CHAPTER II
ARCHAEOLOGY

The Archaeological Survey of India continued its activities in the various fields like Excavations, Explorations, Preservation of Monuments, Horticultural Operations, Chemical preservation, maintenance of Site-Museums, preservation of Antiquities and Art Treasures and running of a School of Archaeology.

1. EXPLORATION AND EXCAVATIONS

A. Explorations

A large number of sites were explored and discovered in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh which cover various periods extending from the Lower Palaeolithic Age to the medieval period.

A Lower Palaeolithic site has yielded fine specimen of Acheulean hand-axes, ovates, flakes and cores of quarzite at Kalamalla village, District in Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh.

Lower Palaeolithic tools and microlith were collected from Agaria, Blarkho, Chopra, Gopisar, Hirankheda, Kharwal, Nimkheda, Peeplekeda, Ratanpur, Satkunda and Sayatganj in District Raisen, M.P.

During the course of explorations in Surguja District, Madhya Pradesh, Cores and flakes of the Upper Palaeolithic Age were collected from Jajgaon and the area surrounding the Ramgarh hill.

A number of painted rock-shelters were noticed in villages Hirankheda, Kharwal, Ratanpur and Satkunda in District Raisen, Madhya Pradesh.

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A late Harappan site has been located at Fatyabad, Srirampur Taluk, District Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The surface collection includes good quantity of red ware, painted with designs akin to Rangpur II C pottery.

Hundreds of Megalithic circles were noticed at Makalabalapalle in District Cuddapah on the slopes of Yerrakandalu hill. Some of the disturbed ones revealed cists made of thick Cuddapah slabs which are locally available.

An extensive Buddhist site has been discovered at Lajgakanuma- gutta, Nandallur Taluk, District Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh. It contains profuse vestiges of Buddhistic establishment

A Buddhist site containing the vestiges of stupas and other monastic establishments has been discovered on a hill top (Vijaya- kiladri) at Sitanagaram near Vijayawada, District Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

A four-lined Sanskrit inscription belonging to circa eighth ninth century A.D. has been noticed on the pedestal of a miniature votive stupa recently discovered at Raisen Fort in Madhya Pradesh.

Two groups of medieval temples dedicated to Siva and Vishnu were noticed at Chidipiralla village in Kamalapuram Taluk, District Cuddapah. Both are having certain similarities in their plan and elevation. Their plan consists of square garbhagriha, ardhamadapa followed by a closed pillared mandapa and an open mahamandapa with a provision of kakshasrna at the sides. There are some subsidiary shrines dedicated to various Partivara-devatas of respective sects. A Siva linga on a Yoni similar to one at Gudimallam is an interesting feature of a Siva temple here.

An inscription engraved on a rock about 2 kms. from Arthuna, Rajasthan, was discovered. The epigraph in eight lines in Sanskrit (Nagari characters) is dated to V.S. 1181 (1124 A.D.).

Traces of the mural paintings discovered below the limeplaster in some of the halls in the Mattancherry palace, Cochin, have come out in the course of the chemical treatment.

B. Excavation

During the year under review, six problem-oriented excavations were conducted in different regions of India. These cover

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various periods of history extending from proto-historical age to medieval periods.

(i) Antichak :

Excavations were undertaken at Antichak, District Bhagalpur, Bihar, to expose the remaining structures of Mahavihar. The work was completed. Portions of a boundry wall of the monastery complex have also been exposed.

(ii) Chechar

: Excavations at Chechar, District Vaishali, Bihar, have yielded evidence of Neolithic of occupation in the earliest period of occupation.

(iii) Daimabad

: Excavations at Daimabad, District Ahmed- nagar, Maharashtra, have given a sequence of five cultural phases. More evidence of late Harappan culture has been brought to light. A seal with typical Harappan pictographic script is an important find of the year.

(iv) Fatehpur Sikri

: As a result of excavations conducted at Fatehpur Sikri, District Agra, Uttar Pradesh, a hammam complex and some other buildings have been completely exposed.

(v) Satanikota

: With a view to scientifically assessing potentialities of the site and salvage antiquarian remains before the area is submerged in Srisailam Project, excavations were carried out at Satanikota. The excavations revealed only one period of occupation and most important amongst the remains was a fortification wall and a moat having a draw-bridge.

(vi) Sringaverapur

: The ancient mound at Sringaverapur, 35 kilometers of upstream of Allahabad was jointly excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India and the Institute of Advance Study at Simla. The site had yielded a four-fold sequence from the early century of 1st millennium B.C. to 1300 A.D.

C. Village-to-village survey of antiquarian remains

The village to village survey of antiquarian remains has been organised and the Archaeological Survey of India and 13 Universities and one Research Institute are at present engaged in village to- village survey of antiquarian remains in the country.

