Wednesday 25 December 2013

6. Discovery of Medieval Brick Structures inside a Pond near Dhaiya-Abhayrajpur Villages, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India

In July 2012, a report was published in the local Hindi newspapers on an accidental discovery of brick walls and long wooden beams inside a dried pond near Khanpur, Bareilly. The villagers had discovered the walls while quarrying for sand inside the pond. The pond (28°31'51.45" N: 79°24'37.97" E) is located between three villages—Abhayrajpur on the east, Dhaiya on the south and Khanpur on the west across a small rivulet that discharges into the River Ramganga near Bareilly city. The pond spreads over an area of 140m NS x 150m EW at present. With the help of a few villagers, from the large crowd gathered around us, we cleared the soil from the surface of a place with mud bricks in the section. A wall running roughly east-west and north-south was traced in patches. The size of the bricks was approximately 11.5 x 10 x 2.75 inches (length x width x thickness), which may date back to medieval period. The bricks were not well baked and due to the swampy condition of the pond had become very fragile. Two long beams (about 11 feet long), charred on the surface, quite thick and heavy, were unearthed by the villagers. Interestingly, the prima facie evidence suggests that the wooden beams were running under the walls, a purpose unknown so far. There was no pottery or any other associated material recovered from the digging. At the first sight, it was evident from the circumstance that the pond was an oxbow lake, which was later confirmed from the satellite pictures. That is the reason for which sand deposit is present in the bed of the pond. The purpose of structures with wooden beams underneath near riverbank has remained a mystery till today. We have to look for further evidence. In the mean time, we have requested the villagers to not to destroy the walls and wait for further investigations that may unravel the mystery of these walls.

A number of satellite images of the pond taken in different periods of time in the last decade have been given below along with the rivulet. The palaeo-channels and the villages surrounding the pond can also be seen in the pictures.

The major questions:
  • How long can this site survive to draw the attention of archaeologists or historians? 
  • How can small sites like this be protected from the impending destructions?

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Dr. Deepak Singh for helping in carrying out this investigation.







The Pond (an Oxbow lake) surrounded by 03 villages and
the rivulet with its palaeo-channels
The Pond in May 2005
The Pond in May 2006

The Pond in March 2009

The Pond in June 2010


The Pond in May 2011 


The Pond in January 2012

The Pond in March 2013


View of the Pond  from south in July 2012

View of the Pond  from north in July 2012

Sand quarrying in the pond


Crowd observing the investigation

The partially charred wooden beam unearthed by the people under the brick wall

Clearing  upper sandy soil


Exposing the brick structure

Exposed brick structure 

Removing the surface soil


Damaged wall

Damaged wall running north-south

Damaged wall running east-west

Sunday 1 December 2013

5. Mathura: Piecing together the Vestiges of Glorious Past

Introduction
Mathura (270 31 N: 770 14 E), head-quarter of the district of same name, is situated on the bank of River Yamuna. Sir Alexander Cunningham has identified the ancient city of Mathura with Kesavapura-mahalla of the modern Mathura city. Almost all of the traditional or literary accounts refer to Mathura’s position close to the River Yamuna. Hence the identification of present Mathura on the west bank of River Yamuna with the historical town is almost certain. The ruins of the city are spread over an extensive area of 3.5 sq. km. A massive mud wall, forming a longish crescent on plan on three sides of the city, fortifies it with Yamuna river on the east. There are rail-tracks and metal road cutting through the ancient settlement.
The Bhagavata religion, the parent of modern Vaishnavism, along with Buddhism and Jainism together formed the city of Mathura a sacred place. In the first and second centuries, Mathura developed as a distinctive school of Sculptural style and terracotta art, which soon became a world class. The city was connected with the trade routes. Moreover, the city has a long history starting with the Puranic age to the modern days through the Greek, Saka-Satrap and Kushan periods. It throws light on a spectrum of events and cultures of ancient India of worth studying.
         Archaeological importance of the site can be apprehended from the valuable collection of coins, terracottas, inscriptions and stone sculptures recovered time to time from the surface and occasional diggings. Many of these are housed in the Mathura museum. The presence of Painted Grey ware and Northern Black Polished ware sherds further stretch back the antiquity of this site by centuries.

