others attribute ii to some

kind of depression in the land, which caused Hoods. Still others point out that the Aryans destroyed it. According to some scholars, decline of trade, particularly oceanic trade with the Sumerians, must have contributed partly in the decline. Even though there are various theories for the downfall of this civilization, the most accepted version is that of ecological destruction.

Major SitesHarappa The Great Granary measuring 1 69 ft x 3 5 feet is the largest and the most remarkable structure found at Harappa. So far 891 seals have been recovered from Harappa, and that is 40% of the total number of seals belonging to IndusValley Civilization that have been found. A red sandstone naked male torso has been found, which shows traces of Jainism Between the granary and the citadel, have also been found a series of circular platforms, probably for the pounding ofgrain At a lower level below the granary, platforms and the citadel were crowded one-room dwellings, which suggest slavehabitats.Mohenjodaro In Sindhi language, the word Mohenjodaro means mound of the dead’. It is the largest of all Indus cities The Great Bath is the most important public place, measuring 39feet (length) X 23 feet (breadth) X 8 feet (depth).Located at the center of the citadel, it is remarkable for beautiful brickwork Its floor is made of burnt bricks set ingypsum and mortar. It must have served as a ritual-bathing site Remains have been found of an oblong multi-pillared assembly hall and a big rectangular building, which must haveserved administrative purposes. Most of Mohenjodaro houses are built of kiln-fired brick The major streets are 33 feet wide and run north-south, intersecting subordinate ones, running east-west at right angles.

The evidence of Indian ships (figured on a seal) and a piece ofwoven cloth has been discovered from here There is a large granary consisting of podium of square blocks of burnt-bricks with a wooden superstructure Parallel rows of two-roomed cottages found The workmen or poor sections Of the society perhaps used these cottages. Abronzedancinggirl,steatitestatueof a priest and a seal bearingPashupati have been found here It is important to remember that Mohenjodaro shows nine levels of occupation towering over 300 feet abovethe present flood plain Excavation reveals that the city was flooded More than seven timesKalibangan Has pre-Harappan as well as Harappan cultural phases. Less developed compared to Mohenjodaro There is evidence of mud-brick fortification Pre-Harappan phase here shows that the fields were ploughed unlike the Harappan period. Archaeologists have discovered two platforms (within the citadel) with fire altars suggesting the practice of cultsacrifice The existence of wheel conveyance is proved by a cartwheel having a single hub

Chanhudaro Only Indus city without a citadel. Existence of Pre-Harappan as well as Harappan cultural phase A small pot was discovered here, which was probably an ink pot. Excavations reveal that people of Chanhudaro were expert craftsmen. Archaeologists have discovered here metalworkers’,shell-ornament makers’ and bead-makers’ shops The city was twice destroyed by inundations.Here more extensivebut indirect evidenceof super-imposition of a barbarian lifestyle is seenBanwali

Like Kalibangan, Amri, Kot Diji and Harappa, Banwali also saw two culturalphases - pre-Harappan and Harappan. Human and animal figures, clay bangles and statue of mother Goddess found here. Here we find large quantity of barely, sesamum and mustard.Surkotada Excavations leveal a citadel and a lower town, both of which were fortified. It is the only Indus site where the remains of a horse have actually been round.Kot Diji Pre-Harappan and Harappan phases found. According to excavations, the city was probably destroyed due to fire Wheel made painted pottery, traces of a defensive wall and well-aligned streets,knowledge of metallurgy, artistic toys etc. Five figurines of Mother Goddess discoveredRopar The excavations have yielded five-fold sequence of cultures — Harappan,PGW, NBP, Kushana-Gupta and Medieval. The evidence of burying a dog below the human burial is very interesting One example of rectangular mudbrick ‘chamber was noticed.Dholavira It is the latest and one of the two largest Harappan settlements in India, the otherbeing Rakhigarhi in Haryana The other Harappan towns were divided into two parts — Citadel and the Lower Town, but Dholavira was dividedinto three principal divisions, two of which were strongly protected by rectangular fortifications. There are two inner enclosures — the first one hemmed in the citadel (which probably housed the highest

authority)and the second one protected the middle town (meant forthe close relatives of the rulers and otherofficials). Theexistence of this middle town, apart from the lower town, is the real exclusive feature of this city.Lothal Only Indus site with an artificial brick dockyard. It must haveserved as the main seaport of the Indus people It wassurrounded by a massive brick wall, probably as flood protection. Lothal has evidence for the earliest cultivation of rice (1800 BC) The only other Indus site where rice husk hasbeen found is Rangpur near Ahmedabad. Fire altars, indicating the probable existence of a fire cult, have been found A doubtful terracotta figurine of horse is found here

