Excavations at Rakhigarhi, 1997-2000 ASI Report by Dr. Amarendra Nath (Full text, 396 pages). Lead ingot inscription: metalwork Meluhha hieroglyphs.
It gives me great pleasure to make available the full text of Rakhigarhi excavation report. This is timely to debunk the fraudulent search for Sarasvati by an ostrich and TheHindu recently reported and widely commented. It is timely because it is an object lesson to 'eminent' historians to rely on facts (instead of burying head in sand like an ostrich of the cartoon) instead of parroting marxist ideologies through tabloids.S. Kalyanaraman
Sarasvati Research Center
April 19, 2015
http://asi.nic.in/pdf_data/rakhigarhi_excavation_report_new.pdf (396 pages)
"The present report unfolds discovery of the earliest civilization of South Asia that flourished at Rakhigarhi, Haryana India during the fourth-third millennium BCE."(p.4)
"That region, made by the gods, which is between the Sarasvati and Drishadvati river is called Brahmavarta. These rivers also find reference in Mahabharata in the context of Kurukshetra: Dakshinena Sarasvatyah drishadvatyuttarena-cha ye vasanti kurukshetra vasanti trivishtape. South from Sarasvati and north from Drishadvati, they who dwell in Kurukshetra live in paradise. The river Sarasvati finds reference in Rigveda (RV 3.24.4) along with its tributaries: Drishadvati and Apaya...It is stated to have originated in the mountains and discharged in the sea...The Rig Veda further refers to King Chitra who lived on the bank of the Sarasvati (RV 8.21.18). In another reference it refers that the river was associated with King Nahusha (RV 7.92.2). Besides there is an inference (RV 6.61) that she gave Divodasa, the famous Vedic king, to Vadhrayasva. Similarly there is reference that 'five specific peoples' lived in the Sarasvati valley, of whom one has been clearly stated to have been the Purus (RV 7.96.2). The river Sarasvati has been further addressed as (RV .2.41.16) ambitame (the best of mothers), devitame (the best of godesses) and nadita (the best of rivers). She was capable of devastating the high ridges of the mountains on its banks through the force of its fast moving and powerful currents (iyam susmebhir bisakha ivarujat sanu girinam tavisebhirurmibhih). It also refers (RV 10.75.) that she was flowing between the Yamuna and Sutluj (imam me Gange Yamune Sarasvati Sutudri). Presently the river Sarasvati originates in the Siwaliks and passes through Khairi, Pipli, Kurukshetra and Pehowa. Thereafter joins the Ghaggar flows further down but dried up near Sirsa. Their palaeo-channels have been identified beyond Sirsa, in upper Rajasthan this channel is known as Ghaggar and further down in the Cholistan desert of Pakistan it is called Hakra. Its southward flowing streams in Sindh are known as Raini and Wahind. Its continuation is marked by Nara through which it flowed into Rann of Kachchh (Kutch). An intensive survey carried out in the Saraswati basin within Haryana has brought to light important Harappan sites at Banawali, Kuna, etc. However the excavations at Bahgwanpura and Kashithal in Kurukshetra district have thrown an important light on the stratigraphic relationship between the late Harappan and Painted Grey Ware cultures by yielding evidence of a partial overlap between the two. The number of Harappan sites reported from this basin is less than its tributary Drishadvati. The Drishadvati, one of the tributaries of Sarasvati (RV 3.23.4), has been identified with the modern Chitang or Chutang. It originates in the hilly regions of Ambala and traditionally its upper course was known as Patharalanadi. The Drishadvati ('rocky' and 'stony') run to south-east of the Sarasvati and passes through Kapal Mochan, Balchapper and Mustafabad. Its channel can be further traced westwards along Ladwa, south of Kurukshetra, Punjam, Nisang Asandh, Jind, Rakhigarhi, Hansi, Hissar, Siswal and Mitathal in Haryana. In Rajasthan it can be traced along Bhadra, Sothi, Nahar, Rawatsar etc. till it joins the Ghaggar (Sarasvati) about 5 north of Suratgarh. Apart from Rakhigarhi, sites located in the plains of Drishadvati are Sothi, Siswal, Mitathal, Balu, Daulatpur etc. It may be stated that in the upper reaches of this river there is a concentration of late Harappan and Painted Grey Ware sites often suggesting eastward (movement) in the Ganga-Yamuna valley...Between the Sarasvati and Drishadvati flowing past Kurukshetra in the Apaya (RV 3.23.4), a small tributary of Sarasvati...The Vamanpurana (ch. 36) records it Apaga. The Apaga or