ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ASURA SITES IN ODISHA

Bibhuti Bhusan Satapathy UGC Junior Research Fellow, P.G.Department of AIHC&A, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar Abstract This paper discusses about the significance of Asura sites in archaeological horizon of Odisha. An humble attempt has also been made to look at the phenomenon often described as Asura site or Asura culture in the chronological framework of archaeology in Western Odisha. It further discusses the major excavations carried out on selected Asura sites in recent years. It is hoped that this paper would generate many studies that expand the scope of this paper to incorporate more data and many more ideas for a further and better understanding of this topic. Introduction In Indian archaeology the term Asura sites is used to refer those sites, which boast of a diverse archaeological inventory like ancient burnt brick buildings, cinerary urns, silted up tanks, occasional discovery of skeletal remains, and sporadic occurrence of beads, burnt bricks, pottery and iron slag . These are attributed by the local Mundas to an ancient people called the Asuras1.The Munda tradition has characterised these remains as those of the Asuras for two reasons. First, according to the Munda tradition Singhbonga, the Munda ancestor, destroyed the Asuras who thus by conjecture antedated the Mundas. It is also interesting to note that in Ranchi district of Jharkhand (Chhotanagpur plateau), a small tribe called the Asuras are found in the Lohardaga, Ghagra, Chainpur and Mahuadanr areas and have been connected by Dalton with the Asuras of the Munda tradition. Today most of them are better known as the iron-smelting tribe of Asuras and the connection between them and the earlier Asuras of the Munda ttradition is not at all clear. Secondly, garhs or forts of the Asura kings, the Asura smelting areas or kuttis, brick fields or ita danrs, other relics such as the coarse pottery used in cinerary urn burials, are all very different from the Munda artifacts and, in fact, are far superior to them in quality. It is understandable that the simpler, materially primitive Mundas should attribute these remains to their supposed ancestors in the region.