VedicIt is generally agreed that Aryans originally lived somewhere in Steppes stretching from southernRussia to central Russia. The consensus of opinion is that originally they lived somewhere in the East of Alps. On their waytoIndia, Aryans first appeared in Iran and a little later than 1500BC they appeared in India. KassiteInscription of about 1600 BC and Mittani Inscription of 1400 BC found in Iraq bear some Aryannames, which suggest that from Iran a branch of Aryans moved towards west. The Rig Veda has many things incommon with the Avesta - the oldest text in Iranian language. RigVeda is the earliest specimen of any Indo-European language.According to Rig Veda, early Aryans first settled in the region called ‘Sapta-Sindhava’ or the land of seven rivers encompassing thepresent East Afghanistan, Punjab and Western UP Early Aryans weresemi-nomadic and kept large herds of cattle. As theysettled down in villages, they also became cultivators. using ox to draw their ploughs. They were ruled by warriors, who depended

upon priests to perform the rituals to protect their crops and cattle, and insure victory in war. The Indian sub-continent got its name Bharat Varsha after the Bharata tribe, which was the strongest one. During the later Vedic phase, the Aryans moved away from theirWord Times mentioned IN RIG VEDAOm 1028Ashva 315Jana 275Gau 176Vis 171Brahmana 14Kshatriya 9Yamuna 3Sudra IVaishya IRajya 1Kulpa IGanga ISamudra I Metals KnownGold HiranyaIron Shyama (Krishna Ayas)Copper Ayas

Bhimbetka Rock sheltersRock shelters and paintings at Bhimbetka (22° 56'05"N: 77036'41" E) were discovered in 1957-58 by Dr Vishnu Shridhar wakankar. Out of the 750 rock shelters, 500 are adorned with paintings. The site remained acenter of Human activity right from lower Paleolithic time up to medieval period. the subject of paintings include linear depiction of human figures hunting, riding, communal dances, warfare, and other

scenes, depicting details of the day to day activities of the ancient man. The mineral colors used for painting are green, red, ochre and white. The cup marks made on the rock surface at Bhimbetka has been dated to 100000 B.P. This pushes back the date of the cognitive development of man at Bhimbetka to many thousand years earlier than that of similar sites in various parts of the world making it one of the earliest cradles of the cognitive human evolution.

Other antiquarian remains include fortification walls, minor stupas, stone, built houses, inscription of sunga gupta period, Shankh inscription and evidence of temples of parmara period. These rock shelters and paintings are under central protection of archeological survey of India, Bhopal circle.

Bhimbetka is being a habitation of man from early time. The excavations carried out at Bhimbetka have yielded evidence of continuous human occupation from Lower Palaeolithic till Medieval times. In the long span of time, there were numerous changes took place in the social and cultural life of human being. The cultural remains such as stone tools, pottery, burials and significantly rock paintings depict the development in the human life. Of these rock art is the best source to know about the contemporary society from the time of Mesolithic to medieval period. In general, the subject matter of the paintings are human and animal figures, composite figures such as hunting scenes, battle scenes and cultural scenes that Include dancers and musicians, daily life and many more, painted with mineral colours mainly ocher and white. The untouched natural settings of Bhimbetka, water bodies and landscape add the scenic beauty and splendor of the area.

Paintings in BhimbetkaRock Paintings:Rock paintings are made on bare rock surface without any preparation of the base ' by plastering, grinding or smoothening. The naturally existing soft and smooth fibers, hair and fingers might have been usedas brush so as to run on the uneven and unprepared surface of the rock. Figures at considerable heights were probably painted by artistsstanding on some sort of scaffolding or on branches of trees. In some cases projected platform as part of the shelter that might have existed and have since collapsed was used for painting at higher elevations.

Sometimes the earlier painted surfaces were used several times by artists of later period(s) without obliterating the older figures. Thesuper impositions of such paintings of different styles and periods can be seen in many of the rock shelters at Bhimbetka. As many as fifteen layers of superimposition have been recorded at Bhimbetka.

