Ancient civilisation unearthed in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: In a significant discovery, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found evidences of existence of a human civilisation near Prachi river bank in Odisha’s Cuttack district 4000 years ago.

The remains of the civilisation were unearthed during an excavation at Bharatihuda near Jallarpur village located on the Prachi river bank.

Reports said a team of ASI comprising 10 officials along with 70 locals discovered a barcha (spear) and an arrow 10 days after the excavation from the area. This is the second time the ASI discovered such weapons in Odisha.

According to the ASI, agriculture was the chief occupation of the inhabitants in the civilisation. They were using weapons made of animal bones for hunting the fish and birds.

Apart from bone weapons, mat-impressed ware, black and red earthen pots, stone axe and products like fish bone, bird bone and turtle bone were discovered from the site.

There was a rural culture in the human civilisation. Agriculture and hunting were chief occupations of people. The items of copper stone age discovered from the site are expected to unfold a new angle of the civilisation built up near Prachi river bank, said archeologist of ASI and excavation wing’s chief DB Gadanayak.

“We have dug up to one metre deep. Many more items belonging to the ancient civilisation are likely to be discovered afterwards. The excavation will continue till April,” he added. Earlier, the ASI had unearthed spear and arrow made of animal bones during the excavation project at Golabai Sasan in the 90s. However, nothing was clear about the discovery.

With the bone weapons discovered during the excavation project at Bharatihuda, the fact came to fore that there was a copper-stone age civilisation near Prachi river bank when people used the weapons made of bones instead of stone.

The researchers described the discovery as ‘rare’ in the eastern India. Earlier, a few bone weapons were unearthed at Burzahom in Jammu and Kashmir.