The first major paper on the Asura finds was published in 1915 by Sarat Chandra Roy .A major portion of the paper was a description of some of the Asura sites that the author had visited and examined and the remains and the artifacts that he had discovered or secured from the villagers of Khunti in Singbhum district. About 20 villages in and around the vicinity of Khunti yielded remains of brick buildings, traces of iron-smelting, copper implements, pot sherds, stone temples and sculptures2. Roys conclusion were as follows: (1) Asura sites were almost invariably on elevated tracts of land conveniently situated on the banks of a water course and eminently suited for defence; (2) the principal features of Asura sites were foundations of brick buildings, large tanks, cinerary urns, copper ornaments and stone beads, copper celts and traces of iron-smelting; (3) the period covers a wide chronological horizon, that the artifacts suggested three cultural periods ( Stone Age, Copper Age and early Iron Age). The Concept of Asurgarh in Odisha The concept of Asurgarh is very ancient and prevalent in the history and culture of Odisha in general and Western Odisha (Bolangir, Kalahandi, Sonepur, Boudh and Sambalpur district) in Particular. The very literal meaning of Asurgarh is the fort of demons. Forts bearing names Asurgarh are found in different parts of Western Odisha usually on the bank of river or in the outskirt of the village/towns3. The village elders are aware of the so-called Asura sites or finds in the neighbourhood and mentioned the following features in this connection: remains of brick building, traces of iron smelting, copper implements and ornaments, gold coins, stone implements, beads, silted up tanks, iron implements, potsherds, and sculptures. From very ancient times people had associated such places with rulers and administrators. In course of time such places were abandoned and only structural remains and antiquities are found. These places are fearful for common people but are very important for archaeologists and historians. The remains from these sites becomes very useful if excavated regarding reconstruction the regional history of the past. Forts bearing the name Asurgarh though identified from various parts of western Odisha, detail exploration as well as excavation are conducted only at Narla-Asurgarh, Manmunda-Asurgarh, Kharligarh-Asurgarh, Nuagarh-Asurgarh and Badmal-Asurgarh. In the present paper discussion has been made on excavations of above mentioned sites and results in detail. Narla-Asurgarh :
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It is a small village situated in the Narla police station in Kalahandi district. It is located near Rupra railwat station about 2 k.m from the Narla village. A small scale excavation was conducted by N.K.Sahu, P.G.Department of History, Sambalpur University in 1973 revealed paved house floors, iron implements, beads made of semi-precious stones, punch-marked silver coins, black-and-red ware, terracotta figurines, glass bangles, amulets and ornaments4. A hoard of 539 silver coins collected by the king of Kalahandi furnishes considerable cultural data. The period of coins may range between 3rd century b.C to 5th century A.D. The first group of coins are assignable to the pre-Mauryan period (69), the second group to the mauryan rule (272), and the last group to the Post-Mauryan epoch to the Guptas (198). Asurgarh, without doubt, was an important political and commercial centre during early historic period. Manmunda-Asurgarh: It is situated by the side of the confluence of river Tel and Mahanadi on the right bank of Boudh district. The mound measures 1.5km long and 0.5 km wide. Excavation was conducted at the site by the P.G. Department of History, Sambalpur University in 1981 and 19905. Subsequently the site was again excavated by same university in 1983&1990. According to Mishra and Pradhan there are two cultural phase- period I &II. Period I has two sub-phases- IA & IB. IA yielded black polished ware, red-slipped ware, micacious red ware, iron objects, copper ring and few microliths. From period IB along with above pottery of IA, silver punch-marked coin (3rd C.B.C), iron objects such knife, dagger, spear-head, arrowhead, axe etc. recovered. The beginning of Period-I was tentatively assigned to 4th -3rd century B.C by the excavators. Period-II also yielded iron objects like nails, plates, hinges of two heads and lumps of charcoal along with degenerated ceramic industry (red ware) similar to Sisupalgarh which he assigned a period from the end of 2nd century A.D to beginning of 3rd century A.D. Nuagarh-Asurgarh: The site is an extensive archaeological mound situated between the twin village of Kumersingha and Nuagarh at a distance of about 6 kms. South-east of the tehsil headquarter of Birmaharajapur in Sonepur district of Orissa. The site was excavated by P.G. Department of History, Sambalpur University6. Three trial trenches (NGH-I, NGH-II & NGH-III) measuring 3x 3 metres each were laid in different locations of mound. While NGH-I and
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NGH-III yielded six occupational layers, NGH-II exposed three occupational layers above the natural soil. Taking into account the cultural materials and the c14 determination from the layer 5, two fold cultural sequence was proposed by the excavator. Period I represented by layers 4, 5,6 have two sub-phases, Period IA & IB. This period IA belongs to late Chalcolithic period though layer 6 yielded iron object. In the next sub-phase I-B, whose beginning is precisely dated to the 6th century B.C as per the c14 determination, the introduction of iron noticed in a limited scale along with all the material assemblage of earlier period. Iron, painted pottery, burnished pottery and pottery with a variety of post-fired graffiti marks is the hallmark of this phase. Since the sub-phase I-B presents cultural traits of both late Chalcolithic and Early Iron Age phases it may be termed Ferro-Chalcolithic. He however requested to accept such term as provisional and subject to correction in future. In period-II the use of iron became more common. Black and red ware potteries found in association with varieties of iron objects include nails, chisels, knife and several fragments of unidentified shapes along with a few slags. Hence, the chronology of the site may be ascribed from the Chalcolithic period to Ist century A.D. Iron was introduced in the 6th C.B.C as ascertained by the C14 determination. Kharligarh-Asurgarh: It is in strategically situated on the left bank of the river Raul, at a distance of about 1.5 k.m east of the village Bhuanpara in Tusra tehsil of Bolangir district. Locally the site is known variously as Kharligarh, Kharavelagarh, and Gumagarh with several legends associated with it. The preliminary investigations, amply attest to the fact that the valley was an area of attraction and settlement right from the late Mesolithic times. Taking into account the importance of exploration report, S.Pradhan, P.G.Department of History, Sambalpur University conducted excavation at Kharligarh during January to February 20027. The limited excavation yielded a rich assemblage of potteries of various colour& shape and antiquities of iron, stone and terracotta along with structural activities in large sized burnt bricks. The pottery repository included red ware, red slipped ware, black ware, black slipped ware, black and red ware. The predominant pottery type of this site was red slipped ware. The excavator believes that the evidences taken together suggest a chronology between 200 B.C and 400 A.D., with two distinct periods, viz., Period-I (200 B.C to 200 A.D) and Period-II (200 A.D to 400 A.D). The discovery of the site as a fortified
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metropolitan settlement in hinterland Odisha dating back to the 2nd century B.C. gains significance. Badmal-Asurgarh The site is located on the left bank of a second order perennial stream, Harihar nullah, a tributary of the Mahanadi. The site is located some 70 kilometres south-east of the district headquarters of Sambalpur. The site spreads over an area of about 200mX 200m, is bounded on four sideswith an earth rampart of roughly palleogramic shape with at least three entrance ways. This is probably the earliest evidence for fortified settlement in Orissa. Trial excavations were conducted at the site by P.K.Behera in 2002-03 under the auspices of Sambalpur University, which revealed four phases of human occupation, viz. Period-IA, IB, IC & period-II with an occupational gap between the periods IC and II, represented by a sterile flood deposit of 30-35 c.m thickness. On the basis of studies on the excavated cultural material, exposed stratigraphy and radiocarbon dates, periods IA, IB and IC have been assigned to the Iron Age phase, while Period-II to the Early Historic phase8 .The three radiocarbon dates determined on the charcoal samples, collected from the habitation deposit of period I-B clearly demonstrate that the middle phase of the Iron Age culture at the site flourished during the early part of the first millennium B.C. Thus the initial human occupation at the site must have taken place at least one or two centuries earlier than the first millennium B.C and the site continued to exist up to 3rd-2nd century B.C. During the Iron Age period, the settlement was confined to a limited area, lying towards the highest north-western part of the mound and it was also without any fortification wall. People during this phase lived in wattle and daub houses with rammed floor. They used to use a variety of materials viz. Iron and copper objects, bone and antler tools, earthen wares of different types, precious and semi-precious stone beads, slings balls of stone, terracotta beads, pottery discs etc. The early settlers were mainly subsisted on animal food, besides limited agriculture. The deposit of this phase yielded a large number of charred and un-charred skeletal remains of wild and domesticated animals exhibiting distinct butchery marks on them. The ceramic assemblage, which demonstrates close affinity in shape, size, colour and fabric with that from other contemporary Iron Age settlements of the middle Mahanadi valley, is represented by
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black and red ware potteries of fine to medium fabric, red slipped ware, black slipped ware and plain red ware potteries. Discussion From excavations it is clear that all the above mentioned Asurgarh sites provide ample food of thought on a host of related subjects such as early state formation, urbanisation, trade mechanism, settlement pattern, defence mechanism,etc. People occupied the sites at a stage of material advancement and sophistication assignable to a period of 400 to 600 years during the Pre-Christian and the early centuries of the Christian Era. Use of iron, punched marked coins and potteries of black slipped and black-and-red ware remains the hallmark of the material assemblage of these sites. Except Nuagarh, all the excavated sites were fortified metropolises, where large sized bricks had been extensively used for construction of fortifications and the settlement inside the fortification. Large-scale excavations of these sites will not only help in preparing a comprehensive chronology of Western Part of Odisha but also throw light on origin and development of Chalcolithic, Iron Age and early historic period in a most comprehensive way. The archaeological excavations made in the recent years have revealed various facets of culture associated with Asurgarh sites in this region and hence it is imperative to conduct more research activities with the help of available scientific methods, which will no doubt yield many more interesting aspects of material culture pertaining to different cultural periods. References
1. D.K.Chakrabarti, Archaeology of Eastern India: Chhotanagpur Plateau and west