Zoo rock shelter BhimbetkaZoo-rock shelter:This shelter is semicircular in shape with a large projection. There are 453 figures in this shelter comprising 252 animals of 16 differentspecies. Due to large number and variety of naturalistic and elegant animal paintings, it is popularly known as Zoo Rock.

Apart from animal figures 90 human figures engaged in several activities, 1 bird, 6 decorative designs, 2 enclosures identified as snares, 1 inscription in Shankha script and 99 fragmented figures are also identified in this shelter. Except a few that belong to the mesolithic period most figures belong to the chalcolithic and historical period. The shelter is richly depicted with as many as ten layers of superimposed figures which raise curiosity about the significance of this rock shelter.

Figures of the historical period are painted mainly on the right side of the shelter in ochre color. In the line drawings, warriors are depicted having big and straight sword and shields in their hands.

The depiction of a royal procession can be seen in the lower portion of shelter painted in dark ochre color. The horsemen and warriors are shown with long hair and typical head dress. They are bows, arrows, swords and shields. The horse riders are accompanied by two drummers and a man carrying a staff.

The first one is the foreruner of the actual Khmer language whereas the later wascultural language of the mainland SoutheastAsia of old time.In the beginning of Christian era, Khmer language was only a spoken language. In other terms, at that time, the Khmer did not know how to write. The ancient Khmers borrowed the Indic script to record their own language. So the modern Khmer language is written in a script, which is borrowed from India. It is precisely the Grantha Brahmi script, which is the mother of modern Khmer script. Cambodai has also adopted the Devanagari script and Pallava Grantha script in order to develop its actual alphabets. In the present day Cambodian, about seventy percent words are borrowed from Sanskrit. Such common words as dhanagara(bank), durasabda(telepon),bhasa(language), etc are derived from Sanskrit.

The reason for such a high percentage of Sanskrit words in modern Khmer language is rooted in the past cultural contacts between India and Cambodia. In fact, Sanskrit was the court language of the Khmer Empire for more than thousand years. All the royal orders , land transactions, temple administration were recorded in Sanskrit. Slowly the Khmer language shared this role in course of centuries. So after seventh century we find inscriptions partlywritten in Sanskrit and partly in Khmer.Objective of the ResearchAbout 1250 inscriptions have been discovered from the Ancient Angkor Empire. The majority is written in Sanskrit . The aim of the present research is to explore various aspects of cultural relations between India and Cambodia as presented in the epigraphic literature of this country.Impact of Sanskrit language in the development of Khmer language would be one of the main areas of my research. In this paper, I will explore various phases of linguistic development in which the Khmer manipulated words of Sanskrit origin, while

maintaining autonomy over their own language. Many new linguistic aspect of Sanskrit language have been introduced in to Khmer such as corrrelatives, causative mode, passive voice, etc., but they all hadto obey the syntactic rules of the Old Khmer. The study will focus on the evolution of the Khmer language’s structureas manifested in dated inscriptions from the sixth to the fourteenth century which was the time when the Khmer was transmuted from spoken to writen form. We divide the Sanskrit loanwords into two main groups- Grammatical and Non-grammatical. The fomer is further divided into two subgroups- intact and modified. The intact grammaticalterms were used independently in the Khmer sentences whereas the modified ones were attached to some Khmer words. The correlatives yavat – tavat, for instance, appearedtogether in an early Khmer inscription, as it was used in Sanskrit. But in later inscription, its last member(tavat) was dropped out in order to adapt to the syntaxof the local language. This serves as a yardstick to measure the development of the

old Khmer language. Be another example the below table of borrowed terms of weights and measurement from Sanskrit

TermSanskrit Equivalence

Weight/Measure of Value Comment Use

hat/haat hasta

Land 1 hat/haat=25mm

vrah linga dvihasta(Sdok Kok Thom 4.16)Unit of height of a linga

1 hat/haat=0.5 m(Coedes)

vyaama byaam Land

1 vyaama=4 hat=2 metres ( Coedes)

Still in practice in manyparts of Cambodia and Siam

brah budh nibbaa[n] may pravaen byaam 6 nu brah bihaar (K 465, Inscription of phnom Bakheng, 1505 Saka, 1583 A.D.)