Aughvati is a branch of the Chitang which separates from the main stream a few kilometers to the west of Ladwa, and flows past Pulwal to Pabnawa, where it is lost in the sands. Its whole length is 37 km. The river flows below Kaithal, where it has been traced along Guhana, Ujhana, Dhantam, Prithala, Lahariyan, Sotar Palsar, Fatehabad, Jodkhan, Shahapur Begu, Chuburja, Modia and beyond it formed into a water body called the Trinabindu lake. The spill over of the lake water flowed further part of Mellehka, Kothi etc. and joined the Ghaggar-Sarasvati at Maujakheda. It is believed, the river got branched-off at Karnauli, 8 km west of Fatehabad, a well known Harappan site. Another river running parallel to the Sarasvati was Sarayu. ITs palaeo-channels in Hissar district pass through Jakhal, Ratia, Kalotha, Huinga, Shardulgarh, Panihari and Khajreka. It joined the Sarasvati little above towards Ottu...Visibly, the above description from the ancient Indian scriptures signifies the holy character of the Sarasvati and its tributaries which served as indicator in shaping contemporary mind set of the Rigvedic Aryans...The environment generates and illuminates all intelligence: vajebhirvajineevati (RV 1.3.10). The Sarasvati without any mention of river aspect is invoked as Apri along with other deities, to be present in sacrifices (yajnas)...May the three goddesses, the Ila, Sarasvati and Mahi who bring delight and never fail, be seated on sacrificial grass...Pure and revered amidst the gods and he Maruts, may Bharati, Ila, Sarasvati and Mahi be seated on the sacrificial gras. In another attribution, Sarasvati has been associated with dhi (intellect) while playing the role of an Apri goddess (RV 2.3.8). Elsewhere she is said to 'regain over thoughts'...(RV 1.3.12): Sarsvati illuminates all intellects...O Agni I have established you at the best place on the earth, in the dwelling of Ila, this most auspicious of the days; may you shine brilliantly amongst the descendants of Manu on the banks of the Drishadvati, Apaya and Sarasvati. Performance of the great sacrifice of Satranta on the banks of Drishadvati finds reference in Vayupurana. Mahabharata infers disappearance of Sarasvati in the sandy desert. Along the dry courses of mighty river Sarasvati and its tributaries a number of archaeological sites have been reported showing data on performance of sacrifices, where hopefully these rhymes were chanted. The ancient sites dotted in the flood plains range from early Harappan, Harappan, late Harappan, Painted Grey Ware to Rangmahal times. Other than Rakhigarhi important sites located in the Sarasvati-Drishadvati divide are Kalibangan, Banawali, Kunal, Bhirrana, Mitathal, Siswal, Balu, Bhagvanpura, Raja Karan-ka-kila and Rangmahal." (pp.10-14)
"There are traditional connotations in the Rigveda inferring the Indus (RV X.75.8) as hiranyani and hiranyavartani, i.e., containing gold. Likewise in another hymn (RV VI.61.7) an identical adjective of hiranyavartani has been used for the Sarasvati river (Dubey 2007). Both these inferences extrapolate geologic data obtained from the upper reaches of contiguous rivers noted above. In all probability the Harappans at Rakhigarhi exploited both these sources for the yellow metal." (p.77)
"The settlement lies on the flood plain of Saraswati-Drishadvati basin...In the past, the Drishadvati (or Chautang) River flowed through the modern districts of Karnal, Jind and Hissar before meeting the Sarasvati near Suratgarh in Rajasthan. Topographically, this area is a, monotonous upland terrain that is part of the alluvial of Satluj-Yamuna plain; the western portion of which gradually transitions into the Thar Desert." (p. 366)
These quotes are for 'eminent historian' Irfan Habib and TheHindu to note who seem to be in search of Sarasvati (spelt with a v). See the ghotala, attempting to hide a pumpkin in a handful of cooked rice:
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/04/trying-to-hide-pumpkin-in-handful-of.html
See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/04/painting-in-steel-authority-of-india.html Three mineral ores: pola (magnetite), gota (laterite), bichi (hematite) -- all three Meluhha glosses -- are three varieties of minerals with sources for alloying metals. The importance of bichi (hematite) as a hieroglyph has been detailed.
See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/02/metallurgists-of-mewad-meluhha.html
pola (magnetite), gota (laterite), bichi (hematite). kuṇṭha munda (loha) a type of hard native metal, ferrous oxide.
