ASI finds Bronze-Age site in Rajasthan

ASI finds Bronze-Age site in Rajasthan
PRADEEP KAUSHAL

JAIPUR, MARCH 12: Archaelogists have unearthed the remains of a 5,000-year-old civilisation buried 7.5 meters deep after year-long excavation near Ojhiana village, 30 km from Beawar in Rajasthan.

According to sources in the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Bronze-Age settlement, protected by a strong boundary wall, had a well-developed system of roads. The houses had separate kitchens, bathrooms and rooms for puja. Carried out in three phases, the excavation spanned over 26 layers.

Perched amidst the hills, this settlement was apparently located far from any perennial river and questions the belief that ancient civilisations always developed along rivers.

ASI sources said the items recovered included earthen pots and replicas of cows and oxen. There were traces of a six-foot wide wall made from stones, which appeared to skirt around the whole settlement. Broad parallel roads and well-laid houses indicate it was a developed civilisation. Each house has separate chambers for sleeping, cooking, bathing and worship.

The presence of two types of fireplaces at different sites in the same house may mean that the inhabitants of this settlement used one for cooking vegetarian food and the other for non-vegetarian food, ASI sources said.

Sources said the excavation work had also thrown up certain similarities with the Indus Valley civilisation, which may later help experts find a link between the two.