A historian from Bolivia sent me the following mail. I don’t know the answer. If you have any pointers, please leave a comment.
This time I would like to tell you that I’m interested in Ochre Coloured Pottery excavations in UP. Time ago I asked V.N. Misra and he told me there is no big digging in the area these days searching for OCP habitations and pottery. Anyway there were news of a team searching Saket and the note mentioned the possibility of finding earlier potteries than PGW in, I mean, Sanchankot.
Could you please tell me if you know of news about OCP new findings, books and specially Web pages where I could find information?
I also would like pictures of this ware.
I visited a OCP site in Ganga-Yamuna Doab as recently as January 2006.
I am interested to interact with people interested in OCP sites in Uttar Pradesh.
Dear Satyasri Ukil,
I see you are interested in OCP as me. Write me to
carlosaram50@gmail.com
Dear Carlos,
This is in reference to your mail to me dated Thu, 23 Feb 2006.
Let me tell you the circumstances I visited this site…the site is yet to be excavated, it seems.
First visit, September, 2005:
This site is in the vicinity of New Delhi, in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.
The mound, which has an elevation of about 50 to 70 feet and covers an area of 200 feet X 150 feet approx., had attracted my attention because it looked as if created out of no geological reason. It rises amid vast expanse of wheat-fields and farm land. And as far as I could see there was nothing like this around.
September being a monsoon month in northern parts of India, the approach to the mound was covered with tall bushes of Munj grass and as I saw snakes in the bush, I dropped the idea of visiting the mound then.
Second Visit, January 2006:
This time the mound was approachable…the bush-patch being dried up and gone. The accent to the mound from south was gradual and easy. The whole area was scattered with potshards. I could sense the pieces to be old, as the terracotta had lost almost all its porosity and they were as hard as stone.
From the lowest level on the ground I had collected a 2â? X 2â? piece of OCP. I never knew that this was called OCP then. I am not a trained archeologist. I had shown the piece, subsequently, to Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri of Delhi University, who had identified it as OCP. Apart from OCP, this site has many different types of potshards. Some are red & black, some has beautiful red gloss over them, and others are very delicately finished with very finely done lips on them. Still others are very thick and strong, and as hard as rocks.
The OCP piece has an impression of twined string-mark on it as an element of decoration.
A particular piece deserves special mention. This piece looks like a brick, yet this is not brick in the true sense of the term. This was handcrafted terracotta tile, with patches of lime-plaster still adhering on its back. I call it â??handcraftedâ? because I have seen potterâ??s finger marks on this piece.
I interacted with the local villagers regarding this mound. A village lady had told me that as Devi Maya dwells in that mound, they often get copper coins there after the monsoon showers are over. Here the connotation of this statement may be interpreted thus:
Devi Maya > Devi Lakshmi > Copper Coins.
Could you suggest me some reading and study material?
As I am not a trained archeologist, I must educate me more to understand this mound.
Best regards
Satyasri Ukil
Dear Carlos,
This is in reference to your mail to me dated Thu, 23 Feb 2006.
Let me tell you the circumstances I visited this site…the site is yet to be excavated, it seems.
First visit, September, 2005:
This site is in the vicinity of New Delhi, in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.
The mound, which has an elevation of about 50 to 70 feet and covers an area of 200 feet X 150 feet approx., had attracted my attention because it looked as if created out of no geological reason. It rises amid vast expanse of wheat-fields and farm land. And as far as I could see there was nothing like this around.
September being a monsoon month in northern parts of India, the approach to the mound was covered with tall bushes of Munj grass and as I saw snakes in the bush, I dropped the idea of visiting the mound then.
Second Visit, January 2006:
This time the mound was approachable…the bush-patch being dried up and gone. The accent to the mound from south was gradual and easy. The whole area was scattered with potshards. I could sense the pieces to be old, as the terracotta had lost almost all its porosity and they were as hard as stone.
From the lowest level on the ground I had collected a 2â? X 2â? piece of OCP. I never knew that this was called OCP then. I am not a trained archeologist. I had shown the piece, subsequently, to Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri of Delhi University, who had identified it as OCP. Apart from OCP, this site has many different types of potshards. Some are red & black, some has beautiful red gloss over them, and others are very delicately finished with very finely done lips on them. Still others are very thick and strong, and as hard as rocks.
The OCP piece has an impression of twined string-mark on it as an element of decoration.
A particular piece deserves special mention. This piece looks like a brick, yet this is not brick in the true sense of the term. This was handcrafted terracotta tile, with patches of lime-plaster still adhering on its back. I call it â??handcraftedâ? because I have seen potterâ??s finger marks on this piece.
I interacted with the local villagers regarding this mound. A village lady had told me that as Devi Maya dwells in that mound, they often get copper coins there after the monsoon showers are over. Here the connotation of this statement may be interpreted thus:
Devi Maya > Devi Lakshmi > Copper Coins.
Could you suggest me some reading and study material?
As I am not a trained archeologist, I must educate me more to understand this mound.
Best regards
Satyasri Ukil
Dear Carlos,
This is in reference to your mail to me dated Thu, 23 Feb 2006.
Let me tell you the circumstances I visited this site…the site is yet to be excavated, it seems.
First visit, September, 2005:
This site is in the vicinity of New Delhi, in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.
The mound, which has an elevation of about 50 to 70 feet and covers an area of 200 feet X 150 feet approx., had attracted my attention because it looked as if created out of no geological reason. It rises amid vast expanse of wheat-fields and farm land. And as far as I could see there was nothing like this around.
September being a monsoon month in northern parts of India, the approach to the mound was covered with tall bushes of Munj grass and as I saw snakes in the bush, I dropped the idea of visiting the mound then.
Second Visit, January 2006:
This time the mound was approachable…the bush-patch being dried up and gone. The accent to the mound from south was gradual and easy. The whole area was scattered with potshards. I could sense the pieces to be old, as the terracotta had lost almost all its porosity and they were as hard as stone.
From the lowest level on the ground I had collected a 2â? X 2â? piece of OCP. I never knew that this was called OCP then. I am not a trained archeologist. I had shown the piece, subsequently, to Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri of Delhi University, who had identified it as OCP. Apart from OCP, this site has many different types of potshards. Some are red & black, some has beautiful red gloss over them, and others are very delicately finished with very finely done lips on them. Still others are very thick and strong, and as hard as rocks.
The OCP piece has an impression of twined string-mark on it as an element of decoration.
A particular piece deserves special mention. This piece looks like a brick, yet this is not brick in the true sense of the term. This was handcrafted terracotta tile, with patches of lime-plaster still adhering on its back. I call it â??handcraftedâ? because I have seen potterâ??s finger marks on this piece.
I interacted with the local villagers regarding this mound. A village lady had told me that as Devi Maya dwells in that mound, they often get copper coins there after the monsoon showers are over. Here the connotation of this statement may be interpreted thus:
Devi Maya > Devi Lakshmi > Copper Coins.
Could you suggest me some reading and study material?
As I am not a trained archeologist, I must educate me more to understand this mound.
Best regards
Satyasri Ukil