Vol-4 Number-2 April 2019
Chief Editor: Vijay Kumar
Publisher: National Trust for Promotion of Knowledge, Lucknow
Mode of Publication: Online (e-Journal)
This article by J.N. Pal takes an overview of Acheulian culture in Vindhyan area situated in North-central India. In this article, he discusses Pleistocene stratigraphy of Belan valley and Son valley. He also enumerates the lower Paleolithic sites of Daiya, Bansghat, Taradaha, Baburahi, Baithakawa, Chhatarpalia, Koskangarha, Ramgarh, Mahugarh etc. All the factory sites are located on the northern fringe of the Kaimur range overlooking the Belan valley in the north. Stone tool industry of Belan valley contains pebble tools and Acheulian hand axes, cleavers and scrapers. Son valley has yielded forty-seven lower Paleolithic sites spread over the district Sidhi of Madhya Pradesh and Mirzapur, U.P. Some of the important ones are Sihawal, Rampur, Nakjhar, Barbasa-Ki-Pahari, Patpara, Barri, Pandari, Dhup Khari and Hatawa Khari. The lower Paleolithic assemblage of Son valley contains hand axes, cleavers, scrapers, knives, spheroids and sub-spheroids etc. along with coarse, flake and debitage. Artefacts are fashioned mainly on quartzite and chert. The lower Paleolithic industry of Son valley represents a late phase in comparison to that of the Belan.
The site Rithi Ranjana is located in Khapa Village, Saoner Taluka, Nagpur, Maharashtra and it was excavated for the field season 2017-18. This site is an Early Iron Age habitation which was purely based on agriculture and pastoralism. The cultural remains exposed are in the form of storage bin platforms, circular huts with postholes, hearths, and different floor activities. This paper discusses a unique evidence of cupules that was exposed during the excavation from one of the trenches. Although the actual purpose of these cupules could not be testified, its context has attracted the attention of researcher as this could be the first of this kind to expose cupules from an excavation within stratified context
Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo Egypt, wood lab received painted coffin related to late period (664-332 BC) from Beni sueif storage. The coffin has previous plaster fills obscured original surface and several areas of retouching with pigments. This study aims to identify these materials to confirm them as part of a previous conservation intervention by non-destructive techniques using a combination of technical photography (TP) and X-ray fluorescence in order to identify original and simulated pigments used in the decoration areas. Identification of wooden species was also included in this study. The results showed the original white preparation layer was calcium carbonate and quartz, while the previous gap filling material was gypsum. Iron based pigments were used for original yellow painted layers, while titanium based pigments were used for the retouched yellow, red, blue and black layers; such pigments are typical of times later than that of the original painting.
The present day Chhattisgarh region and western part of Odisha was known as Kosala (South Kosala) kingdom in historical literature. This part of India is dotted with several archaeological settlements surrounded by moat/s and rampart wall/s. Majority of such settlements are located in Chhattisgarh, while a few are in the western part of Odisha. The present paper outlines the recent surveys on three circular fortified settlement sites in the Middle Mahanadi Valley of Odisha.
This article by Chandrasen Gautam is the second part of the catalogue titled ‘Terracottas kept in Buddha Museum Gorakhpur’ published in 13th issue of Indian journal of Archaeology. The earlier article gives the details of terracotta found in eastern India during different periods. This museum also has a large number of artefacts found in Mathura area. There is a good collection of Jain images found from different parts of India but presently kept in this museum. The stone artefacts range from Kushan period to 13th century A.D. The terracotta pieces range from pre-Mauryan period to late medieval times.
This article by Vijay Kumar is a detailed study of the temple of Jarai Math, Barwa Sagar district Jhansi U.P. which is a typical example of late 9th century A.D. Gurjar-Pratihara architecture. This temple has some peculiarities. It is rectangular in plan but the dimension of its narrow side has been increased by making the rear wall thicker. The thickness has been achieved by introducing double bhadras. This way, the plan is affectively a square one and when double latas of front and rear façade and single lata of north and south approach the top, they converge to a square which is surmounted by a modern finial made during Bundela period. This was an ingenuous way of making Nagara Shikhara of a temple with rectangular plan. The other rectangular temples like Teli ka Mandir, Gwalior M.P. culminate into Valabhi Shikhara. The architect has deviated from the formula of simple lalatabimba showing the deity kept inside the garbhagriha. It shows a variety of deities including ashta dikpalas, mother goddess, ganas, gandharvas, mythological scenes etc. Dwarashakha prominently shows Lord Shiva in bhikshatana mode repeatedly. Garbhagriha has been enlarged by introducing two pillars in front of the door. The ceiling has been divided into four parts. All these are kshipta vitans type. The three side ceilings have been carved in low relief indicating the formative phase of the evolution of the ceilings of Central India temples.
Temple, an abode of revered god as presiding deity evolved in course of time along with sculptural and artistic representations. Such decorations include gods and goddesses with other decorative components. Among various representations, figures of Narasimha, the man-lion incarnation of the Lord Vishnu have been reported at various temple in the region of Vidarbha. Story of Narasimha incarnation of Lord Vishnu and killing of demon Hiranyakashipu by him found vividly mentioned in various Puranas. Furthermore, various ancient texts give description of Narasimha form, his posture, weapons, etc. In the present paper an attempt is made to study and analyze a few images of the Narasimha found in temples of Neri (district Chandrapur, Maharashtra), Barsi Takli (district Akola, Maharashtra) and Lasur (district Amaravat, Maharashtra) comparing with Puranic references and to establish observance of Puranic verses. Bhagvat Purana, Narasimha Purana, Matsya Purana, Agni Purana and other Puranas give detailed story of Prahlad, son of demon Hiranyakashipu, special boon from Lord Brahma and killing of Hiranyakashipu by Narasimha. Matsya Purana and Vishnudharmottar Puranas give specific description about how the image of Narasimha should be made. Examination of sculptures in temples of Neri, Lasur and Barsi Takli reveals that they are excellent in its conception and equally artistic in its executions representing narrations given in these Puranas. The examination leads to assumption that the sculptors of those days have followed Puranic texts while carving these images.
This paper essentially looks at the Islamic architecture of Kashmir. The shrine of Saiyid Ali Hamdani forms the main focus of the paper. The growth of wooden architecture in Kashmir during the medieval times marks the beginning of a new era in the architectural history of Kashmir. Wood was used in enormous quantities for erecting monumental architecture replacing the stone temples of ancient Kashmir. The artisans of central Asia travelled to Kashmir with the influx of Sufis. This made the admixture of different forms of secular and religious architecture in the Kashmir region, exhibiting itself in many forms including mosques, khanqahs and dargahs of sufi saints. These developments in addition to looking into the influences on this type of architecture and a great deal else are also the themes of this paper.
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