Literary Evidences and Historical Background
Mathura is famous for the birthplace of Lord Krishna, who killed his maternal uncle and the unruly king Kamsa to free his mother Devaki and father Vasudeva from the jail. It is a sacred place of Vaishnavism and great centre of Buddhism and Jainism as well. Mathura is variously mentioned as Madhura or north Mathura, Mathula, Mahura, Madhupuri, Madhupura, etc. It is mentioned in the Ramayana of Valmiki, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The city was also known as Madhuvan as it was thickly wooded and then Madhupura and later Mathura. The Puranas ascribe the founding of the city to Ayu, the son of Pururavas and the celestial nymph Urvashi. Besides, it has made its way into the Astaddyayi, Mahabhasya and Yoginitantra. However, there is no mention of this city in the Vedic literature. The Greeks called this city as Methora and Madoura, the city of gods. The Chinese pilgrims Fa-hien and Huien Tsang mentioned it as Ma-t’aou-lo or the peacock city and Mo (Mei)-t’u-lo, respectively. Arrian and Ptolemy also mention about this city. The Jains knew it as Sauripura or Suryapura. Fa-hien saw many monasteries full of monks at Mathura and Huien Tsang found it to be 5000 li and the capital about 20 li in circuit.
          Mathura was the capital of Surasena country. Rama’s brother Satrughna built it after killing the Yadava Lavana at the site of Madhuvana. He ruled over Mathura along with his two sons Suvahu and Surasena. Afterwards the country was called Surasena. According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, Yadu or Yadava clans ruled over Mathura. Ugrasena and Kamsa were the kings of Mathura, which was ruled by Andhakas descendants.
            In the 6th century BCE Mathura became the capital of the Surasena mahajanapada. The Nagas and Yayudheyas reigned at Mathura before Samudragupta subjugated them. The Hindu kings of Mathura were finally ousted by Hagana, Hagamasa, Rajuvala and other Saka Satraps around first century AD. In the second century AD Mathura was ruled by the Kushans under the Huviska and was the capital city. Kanishka had hosted the third Buddhist council here. During the Kushan rule, art and culture of Mathura flourished to its pinnacle and is now known as “Mathura School of Art”. A headless statue of Kanishka is displayed in the Mathura Museum.
            The early inscriptional mention of Mathura is found in Sohgaura plates and Hathigumpha inscription. The findings of ancient stone inscriptions in brahmi at Maghera, a town 17 km from Mathura throws welcome light on the historical importance of this city. The Buddhist rail-pillar inscriptions at Mathura mark a transition from the Asokan Prakrit to the typical mixed Sanskrit of the Kushan age. The Mathura Lion Capital, an Indo-Scythian sandstone capital in crude style, dated to the 1st century AD, describes in kharosthi the gift of a stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by Queen Nadasi Kasa, the wife of the Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura, Rajuvula. The capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura.

