Pre­Christian era artefacts unearthed in Odisha

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered pottery pieces, and tools made of stones and bones believed to be of the pre Christian era from a mound in Jalalpur village of Cuttack district. 

“Discoveries of ancient artefacts indicated that a rural settlement might have thrived in that period. What is important in these latest discoveries is that we have found continuity in the progress of rural culture from a pre­historic era,” said D. B Garnayak, superintending archaeologist of ASI’s excavation branch in Bhubaneswar. 

Excavation carried out on 12 acres of land in the Jalalpur village has unearthed remnants of axe, adze, celts and thumbnail scrappers chiselled from stones, harpoons, point and stylus made of bones and potteries with marks of paintings. 12 trenches 

The ASI teams have also come across a couple of circular wattle and daub structures, which were predominantly used by people to take shelter during the preChristian era, in 12 trenches being dug simultaneously. “We will send carbon samples to the Inter­ University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi, and the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, to ascertain their exact age. Once we get the exact age, it will be easier for us to analyse the rural settlement and its activities,” Dr. Garnayak said. 

The ASI researcher, however, said the people here could not have lived in isolation and they could have had cultural and trade ties with other settlements in the Prachi Valley that had come up around the Prachi river, which gradually disappeared. Subsistence economy Rich materials found from excavation sites indicate that the people had a subsistence economy and they largely relied on agriculture, shing and hunting. 

ASI researchers assumed that the bones found on the site belonged to deer species and bovidae. Discovery of tortoise shell, dolphin and shark teeth and sh bones indicated that the settlement could have been closer to the sea coast. 

Some rice grains have also been detected. Further excavation is expected to throw light on whether there was cultural link with other settlements, what happened to settlements established around the Prachi river, and how it declined, they said.