Bengal, Munshiram Manoharlal Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1993, P.54.

2. S.C.Roy, A note on some remains of the ancient Asuras in the Ranchi district,

JBORS.1, 1915, PP: 229-53.

3. P.K.Singh, Asurgarh An early urban centre of Orissa, OHRJ, Vol.XLVII, No.3,

PP: 49-53.
4. P.Mohanty & B. Mishra, Early Historic Archaeology of Kalahnadi district, Orissa,

G.Sengupta and S.Panja (ed) Archaeology of Eastern India: New Perspectives, Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training (CAST), Kolkata,2002,PP:471-79.
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5. S.C.Behera, Manmunda in S.C.Behera (ed) , Interim Excavation Reports, Post-

Graduate Department of History, Sambalpur University, 1982,PP:16-22.

6. S.Pradhan, Excavations at Nuagarh-Asurgarh: A preliminary Report in S.Pradhan

(ed), Art and Archaeology of Orisaa: Recent perspectives, Aryan Books International, 2006, PP: 63-78.
7. S.Pradhan, Kharligarh : An Early Historic Fort in Ancient Orissa, N. R. Patnaik

(ed), Exploring Orissan History, Kitab Mahal, Cuttack, 2005, PP: 45-56.
8. P.K.Behera & P.K.Chattopadhyay, Iron objects from the Iron Age-Early Historic

Level at Badmal (Dist.Sambalpur, Orissa): Archaeometallurgical Studies, Purattava, 35, 2004-05, PP: 118-25.

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