Urbanisation of the Middle Ganga Plain- An Archaeological Perspective

In the present monograph an attempt has been made to understand the process of urbanization in the Middle Ganga plain during the third-first millennia BC. This research is based on the excavations of thirty-one sites conducted during the last two decades. Detailed reports of these excavations remain unpublished except for the preliminary information communicated by the respective excavators in various journals. Dr. Singh had the distinct advantage of participating in no less than fifteen excavations and has thus first-hand access to the unpublished data. This monograph thus forms a distinct contribution in understanding the Archaeology of the Middle Ganga plain.

Dr. Santosh Kumar Singh (b. 1969) is currently engaged in post-doctoral research at Banaras Hindu University. He received his early education in Ballia and obtained his Master degree from Poorvanchal University in 1992. He joined research in the Department of AIHC & Archaeology, Banaras Hindu University in 1993 and completed his Ph.D. in the area of Urbanization Archaeology in 1996. Further, he obtained two year P.G. Diploma in Archaeology from the same University in 1998. Dr. Singh is a recipient of several awards & fellowships including B.H.U. fellowship for his doctoral degree and ICHR Post-doctoral fellowship. Dr. Singh actively engaged in several fi eld researches including excavations at Waina, Ballia (1994), Imlidih Khurd, Gorakhpur (1995), Bhunadih, Ballia (1996), Khairadih, Ballia (1997), Chaukhandi, Varanasi (1998), Dholavira, Kutch, Gujrat (1999), Agiabir, Mirzapur (1999 to 2001), Anai, Varanasi (2005), Alamgirpur, Meerut (2008) and Bulandkhera, Gautam Buddha Nagar (2008). He was also associated with the explorations of Chandauli, Sonbhadra Sidhi and Western Uttar Pradesh from time to time. Dr. Singh has published widely in National and International journals of repute and attended a number of National & International Conferences & Seminars. Amongst his publications "Uttar Bharat Mein Nagaron Ka Vikas (600-1200 A.D.)" (2004), Excavations at Khairadih (1996 97) (2003) and more than two dozens research articles. Dr. Singh has made significant contributions in the archaeology of Middle Ganga plain with several citations in the academic spheres.

The second half of the twentieth century heralds the beginning of archaeological investigation on a regular basis with the excavations at Hastinapura, District Meerut exposing cultural sequence from about the first millennium B.C to the medieval period, thereby laying a datum line to plan further in northern India in general and Ganga valley in particular. This was followed by excavations at two other significant sites viz. Kausambi, District Allahabad and Rajghat, District Varanasi both of which in the central Ganga valley added rich cultural data, urban planning with architectural features that opened up the vista for continuous archaeological excavations and by the last decade of the century, a perception has emerged to understand and identify the archaeological facets from the Neolithic to the emergence of Iron. Excavations undertaken flanking the Vindhyan ranges exposed for the first time the Mesolithic settlement or habitation, Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures and their typical characteristics that gave a clear indication to continue the archaeological activities in the riverine margins and also in the interior. In the last decade, extensive regional explorations followed by planned excavations have yielded evidence of far-flung nature taking back the formation of the early settlements to about seventh-sixth millennium B.C in the central Ganga valley.

During the last three decades or so explorations followed by excavations carried out at various ancient settlements and sites of central Ganga valley have brought to light archaeological data revealing various stages of cultural and technological advancement attained by the people. Significant are the recent excavations which have exposed remains of early cultures dating to seventh-sixth millennium B.C. The evidence has brought to focus many aspects of formation and development of settlements, economy and cultural milieu-all of which require detailed Connected to it, is the problem of Urbanisation of the central Ganga valley requiring proper understanding of the archaeological data and assess them in proper contextual perspective.

This is the study of the present dissertation. It is the outcome of the Post-Doctoral research carried out in the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Banaras Hindu University during the years 1998-2001. This research was funded by the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi and I am beholden to them for their generous help.

The process of urbanisation in the Ganga plain has been a vexed question-both for the historian as well as the archaeologist. A detailed study of this topic has been done by R.S. Sharma in his two works Material Culture and Social Formation in Ancient India and Urban decay in India (C. 300-1000 A.D.) (Sharma, 1983 and 1987). Sharma has discussed the problem of formation of state and surplus production, while in his second book published in 1987 he has discussed the causes of rise and fall of Indian cities between 300 AD and 1000 AD. D.K. Chakrabarti (Chakrabarti, 1972) and Amalanand Ghosh (Ghosh, 1973) have studied this problem from the archaeological view point. A lively debate on this topic was started in the early seventies in which many historians and archaeologists like S.P. Gupta, M.C. Joshi, DK. Chakrabarti and others took part and offered their views (Puratativa No. 7, 1974).

Archaeological investigations carried out during the last three decades by the universities of Allahabad, Banaras Hindu University, the Archaeological Survey of India and the U.P. State Department of Archaeology has prompted us to reconsider this problem in the light of newly obtained evidence. In the early sixties when city-sites like Rajghat, Kausambi, Pataliputra and others were excavated, the culture sequence of middle Ganga plain did not seem to date prior to 1000 B.C. The discovery and excavation of Mesolithic sites in the Pratapgarh region to the north of Allhabad (Sarai Nahar Rai, Mahadaha and Damdama) amply demonstrated that the first colonisation of the Ganga plain goes back to as early as seventh millennium B.C. However, these sites have been interpreted as seasonal encampments of Mesolithic people who inhabited mainly the Vindhyan hills. A transition from Epipalaeolithic to Mesolithic and further to Neolithic-Chalcolithic stages has been identified by excavators at Chopani Mando, Koldihwa, Mahagara and Kunjhun.

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