The Asurgarh fortified settlement is located in Odisha’s Kalahandi district. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has excavated this site.
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS)
- To determine the age of the ancient settlement, archaeologists deployed the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon technique was used.
- The site has been ascertained to be the oldest among the major fortified settlements in the State. It dates back to the ninth century BC.
Comparison with early historic sites
The Asurgarh era has been compared with early historic sites in Odisha such asL
- Sisupalgarh (near Bhubaneswar);
- Jaugarh, a fortified settlement on the Rushikulya valley (Ganjam);
- Manamunda (Boudh);
- Khalkattapatna (Puri); the port site of Manikpatna (Puri);
- Radhanagar (Jajpur);
- Kharligarh (Balangir) and
- Budhigarh (Kalahandi).
Three cultural phases
- The AMS technique established the Asurgarh era as spanning over three cultural phases from 9th century BC to second-third century AD.
- The Iron Age (ninth century BC to fourth century BC),
- Early Historic or Rampart phase (second century BC to first century AD), and
- The Late Period/Decline of the settlement (second century AD to third-fourth century AD).
417 antiquities found
- A total number of 417 antiquities have been retrieved from the site. Beads of coral, lapis lazuli, carnelian, glass, jasper, garnet, shell, agate, milky quartz, terracotta, kaolin, and soft stone, and circular discs made out of potsherds and stone, form the richest collection among the antiquities.
- The excavation at Asurgarh was first conducted by N.K. Sahu on behalf of the Post Graduate Department of History, Sambalpur University, in March 1973.
- The fortified settlement’s was built in such a way that the Water came from a distance of more than five kilometres to enter the reservoir (Udaya Sagar).
(Source: The Hindu)
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