Archaeology functions as a major tool in unravelling the secret of India’s glorious past. Archaeological excavations from time to time have laid bare the magnificent past of the sub-continent and brought it infront of the eyes of the world. An important archaeological discovery made in the second decade of the 21st century has not only attracted the attention of the country but the entire world.
The archaeological remains recovered from the excavation in 2018 from Sinauli village of Baghpat district, located on the banks of river Yamuna at a distance of about 70 km from the capital New Delhi, completely changed the perspective of Indian history. Although Sinauli was excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India in 2004-2005; but the archaeological remains recovered in the excavation conducted in 2018 under the leadership of Dr. Sanjay Kumar Manjul, Additional Director General, ASIchanged the passage of history writing in India.
This archaeological site has revealed the remains of 116 human burials dating back to 4000 years (this date is based on carbon dating). The archeological finds along with these human burial are unique in themselves. The most important archeological find from Sinauli is a horse-driven chariot made of wood and copper. This is the first instance where remains of a chariot have been found recovered during excavations in India.
It is worth mentioning here that chariots have a special reference in the ancient texts of India. A total of 3 chariots have been recovered during the excavation. These chariots have been made with very advanced technology and are a symbol of ancient Indian knowledge system. These chariots were buried along with human graves and these humans were in fact the owners of these chariots. Along with the chariots, we have also found copper swords from the graves of Sinauli which in the archaeological terminology are referred to as Copper Antenna swords.
From a burial ground in Sinauli, we have also discovered the remains of a bow made of wood. It is worth mentioning here that excavations have recovered skeletons of both men and women. Various types of antiquities have been found associated with these skeletons. From some burial grounds, we have also found shields which were used in war, and were made of wood and copper. Along with this, a helmet worn by warriors has also been unearthed for the first time from Sinauli. This too was buried with the dead body and is made of copper.
The antiquities found with the human skeletons undoubtedly provide irrefutable evidence that the former are the ancestors of the present-Indian population and constitute a warrior group. Not only this, the swords and other archaeological remains found along with the skeletons of women provide evidence that the social status of women in ancient India was equal to that of men. There are ample details available in ancient Hindu texts about women being warriors.
Chariot unearthed from Sinauli (Courtesy – Dr. S.K. Manjul)
The excavations of 2018 brought to light another specialty of the human burials found from Sinauli. The bodies were buried in wooden coffins. Although the wood used in the coffins got perished with time, but the ornamentation done on the wooden surface using copper and steatite provided a clue in unravelling that the bodies were kept in four-legged wooden coffins. On the upper surface of one of these coffins, nine anthropomorphic faces have been made using copper. These faces bear a crown with two horns and a peepal leaf on the top. This symbology probably had some religious connotation. The peepal leaf continues to hold a sacred space in Indian culture.
Apart from the copper tools, various other types of archaeological remains have also been found from the burials of Sinauli. Food items, beads, arrowheads made of bone etc. were also buried in earthen pots along with the dead. A sacred chamber made of burnt bricks has been excavated near the burial site of Sinauli. The roof of this chamber was probably built using perishable materials, for instance, wood. It seems that the dead bodies were brought to this chamber before burial and the last religious rites were performed here.
In the excavation done in 2005, no evidence of habitation site was found from Sinauli. In 2018, we have also found the remains of furnaces for firing pottery and smelting copper from Sinauli. In addition to this, a large number of burnt bricks have also been found from Sinauli which are 50 cm in length and 30 cm in width. These archaeological remains have made it distinct that the people buried in Sinauli used to live here permanently and these burials are not performed randomly.
The Saraswati – Indus Civilization has an important place in Indian history. The archaeological remains found from the excavation of Sinauli are completely different from those of the Saraswati Indus Civilization. In the past years, surveys conducted by archaeologists have revealed possibilities that 4000 years ago, a culture distinctive from the Saraswati Indus Civilization existed in the Ganga and Yamuna Doab.
This cultural period deserves more research in order to understand it better. Scientific research is ongoing on the archaeological remains found from Sinauli. According to the excavator, the DNA of the skeletons unearthed from Sinauli and the DNA of the 4500-year-old skeleton recovered from Rakhigarhi are the same. These new data on the archaeological remains and ancient DNA studies of Sinauli are unravelling new facets of proto-history and in the years to come, will challenge the established theories of Indian history.
(The Author is Assistant Professor, Department of History, Bhagat Singh College, Delhi University. Feedback: [email protected])
