The recent excavation of a modern village at Binjor in Rajasthan has revealed many artefacts dating back to Early and Mature Harappan phases. Vaishnavi Singh reports
A skeleton of a woman, aged 35-40 years, lying in a supine position facing north to south, terracotta spindles and whorls and weights made out of chert stone are few of the intriguing artefacts that were excavated from Binjor, an archeological site in the Ganganar district of Rajasthan, seven km east of the Indo-Pak border. What makes this site more interesting is the fact that it is one of the lesser known places of the ancient Harappan civilisation.
Few mysteries of the new-found artefacts were brought to light by AK Pandey, superintending archaeologist at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), at a recent discussion. The artefacts are a result of the Phase II excavations at Binjor— 4MSR, which was carried out from January to April 2015 by the excavation branch (at Purana Qila) of the ASI.
The question that arose was why was there a need to excavate this new site when already so many Harappan excavations had been carried out in its near vicinity, in the Ghaggar valley itself. Pandey, also the deputy director of the excavation, explained, “The sole objective of this excavation at 4MSR is to learn about the early Harappan deposits, the sites’ relationship with other contemporary sites and to draw a cultural sequence with the late Harappan phase. If the copious amount of artefacts recovered from Binjor are any indication, then the site belongs to the early Harappan (c. 3000 - 2700 BCE) and the mature Harappan period (c. 2600 - 2000 BCE), much like the Kalibangan site which is 120 km away. This will help in the formation of a sequence and will lead to continuity, and so it becomes imperative to take up explorations in this entire area.”
A mound, known as Thed among the villagers, was found in the Ghaggar river basin, the modern name given to the Saraswati river. “We had earlier dug six trenches on the mound, but the number was increased to 12 trenches of 10 by 10 metres with four quadrants,” he added. In its glorious days, the Harappan civilisation flourished over two million sq km, from Sutkagendor on the Makran coast of Balochistan to Alamgirhpur in Uttar Pradesh, and from Manda in Jammu to Daimabad in Maharashtra.
What interested Pandey was the discovery of a jar, a bowl with a hole at the bottom and a perforated pot. “These confirm that the excavations belong to the mature Harappan period,” he informed us. The unearthing of pots with handles is another thing which fascinated him. He added, “We also uncovered a steatite seal with a hole on the back depicting a mythical animal with a single horn, like a unicorn as found in other Harappan seals, and a short inscription of five letters in the Indus script.” The excavations also lead to the discovery of houses made of standardised size of mud bricks (7.5 by 15 by 30 cm) in a ratio of 1:2:4. Huge quantities of ash and molten metal were also found indicating to metallurgical industrial activities that may have been carried out when the civilisation flourished. A common feature of the mature Harappan phase of large scale structural activities is also suggested through the excavations.
He also spoke about other artefacts which were unearthed at the site including beads made of carnelian, steatite, copper, terracotta bangles and cakes; copper rings and fish hooks; terracotta spindles and whorls; weights made out of chert stone, terracotta sling balls, toy cart frames, figurines of humped bulls, copper arrowheads and terracotta pipes. “Apart from all this we also found gold beads which are very rare to come across in these excavations. One trench also yielded the skeleton of a woman, aged 35-40 years lying in a supine position facing north to south. No burial woods were found on the site and we are still in the process of ascertaining the exact time period to which this body belongs to,” he added.
What has come as a surprise in these excavations is the discovery of a yoni-pitha type fire altar with a stump of octagonal birch in the middle. “This is an indication that rituals were performed at the altar,” said Pandey. The thing that stands out in these excavations is the windfall of pre-Harappan hakra ware, early Harappan pottery and Mature Harappan ceramics. Early Harappan finds include pottery with beautifully painted figures of peacocks, a lion, birds, fish-net and floral designs.
When the excavations initially began, it was found that a lot of waste material had been dumped on the mound by the local people and the Army, which had camped there soon after the partition. This turned out to be a good thing in the end as the dump had protected the mound. But agricultural and irrigation activities later led to the cutting of the mound on three sides which reduced its size considerably.
The trenches have brought to the fore the remnants of saddle— querns, mullars, ovens, hearths and furnaces. Pandey postulated, “One trench has also revealed a deep silo, lined with mud, to store grains. We have also recovered cattle bones and soil and grain samples, and they are yet to be sent for further examination and carbon dating.” He also disclosed that a bead containing the swastika symbol was also found which greatly fascinated all the archaeologists present at the site. “A lot of red ware and hakra pottery have also been discovered. Storage jars, goblets, stands, miniature pots, vases and paintings with horizontal bands, loops, floral designs and figures of birds and animals of the cat family have been discovered as well. Another intriguing aspect which was found in the handled pots was that there was incised decoration on them, at accurate intervals. Pots with textile and type imprint were also uncovered. These are usually painted with black, and at times, white colour,” he shared.
Pandey concluded by saying, “This is the first site in this region where so much of cultural mixing or amalgamation is available. It has helped in determining the cultural process of the early and mature Harappan phases and the gradual transition from one phase to the other. Interestingly, we could not find any artefacts relating to the late Harappan period at the site.”