II. CONSERVATION

The Archaeological Survey of India continued to maintain, preserve and carry out major structural repairs to centrally

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protected monuments during the year 1978-79. The Survey has faced the challenge successfully in taking up works at high altitude for structural repairs to monuments at Ladakh. Important monuments undergoing major structural repairs are Buddhist monuments at Lahul- Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh; Parimahal and Buddhist site at Harwan in Jammu and Kashmir State ; group of temples at Bhubaneswar, Jagannatha temple complex at Puri and Sun temple at Konarak in Orissa State; astronomical observatories known as Jantar Mantar, the Qutab Minar, Raushanara Baradari, the Red Fort, Purana Qila and tombs of Bhure Khan and Chote Khan in Delhi; group of temples at Arthuna, monuments in Chitorgarh Fort, monuments at Deeg and Bharatpur in Rajasthan ; Sarangpur Gate and monuments at Champaner, Dwarakadhish group of temples at Dwaraka in Gujarat State; Buddhist monument at Antichak in Bihar State; Varaha sculpture at Karanpur, monuments at Mandu in Madhya Pradesh; monuments at Lucknow, the Taj Mahal, Red Fort at Agra, Akbar's Tomb at Sikandara, Nirvana stupa at Deoria in Uttar Pradesh; Venkataramana temple at Gingee in Tamil Nadu; ruins at Khas- pur, Bishnudol at Sibsagar in Assam State; Gumti Gateway at Gaur and Dargah of Zafar Khan Ghazi at Tribeni in West Bengal ; Bibi-ka-Maqbara at Aurangabad, Raygad Fort at Raygad, Panhala Kazi Caves, Beasein Fort in Maharashtra State; Bom Jesus and St. Francis Churches at Goa; and Tippu Sultan's Palace at Bangalore, Cages and temples at Badami and Aihole in Karnataka State.

For the preservation of the Shore temple at Mahabalipuram, a groyne wall is being constructed in the sea where on reclamation of land, plantation of trees will be done to act as a shield against blowing of the sea-salt. The salvation work of temples in the areas near Alampur, which are to be submerged under the Srisalam Project in Andhra Pradesh, has also been taken up.

The Survey has taken up large-scale Horticultural operation at Hampi and Chitorgarh Fort in addition to the maintenance and enlarging of gardens at various monuments.

Chemical preservation of murals at Ajanta, Goa, Bundi palace, Brihadisvara temple at Tanjavur, monsteries at Tabo-in Lahul-Spiti valley and chemical treatment of stones of temples at Khajuraho and Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath are being carried out. The Survey has set up a laboratory in Agra to conduct tests as also to study the air- pollution problems in and around the monuments in Agra.

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III. PRESERVATION OF ANTIQUITIES AND ART TREASURES

All round progress was maintained during 1978 in the imple- mentation of the various provisions of the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, especially in the matter of registration of antiquities and issue of licences for dealing in antiquities. Through efforts made to impress upon the people the necessity of getting their antiquities registered, the initial apathy towards registration was overcome to a very great extent and about twenty thousand objects were registered and certificates in respect thereof issued during the period under review. Due to paucity of funds, Registering Officers have been appointed only at important places of India, but keeping in view the extreme remoteness of Mizoram and the resulting inconvenience faced by the people there in getting their antiquities, a Registering Officer has been appointed at Aizal also. Various dealers in art objects were persuaded to take out licences for dealing in such objects, and their response has been quite satisfactory.

With a view to ensuring that people desiring to export objects of art which are not antiquities are not inconvenienced, Expert Advisory Committees have been functioning at various important places in India. During the period under review such a committee has been set up at Nagapattinam port also, thereby ensuring that the trade of export of non-antiquities from that part does not suffer.

It had been found that the museums in India through purchase of objects of art and antiquities had provided an incentive to the theft of antiquities. To countermand it, the various museums have been asked not to purchase unregistered antiquities.

The work of inspection of various institutions and museums. entitled in terms of the Act to exemption from registration of their antiquities, was continued. Guidance was issued to such bodies for complying with the necessary conditions and it is expected that very soon they would come up to the standard demanded. At the same time efforts continued for persuading such institutions as are not entitled to exemption to get their antiquities registered. Despite the delicacy of the situation caused by religious and emotional factors, some headway has been made.

The working of the Act and the Rules made thereunder remained under close watch and Antiquities and Art Treasures (Amendment) Rules, 1978 were promulgated to provide for tighter control over dealings in, and movements of antiquities.

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The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, has now been extended to Sikkim State also. Steps have been taken to set up the machinery necessary for the enforcement of the Act in that State.

For the effective implementation of the Act, a course-the 3rd Orientation Course, was organised for the benefit of all the agencies involved viz. Police, Registering Officers, Customs etc. Lectures by experts were delivered on all aspects of the matter, from the legal to the technical ones. Various suggestions made at the course were taken notice of and follow up action was taken.

To create consciousness of our cultural heritage amongst the people, an exhibition of the antiquities confiscated by the customs was organized at Bombay. Judging by the huge gathering at it, the exhibition was quite a success in arousing public interest in our antiquarian wealth.