See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/06/asur-metallurgists.html
See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/09/catalogs-of-pola-kuntha-gota-bichi.html#! Hieroglyph: pōḷī, ‘dewlap' पोळ [ pōḷa ] m A bull dedicated to the gods, marked with a trident and discus, and set at large (Marathi) Rebus: pola (magnetite)
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Hieroglyphs (from l.): body, linear stroke, notch, corner, U plus notch, rim of jar
खांडा [ khāṇḍā ] m A jag, notch, or indentation (as upon the edge of a tool or weapon). (Marathi) Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘tools, pots and pans, metal-ware’.
kanac 'corner' Rebus: kancu 'bronze'
baTa 'rimless pot' Rebus: baTa 'furance'
kanka, karNika 'rim of jar' Rebus: karNi 'supercargo'; karNika 'account'.
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Hieroglyphs: rhombus (as circumgraph) + spoked wheel PLUS a pair of 'bodies' (twins)
dula 'pair' Rebus: dul 'cast metal'; meD 'body' kATi 'body stature' Rebus: meD 'iron' kATi 'fireplace trench'. Thus, iron smelter.
A spoked wheel is ligatured within a rhombus: kanac 'corner' Rebus: kancu 'bronze'; eraka 'nave of wheel' Rebus: eraka 'copper, moltencast'
See many variants of 'body' hieroglyph and ligatures at
https://www.academia.edu/8408578/Stature_of_body_Meluhha_hieroglyphs_48_in_Indus_writing_catalogs_of_metalwork_processes![]()
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Figure 29: Saddle quern (left) and fragment (right) composed of a deep red sandstone of unknown origin.
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Figure 30: Hematite cobbles/nodules of unknown origin. Geologic provenience studies of Rakhigarh's stone and metal artifact assemblage are ongoing or in the planning stages.
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Figure 31: Rakhigarhi grindingstone acquisition networks
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Figure 32: Rakhigarhi stone and metal sources and acquisition networks identified in this study. Potential, but as of yet unconfirmed, copper, gold and chert source areas are also indicated.
Meluhha hieroglyphs on Nag-Nagini statue found near Ayad (Ahed) river and Samarra bowls. A tribute to Asur and metallurgists of Mewad.
This monograph presents an ancient Meluhha gloss, bichi (hematite). This is a gloss that survives among the Asur. bica, hematite nodule found in Rakhigarhi. Hieroglyph: scorpion.
It is posited that this gloss, together with other metallurgical glosses, could be rendered rebus denoted by Meluhha hieroglyphs and so used from the days of Meluhha writing evidenced by bronze age epigraphic corpora and objects in the round in ancient India, ancient Near East and the Levant (across the Fertile Crescent) -- along the Tin Road from Meluhha.
The metallurgical tradition which started in Sarasvati Civilization traversing the Tin Road, continues into the present-day India with memories captured and preserved in the vernaculars of Indian sprachbund. Some glosses are deśī and some are Prākṛt of Proto-Indian.
Possible hieroglyphs to denote Meluhha glosses: pola (Magnetite),and gota (Laterite) will be presented in another monograph.
Meluhha rebus representations are: bica ‘scorpion’ bica ‘stone ore’ (hematite).
It is posited that this gloss, together with other metallurgical glosses, could be rendered rebus denoted by Meluhha hieroglyphs and so used from the days of Meluhha writing evidenced by bronze age epigraphic corpora and objects in the round in ancient India, ancient Near East and the Levant (across the Fertile Crescent) -- along the Tin Road from Meluhha.
The metallurgical tradition which started in Sarasvati Civilization traversing the Tin Road, continues into the present-day India with memories captured and preserved in the vernaculars of Indian sprachbund. Some glosses are deśī and some are Prākṛt of Proto-Indian.
Possible hieroglyphs to denote Meluhha glosses: pola (Magnetite),and gota (Laterite) will be presented in another monograph.