 Influence of Sanskrit literature as reflected in the Cambodian inscription is another area of my research. As early as the mid-fifth century A.D., some charactersof the Mahabharata were exploited for the eulogy of the ruling king in the inscription of Vat Luong Kau. Moreover, theseventh century inscription of Veal Kantel mentioned a donation of some copies of Ramayana and Mahabharata to a temple. I also propose to determine how far the greatclassical Sanskrit poets of ancient India such as Kaalidaasa, Bhaaravi and Maagha had

influenced the Cambodia authors of these epigraphic texts. A stanza from the inscription of Oriental Mebon, for instance, remind us of the Raghuvamsham of Kaalidaasa. As in the conversation between King Dilipa and the lion, the verse attemptto define the duty of a king as following

Udayagiri Cave 9: Inscription on Lower Level (Manchapuri)By nbg90455 ☆ 0  

A Tamil-Brahmi script on a pot rim, reading “a ma na”, meaning a Jaina, has been found at Pattanam in Ernakulam district, Kerala, establishing that Jainism was prevalent on the west coast at least from second century CE (Common Era). The script can be dated to circa second century CE. The three Tamil-Brahmi letters are followed by two symbols generally called Megalithic graffiti and these two symbols could not be identified. This isthe third Tamil-Brahmi script to be found in the Pattanam excavations.

The Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) has been conducting excavations at Pattanam since 2007, with the approval of the Archaeological Survey of India. The pot-rim was found during the sixth season of the excavation currently under way. Pattanam is now identified as the thriving port called Muziris by the Romans. Tamil Sangam literaturecelebrates it as Muciri.

P.J. Cherian, Director of the Pattanam excavations, said: “The discovery, in the Kerala context, has a great significance because of the dearth of evidence so far of the pre-Brahminical past of Kerala, especially in relation to the socio-cultural and religious life of the people. We have direct evidence from Pattanam now with the Brahmi script which mentions “ama na” [Jaina] and so we have evidence that Jainism was present in Kerala.”

Iravatham Mahadevan, a scholar in Indus and Tamil-Brahmi scripts, said thediscovery showed that “there was Jainism on the west coast at least from second century CE. The importance of the finding is that it stratigraphically corroborates the earlier datings given to the Tamil-

Brahmi cave inscriptions in Tamil Nadu on palaeographic evidence. I will date this sherd, on palaeographic evidence, to circa second century CE.”

r. Cherian, who is also Director of KCHR, said the discovery “excites me as an excavator because it was for the first time we are getting direct evidence relating to a religious system or faith in Kerala.” The pot mighthave belonged to a Jaina monk. The broken rim with the script was found ata depth of two metres in trench 29 in the early historical layer which “byour stratigraphic understanding could belong to third-second CE period,” he said. The associated finds included amphora sherds, iron nails, and beads among others.

In a trial trench laid earlier at Pattanam by Professor V. Selvakumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology and Epigraphy, Tamil University, Thanjavur and K.P. Shajan of KCHR, a pot-sherd with the Tamil-Brahmi letters reading “ur pa ve o” was found. Later, another Tamil-Brahmiscript with the letters “ca ta [n]” was found. Mr. Mahadevan praised the Pattanam excavations as “the best conducted excavations in south India.” He said it was “a potentially important site and excavations are being done in a competent way by Mr. Cherian and his team from the KCHR and theyhave involved experts from around the world.”

Bilingual (Tamil & Chinese)  inscription in China dated Saka era 1203(1281 CE) Mentions the erection of deity Thirukkaniccuramudaiyar by

one Sambandapperumal for the well being of Chinese emperor Cekacaikan Parman

If we look into the forms of the earliest available Tamil script; it is possible to conclude that they also developed similarly in that part of country itself in consonance with the evolution of the Grantha. The evolution of the Tamil script may be classified roughly into three stages: the archaic, the medieval andthe latter varieties.