Destruction and construction of Temples
The city of Mathura was ransacked and temples were destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 and later by Sikander Lodhi, who ruled the Sultanet of Delhi from 1489 to 1517 and was given the soubriquet of 'But Shikan', the 'Destroyer of Hindu deities'. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, built the city's Jami Masjid (Friday mosque). The Dwarkadhesh temple is a few metres away from what is believed to be the actual birthplace of Krishna, was built in 1815 by Seth Gokuldas Parikh, Treasurer of Gwalior.
Krishna Janmasthan or Kesava Dev Temple is the sacred place of Hindus as it is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. According to traditions, the original deity was installed by Bajranabh, who was great-grandson of Krishna. This temple is considered as a monument of Gupta Period (320 to 550 AD), which was destroyed in 1661 AD by Aurangzeb. It was built in Mathura over the prison, which was believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. In contemporary memory, it was built by Raja Vir Singh Bundela of Orchaa during the reign of Jehangir. The Rajput prince enjoyed a special favour with the Mughal on account of his support to Jehangir in his succession.
The great temple of Keshava Rai at Mathura was built by Vir Singh Deo Bundela during Jahangir’s time at a cost of rupees 33 lakhs. The Dehra of Keshava Rai was one of the most magnificent temples ever built in India and enjoyed veneration of Hindus throughout the land. Prince Dara Shukoh had presented a carved stone railing to the temple which was installed in front of the deity; the devotees used to stand outside this railing to have a look (darshan) of Keshava Rai. The railing was removed on Aurangzeb’s orders in October 1666. The Dehra of Keshava Rai was demolished in the month of Ramzan (13 January – 11 February 1670) by Aurangzeb.
In 1815, the East India Company auctioned the area of Katra Keshavadeva, which was purchased by the then Raja Patnimal of Benaras. Although the Raja of Benaras wanted to build a temple here, his wish remained unfulfilled and the family had to fight several legal battles for ownership of the land with Muslim community of Mathura. In 1944, Madan Mohan Malaviya was distressed at the plight of the site and arranged for purchase of the land from Raja Krishna Das of Benaras, who sold the land only at paltry Rs. 13,000/- recovering just the cost of court battles. After the death of Malaviya, Jugal Kishor Birla of Birla group decided to fulfil the wishes of Malviya and formed a private trust in 1951 to which the rights of land were transferred. Jaidayal Dalmia of Dalmia group also played a pivotal role in the construction of temple. The construction of the temple was completed in 1965 at a cost Rs. 15 million.
Next to the temple, within the complex is a small room that looks like a prison cell, where it is said that Lord Krishna was born. The excavation of this site began in 1953 under the chairmanship of Swami Akhandanada and later under supervision of Babulal Bajaj and Phool Chand Khandelwal the prison complex was completed in 1982.

Archaeological Backdrop
The site of Mathura underwent first systematic excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1954-55 under the joint effort of M. Venktaramayya and B. Saran. The small-scale excavation at Katra mound brought to light five successive periods bracketed from 600 BC to 600 AD. B.K. Thappar, M.C. Joshi and C. Margabandhu of Archaeological Survey of India carried out the second excavation in large scale from 1973-74 to 1976-77. The objectives of the excavation were to examine the antiquity, growth and character of the city. The following cultural periods were found at the site.
Period I—c.600 BC to closing of 400 BC
Period II—closing of 400 BC to c. 200 BC
Period III—c. 200 BC to end of 100 BC
Period IV—Beginning of 100 AD to 3rd century AD
Period V—c.400 AD to end of 600 AD

Period I: The Beginning
This period has been divided into two sub-periods—IA and IB. The earliest settlers who lived right on the natural soil and inside the huts with mud floors represent the Period IA. The people used Painted Grey ware and Red ware. A few Black slipped ware, some fragments of inferior Black-and-Red ware and plain Grey ware were also recovered from this level. The Painted Grey ware comprised bowl and dish of usual fabric and form with paintings in black and rarely in white. The noteworthy designs are groups of parallel horizontal lines between two verticals, latticed frames and hook-shaped curve around spirals. Other objects of interest are terracotta discs in plain and decorated variety; ghata-shaped beads, fragment of a conch, a bone arrowhead, a terracotta amulet and two broken styli.
            In Phase Ib, the people slightly improved their living-style. The huts are now made on extant mud platforms. However, no major change in ceramics except the introduction of Northern Black Polished ware is witnessed. Some of these are thicker in cross-section and have steel-black lustrous exterior and unslipped red interior. Other important findings are—an ear-stud of translucent greenish glass; terracotta gamesmen, bone-arrowheads; figurine of a terracotta bird, a torso and a decorated hind part of an animal, an imperforated gadrooned bead, ghata-shaped beads and terracotta discs. Beads of semiprecious stones and terracotta figurines suggested some kind of contact of the local people with area outside the Mathura region.