Samarra: first smelting of iron ore, 5000 BCE validated by Meluhha writing
[quote] "The first smelting of iron [ore] may have taken place as early as 5000 BCE" at Samarra, Mesopotamia, but more commonly early iron was recovered from fallen meteors (yielding iron with a characteristic 4+% nickel content). By the middle of the fourth millennium BC, "both texts and objects reveal the presence of iron" in Mesopotamia, from where the Jaredites departed. Just possibly they brought with them to the New World technical knowledge of that metallurgy. Sporadically throughout the Bronze Age (about 3500 BCE–1000 BCE) in the Near East, wrought (nonmeteoric) iron objects were being produced, along with continued use of the meteoric type. Yet details of the history at that time are poorly known. The find of an iron artifact from Slovakia dated to the 17th century BCE leads one researcher to lament "how little we actually know about the use of iron during the second millennium BCE." Steel is "iron that has been combined with carbon atoms through a controlled treatment of heating and cooling." Yet "the ancients possessed in the natural (meteoric) nickel-iron alloy a type of steel that was not manufactured by mankind before 1890." (It has been estimated that 50,000 tons of meteoritic material falls on the earth each day, although only a fraction of that is recoverable.) By 1400 BCE, smiths in Armenia had discovered how to carburize iron by prolonged heating in contact with carbon (derived from the charcoal in their forges). This produced martensite, which forms a thin layer of steel on the exterior of the object (commonly a sword) being manufactured. Iron/steel jewelry, weapons, and tools (including tempered steel) were definitely made as early as 1300 BC (and perhaps earlier), as attested by excavations in present-day Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and Jordan. "Smiths were carburizing [i.e., making steel] intentionally on a fairly large scale by at least 1000 BC in the Eastern Mediterranean area." [unquote] ( Sorenson, John L., 2006, Out of the dust: steel in early metallurgy, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Volume 15, Issue 2, pp. 108-9, 127, Provo, Utah, Maxwell Institute. http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=15&num=2&id=423&print)
kuṭire bica duljad.ko talkena, they were feeding the furnace with ore. In this Santali sentence bica denotes the hematite ore. For example, samṛobica, 'stones containing gold' (Mundari) meṛed-bica 'iron stone-ore' ; bali-bica, iron sand ore (Munda). mẽṛhẽt, meḍ ‘iron’(Munda. Ho.)
Meluhha rebus representations are: bica ‘scorpion’ bica ‘stone ore’ (hematite).
pola (magnetite), gota (laterite), bichi (hematite). kuṇṭha munda (loha) a type of hard native metal, ferrous oxide.
See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/06/asur-metallurgists.html
See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/09/catalogs-of-pola-kuntha-gota-bichi.html#! Hieroglyph: pōḷī, ‘dewlap' पोळ [ pōḷa ] m A bull dedicated to the gods, marked with a trident and discus, and set at large (Marathi) Rebus: pola (magnetite)
ḍaṅgra 'bull' Rebus: ḍāṅgar, ḍhaṅgar ‘blacksmith’ (Hindi).
. See:http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2013/06/asur-metallurgists.html Magnetite a type of iron ore is called POLA by the Asur (Meluhha).
Reading the Indus writing inscriptions on both sides of bun-shaped lead ingots of Rakhigarhi
The Indus writing inscriptions relate to cataloging of metalwork as elaborated by the following rebus-metonymy cipher and readings in Meluhha (Indian sprachbund):
Hieroglyphs (from l.): body, linear stroke, notch, corner, U plus notch, rim of jarmeD 'body' kATi 'body stature' Rebus: meD 'iron' kATi 'fireplace trench'. Thus, iron smelter.
koDa 'one' Rebus: koD 'workshop'
kanac 'corner' Rebus: kancu 'bronze'
baTa 'rimless pot' Rebus: baTa 'furance'
kanka, karNika 'rim of jar' Rebus: karNi 'supercargo'; karNika 'account'.
Hieroglyphs: rhombus (as circumgraph) + spoked wheel PLUS a pair of 'bodies' (twins)A spoked wheel is ligatured within a rhombus: kanac 'corner' Rebus: kancu 'bronze'; eraka 'nave of wheel' Rebus: eraka 'copper, moltencast'
See many variants of 'body' hieroglyph and ligatures at
https://www.academia.edu/8408578/Stature_of_body_Meluhha_hieroglyphs_48_in_Indus_writing_catalogs_of_metalwork_processes
Figure 14: Side (A) and top (B) views of a lead ingot inscribed with Harappan characters. Detailed images of the top (C) and bottom (D) inscriptions.
Figure 1: Steatite sources of the Greater Indus region and Harappan steatite trade networks.
Figure 4: (A) Seal RGR 7230 from Rakhigarhi. (B) The side of the seal where surface has partially worn away revealing the black steatite beneath. (C) A swan black steatite debris fragment from Harappa.
Figure 6: (A) Unicorn seal fragment #6304. (B) Detail of the grayish-green steatite of the seal's interior.