Hence Renfrew suggests that the Indus Valley civilization was in fact Indo-Aryan even prior to the Indus Valley era: This hypothesis that early Indo-European languages were spoken inNorth India with Pakistan and on the Iranian plateau at the 6th millennium BC has the merit of harmonizing symmetrically with thetheory for the origin of the Indo-European languages in Europe. It also emphasizes the continuity in the Indus Valley and adjacent areas from the early neolithic through to the floruit ofthe Indus Valley civilization. This is not to say that such scholars appreciate or understand the 'Vedas' - their work leaves much to be desired in this respect - but that it is clear that the whole edifice built around the Aryan invasion is beginning to tumble on all sides. Inaddition, it does not mean that the 'Rig Veda' dates from the Indus Valley era. The Indus Valley culture resembles that of the 'Yajur Veda' and they reflect the pre-Indus period in India when the Saraswati river was more prominent. The acceptance of such views would create a revolution in our view of history as shattering as that in science caused by Einstein's theory of relativity. It would make ancient India perhaps the oldest, largest and most central of ancient cultures.It would mean that the Vedic literary record - already the largest and oldest of the ancient world even at a 1500 BC date - would be the record of teachings some centuries or thousands of years before that. It would mean that the 'Vedas' are our most authentic record of the ancient world. It would also tend to validate the Vedic view that the Indo-Europeans and other Aryan peoples were migrants from India, not that the Indo-Aryans were

invaders into India. Moreover, it would affirm the Hindu tradition that the Dravidians were early offshoots of the Vedic people through the seer Agastya, and not un-Aryan peoples. In closing, it is important to examine the social and political implications of the Aryan invasion idea: First, it served to divide India into a northern Aryan and southern Dravidian culture which were made hostile to each other.This kept the Hindus divided and is still a source of social tension. Second, it gave the British an excuse in their conquest of India.They could claim to be doing only what the Aryan ancestors of theHindus had previously done millennia ago. Third, it served to make Vedic culture later than and possibly derived from Middle Eastern cultures. With the proximity and relationship of the latter with the Bible and Christianity, this kept the Hindu religion as a sidelight to the development of religion and civilization to the West. Fourth, it allowed the sciences of India to be given a Greek basis, as any Vedic basis was largely disqualified by the primitive nature of the Vedic culture. This discredited not only the 'Vedas' but the genealogies of the 'Puranas' and their long list of the kings before the Buddha or Krishna were left without any historical basis. The 'Mahabharata', instead of a civil war in which all the main kingsof India participated as it is described, became a local skirmishamong petty princes that was later exaggerated by poets. In short, it discredited most of the Hindu tradition and almost all its ancient literature. It turned its scriptures and sages into fantasies and exaggerations. This served a social, political and economical purpose of domination, proving the superiority of Western culture and religion. It made the Hindus feel that their culture was not the great thing that their sages and ancestors had said it was. It made Hindus feel ashamed of their culture - that its basis was neither historical nor scientific. It made them feel that the main line of civilization was developed first in the Middle East and then in Europe and that the culture of India was peripheral and secondary to the real development of world culture.

Such a view is not good scholarship or archeology but merely cultural imperialism. The Western Vedic scholars did in the intellectual sphere what the British army did in the political realm - discredit, divide and conquer the Hindus. In short, the compelling reasons for the Aryan invasion theory were neither literary nor archeological but political and religious - that is to say, not scholarship but prejudice. Such prejudice may not have been intentional but deep-seated politicaland religious views easily cloud and blur our thinking.It is unfortunate that this approach has not been questioned more, particularly by Hindus. Even though Indian Vedic scholars like Dayananda Saraswati, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Arobindo rejected it, most Hindus today passively accept it. They allow Western, generally Christian, scholars to interpret their historyfor them and quite naturally Hinduism is kept in a reduced role. Many Hindus still accept, read or even honor the translations of the 'Vedas' done by such Christian missionary scholars as Max Muller, Griffith, Monier-Williams and H. H. Wilson. Would modern Christians accept an interpretation of the Bible or Biblical history done by Hindus aimed at converting them to Hinduism? Universities in India also use the Western history books and Western Vedic translations that propound such views that denigrate their own culture and country. The modern Western academic world is sensitive to criticisms of cultural and social biases. For scholars to take a stand against this biased interpretation of the 'Vedas' would indeed cause a reexamination of many of these historical ideas that can not stand objective scrutiny. But if Hindu scholars are silent or passively accept the misinterpretation of their own culture, it will undoubtedly continue, but they will have no one to blame butthemselves. It is not an issue to be taken lightly, because how aculture is defined historically creates the perspective from which it is viewed in the modern social and intellectual context.Tolerance is not in allowing a false view of one's own culture and religion to be propagated without question. That is merely self-betrayal.

MSU and Indiana-based Stone Age Institute at Gosport have joined hands for the 'Narmada Basin Paleoanthropology Project (NBPA)' with the target to collect all the paleoanthropological evidence within the last two million years.