Period II: Urbanization
This period is marked by proliferation of the settlement to an area about 3.9 sq. km and building of a massive defence mud wall around the settlement in a longish crescent shape. In a cutting of mud fortification two distinct phases have been noted. On the basis of objects and punch-marked copper coins, its construction may be ascribed to the early part of Period II. Originally with a height of about 6.5m the mud defence wall is built of several compact fillings of earth and kankar over the undulating ground. The remains of houses are noted in the form of mud platforms and floors associated with ring-wells. Remains of drains formed by soakage jars are also noticed. The mud platforms at times have facings of large burnt bricks.
            The important objects of this period comprised punch-marked coins of copper, terracotta human and animal figurines, toy wheels, gamesmen, decorated discs, bangles and beads of semiprecious stones and bone arrowheads and skin-rubbers. A legged-quern carved with triratna motif, stone pestles and a variety of copper and iron objects are noteworthy. Among the figurines mention may be made of a damaged head of an elephant with lustrous slip bearing paintings in the Northern Black Polished ware tradition, different types of mother goddess figurines, terracotta figurines of monkeys, elephants and a vrsavyala in grey colour or black slip with paint. A significant find is a hoard of 24 beads of amethyst and topaz in a miniature pot. The ceramics of this period comprised Northern Black Polished ware and associated wares including plain Grey ware.

Period III: Urban Refinement
In this period the settlement was confined within the defunct fortification wall. In the early level, the houses were made of mud and had mud platforms and rammed floors in some cases paved with brickbats. In the later level both mud bricks and burnt bricks were used in construction. Some large houses had brick paved courtyards with bricks on edge border. Sometimes the floors were plastered with lime. The roofs of the houses were covered with tiles. Some channel-shaped ovens were found. The ring wells had lost their popularity in this period.
         This period marked the last phase of Northern Black Polished ware, which showed a greater popularity with the utilitarian forms. The Red ware constituted bowls, lids, vases, storage jars and basins. The plain Grey ware also continued with dishes having dark slip.
            There were inscribed coins issued by the Indo-Greeks and Mathura rulers found. Among the seals recovered from excavations important are—one in shell reading I(n)chayasa and other in terracotta with triratna-headed standard within a railing and a svastika with legend yupalathikasa on a side.
            Other objects constituted querns, pestles, bone arrowheads, borers and styluses, decorated wheels, toy cart frames and terracotta skin-rubbers. Beads of semiprecious stones and terracotta ghata-shaped beads and arecanut beads in particular were popular. Some copper objects including thin and short rods with thickened ends were recovered.
            The terracotta art of this period though not very rich comprised terracotta plaques of human figurines prepared out of single-sided mould and handmade animal figurines. The terracotta plaques of interest are a female, a flute-player and an amorous couple. Besides, a terracotta bullock cart and a toy cart frame were noteworthy. A solitary stone sculpture of frontal part of a lion was embedded on a floor of the latest phase of this period.

