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EXCAVATIONS
BRANCH
The Excavations branch of A & M
plays a vital role in preserving the
cultural heritage of the State by
conducting explorations and excavations
basing on potentiality of the sites. In
the preliminary stage a team of
Technical Assts. under the guidance of
Asst. Director(Tech.) will inspect the
site and determine the nature of the
site. Sites may be classified basing on
the material collected into prehistoric,
proto historic, early historic, early
medieval and medieval sites. The
archaeologists generally ascribe the
stone tools to prehistoric period,
whereas the stone tools and metal
objects, pottery, and other cultural
material to the proto-historic period,
for the early historic period is purely
based on the numismatic, epigraphical,
brick, structural remains, decorated
pottery and cultural materials,
supplementary information from
contemporary literary work.
Archaeological sites are identified
generally by conducting explorations for
collecting the artefacts, manmade and
used, in the form of stone tools,
potsherds, brickbats, bangles, beads,
coins and other cultural remnants. After
studying the collection archaeologists
conduct trial digs to ascertain the
cultural potentiality of the habitation.
Basing on these results of the trial
excavation archaeologists will decide to
take up excavations on a large scale or
not.
If the excavations
are to be taken up on large scale
proposals have to be submitted to the
ASI(CAB). After obtaining the licence
from CAB archaeologists conduct
excavations depending upon the nature of
the site, viz. vertical, Horizontal and
Quadrangular. Except for quadrangular
method of excavation, grid (layer of
square trenches) pattern is applied for
both vertical and horizontal excavation.
The Process of
Excavation.
Once the site is decided for
excavation the excavator with the
assisatnce of the marksman lays out
trenches. With the help of a few skilled
workers excavation will be carried out
in a slow manner/pace using pickaxes and
crowbars without causing damage to the
cultural milieu. Sometimes they also use
small knives and nails to expose
antiquities and pots. As the site
demands, trenches will be extended to
the directions in which the evidences
are forthcoming. While dumping the
excavated earth outside the site it has
to be screened properly to collect the
antiquities. Trained persons in
different disciplines such as Technical
Assistants, Draughtsmen, Pottery
Mechanic, Chemical Lab technician, are
put on their respective jobs while
excavations are in good progress. It is
also the duty of the excavator to label
the layers and take locus of the
antiquities discovered alongwith taking
field notes. Simultaneously, antiquities
are categorised and classified duly
marking their occurence
stratigraphically.
The excavator when he
feels that there is no necessity of
further excavation, he winds up the camp
and pack all the antiquities and other
cultural material recovered in course of
excavations.
The final aspect of
the excavation process ends with
preparation of comprehensive report on
the site, which includes location of the
site, approach, finds of the excavation,
cultural significance of the site,photo
documentation of the antiquities, making
drawings/plans, sections and sketches
necessary are made ready.
The Department from its inception has
successfully conducted many explorations
which finally resulted in excavations.
In the process, sites pertaining to
prehistoric period have been noticed at
Naderipally, Amarabad,
Yelleswaram, Gundala, Peddamarur,
Ketavaram, Gollavaram, Gavigudem,
Kazipalley, Narasapally, Wankhedi, Belum,
Billagudem, and Kudelocherolopalli.
At Amarabad a lower
paleolithic site in Mahabubnagar
district excavation laid bare a large
number of hand axes to cleavers. At a
local village in Godavari Khani, lower
paleolithic tools, lithic blades and
bone tools alongwith fossilised faunal
remains of oxen, buffalo, deer, sheep
are also collected.
Neolithic habitation sites are excavated
at Utnoor, Ieej Chinnamarur, Polakonda
and Hulikallu. The department also
undertook excavations at Neolithic-Chalcolithic
sites at Guttikonda (Guntur district),
Belum (Kurnooldistrict), Chinnamarur and
karapakala in Mahaboobnagar district. At
Chinnamarur a neolithic cemetery was
noticed in megalithic habitation while
megalithic cemetery was noticed at
neolithic habitation which represents
the transitional phase.
A good number of Iron
age sites were also excavated by the
Dept. at Yelleswaram, Pochampad,
Kadambapur, Agiripalli, Tenneru,
Jonnawada,Chinnamarur, Uppalapadu and
Chagatur.
Similarly, the
department has also conducted
excavations of Early historic sites such
as Yelleswaram, Peddabankur, Dhulikatta,
Kotalingala, Chandavaram, Thotlakonda,
Bavikonda, Gopalapatnam, Pavurallakonda,
Dantapuram, Nelakondapalle and
Keesaragutta.
The main aim and
purpose of conducting excavations at
archaeological sites is to uncover the
habitation and cultural remains of the
bygone eras, which will be of immense
value to assess and reconstruct the
human history in a particular part of
the State. This information is culled
out through the excavations which will
help the historians, for revising the
existing historical literature, the
excavations also lead to collect coins,
inscriptions beads, bangles and other
ornaments, domestic and agricultural
implements, implements of the artisans
etc. which altogether present a clear
picture of a particular period and in
particular geographical locale. The
plans of the houses, and other
structures, the building meterial used,
the engineering techniques employed; the
coins and epigraphs offer accurate time
and rule by a particular king, the
administrative system including revenue
taxes and trading activities.
The ornaments which
include beads, bangles and chains
naturally offer the life style of people
of that particular period to which the
site belongs to. In brief the
archaeologists are instrumental in
knowing the town planning, history,
culture, arts and architecture, customs
and traditions of the bygone eras in
corroborated manner which ultimately
forms the core material for the text
books on history. The scientific study
of bones, stratigraphy, metronics of
coins, the details of the inscriptions
will no doubt help the people to
understand cultural vistas of our
ancestors.
Important aspects of each cultural
period as represented by a few
archeological sites explored and
excavated by the Department of
Archaeology & Museums is as follows:
1. HULIKAL (Anantapur
Dist): The excavations were conducted at
Hulikallu, during the field season
1978-79. Neolithic tools, chalcolithic
and megalithic levels were exposed. The
post holes were exposed in ash mounds
along with animal bones, sherds of
painted black in red pottery were
reported along with excavated urn
burials in chalcolithic levels. The
antiquities included, corn crushers,
beads, milling stones, mortars and
pestles. Black and red ware, burnished
grey ware and burnished black ware are
the pottery collected from the
excavation .
2. KADAMBAPUR: It is
located in Peddapalli taluk of
Kareemnagar district. Five burials were
exposed at the megalithic
site.Antiquities yielded from the
burials are curved dagger, javelin,
battle axe, knives, ferrules, spearheads
etc. The pottery consists of red ware
pots, black and red ware, black polished
ware whose types include dishes, ring
stands, vases, carinated deep
bowls,lotas and pots. The most
significant feature is that of a human
skeleton with a complete articulation,
except feet bones. It is of primary
nature interred in the orientation of
north-south direction. A dagger has been
projected from the mandible and bottom
end of three conch shells were removed
and one is kept at the heart and the two
were kept inside the hands. The red ware
pot of hand made may also indicate the
transition period from neolithic to
megalithic (i.e. pre history to proto
historic stage).
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