"This project may throw new light giving credence to the belief that the Narmada Valley could have been the centre of human evolution," says professor K Krishnan, head of MSU's Department of Archaeology and Ancient History.

The project for the period of five years has its roots in the discovery of a vertebrate fossil record including the only pre-modern human fossil known in South Asia from - the Narmada Basin.

In 1980s, former director of Geological Survey of India (paleontologist) Arun Sonakia had created a sensation surprising the world with his discovery of the "only human fossil in Asia"

from near Hoshangabad in Central Narmada Valley Basin in Madhya Pradesh which he said was that of a homo erectus (predecessors oftoday's human). In recent times, however, archaeologists have argued that although the discovery has been variably attributed to different species of homo, its age remains uncertain.

"Through this project, we will collect more human fossils, look at the context of this fossils and go for a precise dating methodology as very little dating of fossils has been done so far," co-director and research associate of NBPA from Stone Age Institute Parth Chauhan told TOI.

"Study at Narmada Basin is important because of its geographical location which is very strategic for migration of animal population from North to South and East to West. It is not only rich in fossils and archaeological sites, but it has a long history of human occupation and this region is facing submergencedue to dam construction," says Chauhan.

"Through the project we are trying to know whether the human evolution in Narmada Valley was the same as other regions - Africa, China or Europe or whether the origin of African and European stone age cultures was the Narmada Valley," he says.

After the team of researchers carries out a systematic survey, excavations will be mainly carried out at sites like Dhansi, Hathnora, Pilikarar, Surajkund, Amonda, Mahadeo-Piparia (most of them located in the area within the limits of Houshangabad region."The study will not only cover the sites that are reportedbut we are sure that we will come across more number of sites. Most suitable will be chosen for excavation," adds Krishnan.

Nagaswamy R01-Jan-2000The Supreme Lord Siva is called Pasupati in the Vedas. An ancient middle Eastern text calls the Supreme Lord The Shepherd man. Siva wears moon on his head. According to the Saiva agamas the moon worn by Siva on his head is a symbol of knowledge Candrah sarvjnata rupah. Moon is extolled as the presiding deity of knowledge and was called Thot in Ancient Egytian religion. The conceptwas also adopted in Greek where the deity of knowledge came to be called Hermes.Please read the following prayer composed in ancient

Egypt around 300 CE and also please note the comparison with Saiva concepts.Holy is the god and parent of the EntiretyHoly is the god that wills to be known and is known by its ownHoly are you of whom allthe natural order is naturally an imageHoly are you whose form the natural order has not been able to representHoly are you who are mightier than all powerHoly are you who are greater than all preeminenceHoly are you who are mightier than praisesO you who are beyond verbal expression, ineffable, and invoked in silenceGive me your graceThis poem has been found in an Egyptian papyrus dateable to around 300 CE and is cited in mediaeval texts of 14th to 16th cent. Scholars are puzzled over these expression and the source.God, according to the above prayer is the parent of the world. In the Saivareligion God is the parent of the world. They are called Ammai Appar. "Ammai appare ulahukku Ammai Appar".Says the Saiva scriptures.

The Vedas describe the wheels of the Chariots with spokes, but the wheels that are seen on the seals and vehicles of clay in Indus valley do not have wheels with spokes.2

Following analysation of Sir John Marshall on the Indus Valley Civilization here are given some clues.

1. "The picture of Indo-Aryan society portrayed in the Vedas is that of a partly pastoral, partly agricultural people, who have not yet emerged from the village state, who have no knowledge of life in cities or of the complex economic organization which such life implies, and whose houses are nondescript affairs constructed largely of bamboo.

At Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, on the other hand, we have densely populated cities with solid, commodious houses of brick equipped with a adequate sanitation, bathrooms, wells, and other amenities.

2. The metals which the Indo-Aryans used in the time of the Rigveda are gold and copper or bronze; but a little late, in the time of the Yajurveda and Atharvaveda, these metals are supplemented by silver and iron.

Among the Indus people silver is commoner than gold, and utensils and vessels are sometimes made of stone - a relic of the Neolithic Age - as well as of copper and bronze.Of iron there is no vestige.

3. For offensive weapons the Vedic-Aryans have the bow and arrow, spear, dagger, and axe, and for defensive armour the helmet and coat of mail.