Period IV: Cosmopolitan
This period witnessed significant structural development. The defunct defence wall was revived and enlarged. An inner fortification, roughly quadrilateral in shape with semi-circular bastions and a moat on the western and northwestern side was built in the northern area of Katra mound. It was built of mud and was strengthened by a short retaining wall of broken and over burnt bricks, tiles, clay lumps, etc. The width and height of this wall varied from 22 to 40cm and 80cm to one metre respectively. The maximum basal width of inner fortification was about 17m.
         The houses were constructed of mud, baked bricks and brickbats, sometimes on raised platforms. Floors were paved with compact mud, lime nodules and bricks. Roofs were tiled. Stone buildings were confined to religious establishments.
            In the immediate neighbourhood of the walled city, probably tanks and wells were built for the use of travellers and public as suggested by the inscriptional records. An impressive brick-built complex was exposed at the site of the Jaina establishment of Kankali Tila, a few hundred metres outside the mud fortification. This water reservoir was constructed in four phases. Burnt bricks of various sizes—40 x 25 x 5 cm, 30 x 26 x 4cm and 30 x 17 x 5 cm—were used in the construction. The reservoir was dug into the natural soil to a depth of 3.96m in a rectangular shape. It had a ramp in the east and irregular oblong ancillary compartments along its north and south sides. On top of its north wall a stone channel is provided as an inlet for filling it up with water. The first constructional phase of the tank can be ascribed to the first half of the first century AD.
        The ceramic industry was represented by Red ware with vases, storage jars, bowls, basins, lids, spouted jars, etc. The pots were decorated with stamped designs like fish, triratna, swastika, srivatsa, hamsa, sankha, etc. Besides, floral and geometric designs were very common. A Red polished ware with thin-section was present in limited number, which included only sprinklers.
            The notable objects recovered from this period are terracotta votive tanks, seals and sealings, coins, bone points, terracotta skin rubbers, animal-headed gamesmen, spindle whorls, human and animal figurines prepared by single or double moulds, including a Yaksi in typical Mathura art tradition. Other interesting terracotta figurines were Vamanakas—some of which were glazed, a Saka or Kushan soldier, a princely male, females, Nagas, Bodhisattva Maitreya and Gaja Laksmi. Stone sculptures of two stale depicting scenes from the life of Buddha, a flaming Buddha image, a head of royal statue with several tiny Buddha figures on the crown; a head with moustache, curly hair and sikha—most probably of Kubera, forepart of an elephant and a lion, a salabhanjika figure and fragments of sucis reflected the contemporary artistic excellence. Human-shaped pendant with a peculiar interesting headdress and beads of semiprecious stones were some other noteworthy findings.

Period V
This period is characterised by traces of mud platforms with walls on the top and floors of mud and sukhi. The ceramics were cruder varieties. Some were painted and moulded with artistic decorations. The common shapes were bowl, basin, vase, sprinkler, etc. A Buddha head, in Mathura Art tradition, an image of Vishnu with head missing, fragments of a prabha-mandala, terracotta figurines in Gupta style and embossed figurines of Ganga on a potsherd constituted the important findings.

Present Condition of the City
The city has been expanded so much that it is a herculean task now to trace the ancient fortified city. However, patches of ancient mounds, broken architectural panels, statues and other antiquities can be noticed as one moves (within the triangular area of Gokarneswar temple on the north, Kankali tila on the west and Saptarsi tila on the south) in the nooks and corners of the city. The only protected and well-preserved mound is the Kankali tila, which has been fenced by the Archaeological Survey of India. The mounds which have been present in patches at different places, basically properties of temples or ashramas, are been destroyed for construction or extension of buildings. Want for public awareness, Government apathy and relentless encroachments have been detrimental in the preservation of the ancient site.

Urgent steps to be taken
  1. Immediate proactive steps to be taken to identify and arrest further destruction of the places with ancient remains.
  2. Attention to be given to restore and preserve the buildings, forts and excavated structures at different places.
  3. Wherever possible, lands with ancient remains should be acquired or preserve the site for future investigation. 
How to reach Mathura
The city of Mathura is situated in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city is well connected by road and railway. It is located approximately 50 km north of Agra, 145 km south-east of Delhi and about 11 km from the town of Vrindavan and 22 km from Govardhan.

References

  1. Doris Meth Srinivasan (ed.), Mathura: The Cultural Heritage (New Delhi, Manohar Publication, 1989).
  2. Ashok Gosh (Ed.), ‘An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology’, Vol. I-II (New Delhi, Munsiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1989).
  3. B.C. Law, ‘Historical Geography of Ancient India’, (New Delhi, Munsiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1984).
  4. Indian Archaeology—A Review: 1973-74, 74-75, 75-76
  5. http://en.wikipedia.org/  
Acknowledgement
Sincere thanks to Dr. Deepak Singh and Dr. Bhuvan Vikram for their valuable help


Time to think over.....

Can we afford to lose such sites?

Can Indian Archaeology progress without such sites?

What will be the future of Indian Archaeology without ancient sites?


Pledge

  • Please ENSURE that all the ANTIQUITIES and DATA including the PHOTOGRAPHS are stored carefully by you or submitted to the Department/Museum to do so.
  • Remember, you may be the last person who visited the site and your collected antiquities are the only tangible evidences of that site.
  • Make sure that you do a bit in your capacity to save a site by reporting in the News Papers, writing to the local authorities and placing the matter in different forums/NGOs.