Figure 9: Agate-carnelian nodule fragments and flakes from Rakhigarhi
Figure 18: Lead and silver artifacts from Rakhigarhi compared to South Asian lead and lead-silver sources.
Haryana's Harappa saluted women 5,000 years ago
The ASI report based on excavations between 1997 and 2003 has pointed out that "female deceased were offered more than double number of earthen wares as compared to opposite sex at the burials found at the Rakhigarhi site".
CHANDIGARH: Given its skewed sex ratio and long list of repressive khap diktats, it is difficult to imagine Haryana as a place which put women on a higher pedestal than men. But when the Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) dug up the Harappan Rakhigarhi site in Hisar, they found in the 5,500-year-old ruins a lifestyle that today's women activists would have been proud of.
The ASI report based on excavations between 1997 and 2003 has pointed out that "female deceased were offered more than double number of earthen wares as compared to opposite sex at the burials found at the Rakhigarhi site".
"Apart from this, to show reverence, the female deceased were invariably offered wares like dish-on-stand, bowl-onstand, beaker and medium sized vases, denoting their status over and above male counterpart" the 396-page report says. The report was submitted by retired DG (archaeology) Dr Amarendra Nath in December last year after 12 years of extensive research. At least 12 skeletons were found during that period and five more have been found last week during an ongoing separate research by Deccan College, Pune.
The report also cites size of bangles, found inside burials, to support the fact that women faced no discrimination at that time while doing heavy work at home or outside. "Also, some wide heavy bangles found at different sites show battering marks on them. That means that heavy manual work was also part of the work of these particular women," the report added.
It said that these type of wide shell bangles were never found in any other burials at any Harappan site so far in Asia. A part of the report also dwells upon the "robust build of a female". It, however, found that widows were denied these burial rites.
The report has also mentioned that the people of this civilization strictly followed the Vedic tenets to cremate the dead. A majority of cemetery sites have been found located adjacent to watercourse or river front according to Vedas, it said.
"Satapatha Brahmana prescribes that the cemetery be located out of sight of the village and burial be made on salt-free soil, over a level ground, closed to woods where the waters flowing from a southerly direction come to the AR east and stand still without dashing forward. This literary account was compatible geo morphological residuce particularly around mounds of area marked as RGR 7 at the site," the report said.
The report said that process of excavations further spotted sporadic remains of bones of cattle and sheep next to de ceased in consonance with animal offering references in Rigveda and Atharvaveda.
The ASI report on Rakhigarhi has also declared it as the biggest Harappan site so far with 350 hectares, leaving behind Pakistan's Mohenjo-Daro.
The ASI report based on excavations between 1997 and 2003 has pointed out that "female deceased were offered more than double number of earthen wares as compared to opposite sex at the burials found at the Rakhigarhi site".
"Apart from this, to show reverence, the female deceased were invariably offered wares like dish-on-stand, bowl-onstand, beaker and medium sized vases, denoting their status over and above male counterpart" the 396-page report says. The report was submitted by retired DG (archaeology) Dr Amarendra Nath in December last year after 12 years of extensive research. At least 12 skeletons were found during that period and five more have been found last week during an ongoing separate research by Deccan College, Pune.
The report also cites size of bangles, found inside burials, to support the fact that women faced no discrimination at that time while doing heavy work at home or outside. "Also, some wide heavy bangles found at different sites show battering marks on them. That means that heavy manual work was also part of the work of these particular women," the report added.
It said that these type of wide shell bangles were never found in any other burials at any Harappan site so far in Asia. A part of the report also dwells upon the "robust build of a female". It, however, found that widows were denied these burial rites.
The report has also mentioned that the people of this civilization strictly followed the Vedic tenets to cremate the dead. A majority of cemetery sites have been found located adjacent to watercourse or river front according to Vedas, it said.
"Satapatha Brahmana prescribes that the cemetery be located out of sight of the village and burial be made on salt-free soil, over a level ground, closed to woods where the waters flowing from a southerly direction come to the AR east and stand still without dashing forward. This literary account was compatible geo morphological residuce particularly around mounds of area marked as RGR 7 at the site," the report said.
The report said that process of excavations further spotted sporadic remains of bones of cattle and sheep next to de ceased in consonance with animal offering references in Rigveda and Atharvaveda.
The ASI report on Rakhigarhi has also declared it as the biggest Harappan site so far with 350 hectares, leaving behind Pakistan's Mohenjo-Daro.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Haryanas-Harappa-saluted-women-5000-years-ago/articleshow/46974440.cms?prtpage=1