The Indus people also have the bow and arrow, spear, dagger and axe, but, like the Mesopotamians and Egyptians, they have the mace as well, sometimes of stone, sometimes of metal; while on the other hand, defensive armour is quite unknown to them - a fact which must have told against them in any contest with mailed and helmeted foes.

4. The Vedic-Aryans are a nation of meat-eaters, who appear to have had a general aversion to fish, since ther is no direct mention of fishing in the Vedas.

With the Indus people fish is a common article of diet, and so, too, are molluscs, turtles,and other aquatic creatures.

5. In the lives of the Vedic-Aryans the horse plays an important part, as it did in the livesof many nations from the northern grasslands.

To the people of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa the horse seems to have been unknown

6. By the Vedic Aryans the cow is prized above all other animals and regarded with special veneration.

Among the Indus people the cow is of no particular account, its place with them being taken by the bull, the popularity of whose cult is attested by the numerous figurines andother representations of this animal.

7. Of the tiger there is no mention in theVedas, and of the elephant but little.

Both these animals are familiar to the Indus people.

8. In the Vedic pantheon the female element is almost wholly subordinate to the male.......

Among the Indus cults...........the female elements appear to be co-equal with, if not to predominate over the male.

As times goes on, doubtless many other salient points of difference will be revealed, but for the moment the above will suffice to demonstrate how wide is the gulf between the Indus and Vedic Civilizations. Now it may, perhaps, be argued that the difference between them is a difference of time only; that the Vedic civilization was either the

progenitor or the lineal descendant of the Indus civilization........ Let us assume, in the first place, that the Vedic civilization preceded an led up to the Indus civilization. On thishypothesis the progress from the village to the city state and from the nondescript houses of the Vedic period to the massive brick architecture of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa would find a logical explanation, though we should have to postulate a long interval of time in order to account for the evolution. But what about other cultural features?

If the Vedic culture antedated the Indus, how comes it that iron and defensive armour and the horse, which are characteristic of the former, are unknown to the latter? Or how comes it that the bull replaces the cow as an object of worship in the Indus period, only to be displaced agains by the cow in succeeding ages? Or, again, how comes it thatthe Indus culture betrays so many survivals of the Neolitihic Age - in the shape of stone implements and vessels - if the coper or bronze and iron culture of the Indo-Aryans intervened between the two? Clearly these considerations put out of court any solution of the problem which postulates an earlier date for the Vedic than for the Indus Civilization. But if it was not earlier, are there any grounds for supposing that it was evolved out of the latter? In other words, could the Indo-Aryans have been the authors of the Indus as well as of the Vedic Civilization?

Here, again, we are faced with a like dilemma. For, though on this assumption we couldaccount for such phenomena as the introduction of iron, of the horse, and of body armour, all of which might have signalized merely a later phase of the same culture, weare wholly at a loss to explain how the Indo-Aryans came to relapse from the city to the village state, or how, having once evolved excellent houses of brick, they afterwards conteneted themselves with inferior sturctures of bamboo; or how, having once worshipped the linga and the Mother Goddess, they ceased to do so in the Vedic Period,but returned to their worship later; or how, having once occupied Sind, they subsequently lost all memory of that country of the Lower Indus".3

Opinions of Asco Parpolo regarding Indus civilization and the review of Mahadevan on Asco Parpolo's view are given as follows.

The Survival of Brahui; a Dravidian language, spoken even today by large numbers of people in Baluchistan and the adjoining areas in Afghanistan and Iran, is an important factor in the identification of the Indus Civilization as Dravidian. Brahui belongs linguistically to the North Dravidian group with several shared innovations with Kurukh and Malto; no dialectal features connect it with the South or Central Dravidian languages. Hence Parpola cocludes that Brahui represents the remnants of the

Dravidian language spoken in the area by the descendants of the Harappan population.4

Survival of place-names is generally a good indicator of the linguistic pre-history of a region. Parpola points out several place-names in the north western region like nagara. Palli, Pattana and Kotta with good Dravidian etymologies.5

Parpolo also points out that syntactical analysis of the Indus inscriptions has revealed Dravidian like typological characteristics, especially the attribute preceding the headword.6

It has often been pointed out that the complete absence of the horse among the animals so prominently featured on the Indus seals is good evidence for the non-Aryan character of the Indus Civilization.