A Request

If you have a similar story, send it to this forum with a few photographs. I also request you to send your comments, grievances and suggestions to this forum which will be circulated widely. Remember that your comment will consolidate our plea.

Mail to
Gcshas2007@gmail.com


Ancient Fortified City of Mathura

Map showing the present condition of once fortified
Ancient 
Mathura City and the surveyed locations 



Picture Showing Kankali Tila (I)

(Ia) Mahamaya Pond

(Ib) Excavated Mahamaya Tank

(Ic) Kankali Tila: the Evening crowd

(Id) Sculptural Remains at Kankali Tila
(Ie) Sculptural Remains at Kankali Tila

(If) Sculptural Remains at Kankali Tila

(Ig) Temples at Kankali Tila
(Ih) Ancient Cow-pen at Kankali Tila

(II) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(IIa) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(IIb) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(IIc) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(IId) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila
(IIe) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(IIf) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(IIg) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(IIh) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(IIi) Remains of Fortification at Kans ka Tila

(III) Holi Gate (Tilak Dwar)
(IV) Vishram Ghat

(IVa) Vishram Ghat

(IVb) Vishram Ghat

(IVc) Close up of Sati Burj, Vishram Ghat

(IVd) Full view of Sati Burj, Vishram Ghat

(V) Satellite view of Kans ka Qila
(Va) Kans ka Qila from western side: perching over the ancient remains

(Vb) Ancient Remains at Kans ka Qila

(Vc) Ancient Remains at Kans ka Qila

(Vd) Ancient Remains at Kans ka Qila

(Ve) Ancient Remains at Kans ka Qila

(Vf) Kans ka Qila from the bank of River Yamuna
(Vg) Another view of Kans ka Qila from the bank of River Yamuna

(Vh) Kans ka Qila: Inside View

(Vi) Kans ka Qila: View from the Top

(Vj) Kans ka Qila: View from the Top

(Vk) Kans ka Qila: View from the Top

(Vl) Kans ka Qila: Inner view 
(Vm) Kans ka Qila: Outside View from the Top

(VI) Ganesh Temple

(VIa) Ganesh Temple Mound

(VII) Udasin Ashram: Recently erased mound

(VIIa) Udasin Ashram
(VIII) Chamunda Temple

(VIIIa) Railway track cutting the mound near Chamunda Temple

(IX) Gokarneswar Temple perching over the Fortification

(IXa) Gokarneswar Temple

(X) Railway track (to Vrindavan) near Deeg Darwaja 
cutting across the Fortification 

(Xa) Remains of Fortification 
(Xb) Remains of Fortification 

(Xc) Remains of Fortification 

(Xd) Ancient Remains on the side of Railway track 

(Xe) Remains of Ancient Structure on the side of Railway track 


(Xf) Remains of Ancient Structure on the side of Railway track 

(Xg) Remains of Ancient Structure on the side of Railway track 
(Xh) Ancient Remains on the side of Railway track 

(Xi) Ancient Remains on the side of Railway track

(Xj) Ancient Remains on the either side of Railway track

(Xk) Ancient Structure on the side of Railway track

(Xk) Ancient Structure on the side of Railway track (behind Janmabhumi)

(XI) A Gate into the Janmabhumi
(XIa) Entrance to the Janmabhumi

(XIb) Closer view of the Entrance Gate of Janmabhumi

(XIc) Another gate into the Janmabhumi

(XII) Temple of Shri Keshav Dev ji

(XIIa) Entrance to Temple of Shri Keshav Dev ji

(XIIb) Another entrance toTemple of Shri Keshav Dev ji
(XIII) Information Board of Potra Kund (a terraced tank)

(XIIIa) Information block of Potra Kund (a terraced tank)

(XIIIb) Potra Kund was built by Madhav ji Sindhia in 1839

(XIIIc) Another view of Potra Kund