Mound of eras ASI nod to RTMNU to excavate archaeological site at Pachkhed village in Yavatmal district

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALL historians and archaeologists have trained their eyes on the habitational mound locally known as ‘Sasu-Suneche Ukhade’ (the Drum of Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-Law) and ‘Barad’ at village Pachkhed, tehsil Babulgaon, district Yavatmal as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has given green signal to the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology (AIHC&A), Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), to excavate it and conduct in-depth study to ascertain the cultural sequence of the site. The site dates back to about 8000 BCE. Pachkhed is located on the left bank of the river Chandrabhaga. It is about a kilometre south-east of the confluence of the two rivers, Chandrabhaga and Wardha, and three kilometre east of village Shindhi on Pulgaon-Babulgaon road and 43 kilometre away from Yavatmal town. During exploration, experts from the RTMNU’s Department of AIHC&A had earlier discovered rare antiquities, including beads of semi-precious stones and terra-cotta, hopscotches, shell bangles, bone points and a punch marked copper coin having a figure of an elephant belonging to the Bhadra-Mitra rule, from the site.

 

The surface study of the site revealed that the occupational deposit at the mound is more than three metres. A section of the exposed portion reflects the occupational floor levels beginning with the Mesolithic period followed by Vidarbha Chalcolithic, Early Iron Age, and Historical period. The final period of habitation belonged to the early medieval period. After a gap, the entire mound was covered with nearly a metre-thick deposit over which the remains of a two-roomed rectangular structure having a pebble base was reflected. Probably, this structure was used as a watch tower during the Nizam’s rule. The excavation will be conducted under the direction of Prof Prabash Sahu, Professor and Head of the Department of AIHC&A, RTM Nagpur University. Dr Priyadarshi M Khobragade is the Co-Director of the project. The university administration led by Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Subhash Chaudhary, Pro-VC Dr Sanjay Dudhe and Registrar Dr Raju Hiwase is showing keen interest in the project as the Department of AIHC&A will be conducting original research work in an independent manner.