The Vedas, which were nomadic worship songs were compiled, classified and written in sanskrit as the four Vedas only in the post-Christian era by Veda Vyasa, a Dravidian. History of epigraphy reveals that Sanskrit was not prevalent in the pre-Christian era. Since the Vedas were written by a Dravidian, non-Aryan elements and ideologies occur in the Vedas.

The following statement of Parpolo on the Vedas is to be keenly observed.

"......some Dravidian loan words can be recognized in the Rgveda.......

The number of Dravidian loan words increases dramatically in post-Rgvedic literature. The Rgveda is assumed to contain not only Dravidian loan words but also phonological and syntactic Dravidisms, in particular the development of

1) retroflex phonemes2) the gerund and3) the quotative and4) onomatopoeic constructions,

all of which are absent from the closely related Iranian branch of the Aryan languages.......

We must bear in mind that the Rgveda was largely composed in the plains of the Punjab relatively late and redacted even later. The language as well as the contents of the Yajur Veda reflects an entirely different tradition, which probably evolved in the Punjab and was incorporated in the Veda only during the

acculturation that may be assumed to have taken place after the descent of the Rgvedic tradition from the Swat Valley. 8

If Indus Valley Civilzation is of the Aryans, mother goddess worship that plays an important role in the Indus Valley Civilization should be described in the Vedas. But in the Vedas only minor female deities are mentioned. The Indus Valley deitiesnormally have horns, whereas the deities of the Vedas are not portrayed with horns.1Sivalinkas which are found in the Indus Valley Civilization is later on degraded in the Vedas.

The Vedas describe the wheels of the Chariots with spokes, but the wheels that are seen on the seals and vehicles of clay in Indus valley do not have wheels with spokes.2

Tamil Nadu Chronologically, Korkai is the oldest port site of Tamil country possibly since the beginning of the first millennium BC. However, its emergence as a significant emporiummay have been only around the fourth and fifth century BC. Korkai (8�40¢N; 78�5¢E) is recognized by the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea as Colchis and by Ptolemy as Kolkhoi. Correct indentification came in 1838. Early archaeological excavations carried out by Caldwell in the Tamiraparani delta in the 19th century, affirmed its present site almost in ruins close to a place called Eral1. It was a dual centre of the early Pandya rule, identified with Pandya-Kavada by the Ramayana and the Mahabharat, and as Kapatapuram in Kalithogai. Its reputation is spoken of in Akananuru and Ainkurunuru. The entire Gulf of Mannar is recognized by the Periplus as the Colchic Gulf, due to pre-eminent status of Korkai. Excavations by Nagaswamy and others have brought to light the early artifacts of the site at Korkai. Stone inscriptions in the Koil of Vetrivelamman and the Pillayar Kovil at Korkai and at Attur across the river on the opposite bank reaffirm that the site is the old port of Korkai. A lone ‘Vanni’ tree standing in Korkai is about 2000 years old, according to the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Survey. Upstream of Korkai about 20 km away on the same river valley on the right bank of Tamiraparani is Aditchanallur, the largest megalithic burial urn area in South India2.Its proximity and the find of megalithic burial urns at Korkai itself indicate that the valley side was fairly well-populated during megalithic times. Carbon dating of the artifacts in the area indicates an age of 785 BC, while Aditchanallur findings of copper finds including an icon of Mother Goddess of 8th century BC indicate that it was an active settlement, and probably river navigation extended up to it from the delta mouth. Korkai is sited on an alluvial terrace, above the present-day flood plain of the river. The archaeological finds are about 3 m below the terrace level. Excavations have revealed Mauryan pottery of 2nd and 3rd century BC and the glazed pottery found belong to Northern Black Polished ware. The burial urns lie adjoining a structure built with large bricks. Adjoining on the west end are heaps of pearl oyster shells, and three ring wells. More significantly, the finds of black and red pottery ware withold Tamil Brahmi scripts (two to four letters in a line or two), apart from drawn graffiti of the sun, fish, bow and arrow have been dated to a period between 3rd

century BC and 2nd century AD. The occurrence of Roman ware, and rouletted ware indicates their external links. Archeologists have found ruins of chankcutting factories, centres for split opening of pearl oysters at the site. Archaeologists opine that Korkai indicates the closing phase of the megalithic period and Korkai itself was a major Pandyan port during this period. Though it continued to function till the 5th century AD, it was on a decline since the 3rd century AD. Probably with this decline is linked the shift of the Pandyan capital from Ten-Madurai or Korkai itself to the later capital at Madurai.