North-East could be cradle of civilization
GUWAHATI: Archaeologists and historians have stumbled upon artefacts dating back to the Neolithic Age in Assam's Morigaon and Kamrup districts while investigating the Ahom era canon balls that were recently excavated from Kajolimukh.
Experts of the Strategic Research and Analysis Organisation (SRAO), a non-government historic research organisation, are investigating the remains in and around Kajolimukh and Mayong in Morigaon.
It was during the excavation work that they found rock engravings, potteries and other relics at Hatishila, about 10 km west of Kajolimukh. The archeaologists feel that the artefacts could belong to the pre-historic period, while some could even belong to the Neolithic Age.
"The findings point to the fact that Kajolimukh and Mayong could have been a cradle of human civilization," said Nilim Dutta of SRAO.
"Many pre-medieval rock images of Hindu deities and statuettes were found from both the banks of the Kalang River. There should be extensive archaeological exploration in the area," he said.
"Hundreds of such relics, representing our heritage, are found across paddy fields, marshes and water bodies in the area," he added.
Sources in the SRAO, which is conducting documentation and satellite mapping of the area, said the remains along the Kajolimukh-Mayong stretch encompass a huge of time span.
SRAO suggested that the sanctity of the historical sites through preservation of artefacts in situ should be ensured, taking the community into confidence and recognizing them as stake holders in the preservation initiative and setting up of museum and laboratory on the site.
The recent excavation of cannon balls at Kajolichowki, a military outpost at Kajolimukh, continues to throw new light on Assam's military history that goes far beyond the famous battle of Saraighat in 1671 between Ahoms and Mughals.
SRAO said Kajolichowki was not only a frontier post for the Ahoms that served as to keep a close watch on the movement of Jayantias, Dimarooahs, Garos and Khasis, it grew from intelligence gathering outpost to naval and military garrison of "formidable strength".
A SRAO team visited the site recently and collected 17 cannon balls for scientific examination. Preliminary examination of the cannon balls at the geology department of Gauhati University revealed 15 of them were made of natural rocks hewn into spherical shaped by skilled stonecutters using iron tools, while the remaining two were moulded from natural limonitic clay and hardened by burning them.
Source: Times of India
Experts of the Strategic Research and Analysis Organisation (SRAO), a non-government historic research organisation, are investigating the remains in and around Kajolimukh and Mayong in Morigaon.
It was during the excavation work that they found rock engravings, potteries and other relics at Hatishila, about 10 km west of Kajolimukh. The archeaologists feel that the artefacts could belong to the pre-historic period, while some could even belong to the Neolithic Age.
"The findings point to the fact that Kajolimukh and Mayong could have been a cradle of human civilization," said Nilim Dutta of SRAO.
"Many pre-medieval rock images of Hindu deities and statuettes were found from both the banks of the Kalang River. There should be extensive archaeological exploration in the area," he said.
"Hundreds of such relics, representing our heritage, are found across paddy fields, marshes and water bodies in the area," he added.
Sources in the SRAO, which is conducting documentation and satellite mapping of the area, said the remains along the Kajolimukh-Mayong stretch encompass a huge of time span.
SRAO suggested that the sanctity of the historical sites through preservation of artefacts in situ should be ensured, taking the community into confidence and recognizing them as stake holders in the preservation initiative and setting up of museum and laboratory on the site.
The recent excavation of cannon balls at Kajolichowki, a military outpost at Kajolimukh, continues to throw new light on Assam's military history that goes far beyond the famous battle of Saraighat in 1671 between Ahoms and Mughals.
SRAO said Kajolichowki was not only a frontier post for the Ahoms that served as to keep a close watch on the movement of Jayantias, Dimarooahs, Garos and Khasis, it grew from intelligence gathering outpost to naval and military garrison of "formidable strength".
A SRAO team visited the site recently and collected 17 cannon balls for scientific examination. Preliminary examination of the cannon balls at the geology department of Gauhati University revealed 15 of them were made of natural rocks hewn into spherical shaped by skilled stonecutters using iron tools, while the remaining two were moulded from natural limonitic clay and hardened by burning them.
Source: Times of India
Comments