Sculptures lying loose in out-of-the way places have posed problems of protection and preservation. As a first step, measures have been initiated for their documentation and for shifting them to safe places wherever possible.

In terms of the Act, only the Director-General at present can give final verdict as to whether an object is an antiquity or not. Pursuant to this position many cases were decided by the Director- General at Headquarters office and at various other places.

Most of the antiquities stolen from our monuments are destined for the United States. As the United States has not so far ratified the Unesco Convention for the restitution of stolen cultural property, steps have been initiated for entering into a bilateral treaty for the return of stolen cultural property with that country.

IV. MUSEUMS

The Museums Branch of the Survey looks after 20 site museums spread over different parts of the country. Recently it has taken over the charge of the War Memorial Museum at Red Fort which is proposed to be reorganised as a period museum of arms.

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The setting up of the museums at Taj at Agra, and Lothal, a Harappan site in Gujarat, has made considerable progress. The galleries in ground floor of the, Taj Museum, highlighting the history of the construction of Taj and the period of Shahjahan, have been organised. At Lothal, the electric and water connections have been provided.

The work of electrification at Bijapur and Halebid, both in Karnataka, has been completed. Two galleries at the Archaeological Museum, Vaisali, have been set up and thrown open to the public, while the beginning of a site museum at Purana Qila has been made by displaying the representative excavated finds from the, site.

Under the reorganisation programme the main hall of the Archaeological Museum, Bodh-Gaya, has, been completely modernized, while the extension of Archaeological Museum, Halebid, by displaying more sculptures, and flooring of the Archaeological Museum, Bijapur, was also completed.

Of the temporary exhibitions organized, the one put up at Gingee, Tamil Nadu, during the Second Conservation Course is noteworthy. This year one of the Directors of Survey organized the Thirteenth All-India Museums Camp at Hyderabad, the proceedings of which have been brought out.

V. SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

The School of Archaeology (under the Archaeological Survey of India functioning under a Director) has, as one of its main functions, the offering of a professional, One Year Diploma Course in Archaeology--of which the current year will be 20th session, since the inception of the School in 1959. This has been attracting officially sponsored trainees as well as students from both within the country and from the friendly neighbouring countries either under Colombo Plan or other arrangements, for which a seat is provided, subject to demand, every year. The expert teaching and training in the field offered under the Diploma course has been not only appreciated by these countries but also has been of benefit to them, as such a course is officially offered only in India under Archaeological Survey of India in the whole of Asia.

In addition to this, special refresher as well as short term intensive courses in conservation of ancient monuments (Theory

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and Practical) has also been one of the periodical features of the Survey and in recent years, the organisation of these has devolved upon the School of Archaeology. Two, such special courses had been conducted, one in 1977 at Mandu (Madhya Pradesh) and another in 1978 at Gingee (Tamil Nadu). In the latter one of the official trainee invitees from Sikkim has also been trained.

Scholars coming to India on Cultural Exchange Programme for study of and visits to monuments have also been handled and their programme, usually, a month long, arranged by the School.

Pursuant to the statutory need under the recruitment rules for Gazetted (class I) Officers of the Archaeological Survey of India, a Departmental Training Course for Deputy Superintending Archaeologist and Superintending Archaeologist (Direct recruits) who are under probation, was also organised, after getting the necessary syllabus and mode of examination, as a sequel to the training course, approved by Government, This course is for four months (October-January) every year, subject to the availability of Probationary Officers selected in a given year. The first such course was gone through in 1977-78, and the trainees were also imparted field training in conservation and excavation, the latter where they had no approved experience in that field. Besides this, audio visual programmes during the theory lectures were also arranged. The syllabus was based on subjects of significance for both research and archaeological administration.

VI. PUBLICATIONS

The Survey has its own Publication Wing, which brings out, besides Archaeological and Epigraphical report of technical nature, various kinds of popular but erudite publications like guide-books on important sites and Archaeological museums, apart from folders and series of coloured and black-and-white picture postcards. The brief account of its publications during the period under review is given below :-

(A) Reports of technical nature

Of the two issues of Indian Archaeology-A Review, the one for 1972-73 has been published, while the next issue i.e. for 1973-74, is in the advanced stage of printing and is expected to be released for sale shortly ; further, the one for 1974-75 has also been made press- ready. In the Architectural Survey of Temples series was published the monograph entitled An Architectural

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Survey of Temples of Kerala. The next number on the Cave-Temples of the Deccan is in the press. The Indus Script which was published in 1978 as the Memoir of the Archaeological Survey of India no: 77 secured a trophy and a first prize in the Nineteenth All-India Master Printers Competition for excellence in printing. The next two numbers and the (78 and 79): the Report on Lothal Excavations (Part I) and Karandai Plates of Rajendra Chola I are in different stages of printing. Two volumes, one entitled Inscriptions of the Silahara and the other part II of the Inscriptions of the Paramaras Chandellos, Kachchapaghatas and two Minor Dynasties, were brought out, in the series of the volume VI and VII respectively of the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum.