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Indian Journal of Archaeology

Indian Journal of Archaeology (ISSN 2455-2798) has multi disciplinary approach to Archaeological and

Indian Journal of Archaeology (ISSN 2455-2798) has multi disciplinary approach to Archaeological and Historical researches. It promotes educational research platform providing individuals ideal opportunity to present the data and ideas they have accumulated. It is designed to bring people, studying and doing research in Archaeology,around the globe,on one platform and work in the direction of resolving the core issues by collating and analyzing hard empirical data.

16/10/2025

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Dear Contributors / Viewers,
Thank you for your continued support of the Indian Journal of Archaeology. We are happy to inform you that, Indian Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 9/ No. 4/ October 2024 mega issue has been published. Please visit https://ijarch.com/ija-vol-9-number-4/
We encourage all viewers to explore the diverse range of topics covered in this mega issue. We look forward to your feedback and suggestions for future issues. Happy reading!

Sincerely,
The Editorial Team

06/10/2025

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Decorated Ceilings of Osian Temples in Rajasthan
Amar Singh
Retired Professor,
Lucknow University

Osian in district Jodhpur (Rajasthan) has a group of temples belonging to 8th - 9th centuries and eleventh century. These are located in three main groups known as Brahmanical group, Sachiyamata group and Jain temple complex or Mahavira temple. The temples of 8th - 9th centuries or Pratihara period evolved in a homogeneous style representing one and the same characteristic features of all the temples, which are built about the same time and are closely related to other Pratihara temples of Central India and Gujarat. Most of the temples have usually a square garbhagriha attached with antarala and a mukha-mandapa or rangamandapa,They are generally pancharatha on plan and elevated on a high jagati. The vedibandha depicts khura, kumbha, kalasa and kapota mouldings surmounted by jangha and curvilinear shikhara of Ngara-latina style. The jangha is normally embellished with sculptured niches showing udgamas on the top and the shikhara is divided into five or seven storeys separated by the bhumi-amalakas on the karnas, while the central bhadras of the shikhara are carved with bold chandrashala-jala. The doorways of the temples usually have three or five sakhas decorated with scrolls, patra, pushpa mithuna and nagapasa. The images of river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna with attendants are also seen depicted on the pedya, the lower part of the door-jambs. The early temples in their antarala and mukha-mandapa are adorned with samatala (flat) vitanas decorated with full bloomed lotus medallions in the centre and some of them are ornamented with bands of nagapasa and vidyadharas, while later temples are embellished with sama-kshipta or kshipta vitanas decorative with padma, gajatalu, kola and other designs and motifs.

Link of the Article: https://ijarch.com/ija-vol-9-number-3/

22/09/2025

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Catalogue of Terracotta Objects Kept in Shahjad Rai Research
Institute, Baraut district Baghpat Uttar Pradesh-

The antiquities of Mauryan period present a great variety. Some of the antiquities of this period are made by reduced firing technique which imparted grey colour to the antiquities. The Northern Black Polished (NBP) pottery was made using this technique and had grey core and burnished black slip with metallic lustre. When the potters made objects for everyday use like toys, votive offerings decorative items they did not use burnished slip. The elephant shaped grey coloured toy cart and votive grey coloured mother goddess are typical examples of this technique. The Elephant has been decorated by stamped and incised designs (fig. 01), and the mother goddess (fig. 02) is decorated by incised design on the girdle made using applique design….

Link of the Article: https://ijarch.com/ija-vol-9-number-3/

09/09/2025

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Link of the Article: https://shorturl.at/01MlM

Reconstruction of Population History of Uttarakhand Using Genetic and Archeological Data:

Uttarakhand has been a melting pot of the populations of Gangetic plains, Tibetan plateau and Nepal. The population of this area is the mixture of people from all these areas. As we shall see later on in this article that different communities show combinations of the male DNA (Y-DNA) and female DNA (mitochondrial DNA) from different parts mainly of South Asia and a very small proportion comes from central Asia, Siberia, Eastern Europe, Middle east, South East and Africa. The geography of Uttarakhand is mountainous and the settlements are separated by steep hills and deep valleys. This fact makes the intermingling of the peoples of different human settlements a little difficult. This has given the peculiar characteristics to the population of this area. The hilly parts of Uttarakhand are inhabited mainly by three communities i.e. Khas, Shilpkar and Bhotiya. Khasas are divided into two branches Brahmin and Rajput. Terai is inhabited by Tharus, Boksas and people from plains. Some of the Brahmins and Rajputs of present-day state of Uttarakhand, have migrated from different parts of India. The western part of Garhwal is inhabited by Rajis and Jaunsaris. In earlier times polyandry was predominant among Jaunsaris although at present this practice has almost disappeared. The term Jaunsari does not indicate a single caste. It denotes all the communities living in Jaunsar area of Garhwal. They practiced fraternal polyandry which is similar to the tradition of the marriage of Draupadi to five Pandavas mentioned in Mahabharata. The people belonging to Ochre Color Pottery (OCP) culture of North India made weapons, implements and anthropomorphic figures. Some of these weapons have been found in Kumaon. A notable find was that of cast anthropomorphic figures from Bankot District Pithoragarh. It indicates that the copper was being imported from Kumaon and Garhwal to Northern area of India in addition to the copper mines of Rajasthan. The Shilpkars of Uttarakhand who constitute about 9% population of present-day Uttarakhand state have a different combinations of Y-DNAs. They have bigger percentage of Y-DNA H which is maximum in Central Indian Gond tribe and is dispersed all over South Asia. In contrast to this Brahmins and Rajputs have small percentage of this DNAs whereas they have large percentage of Y-DNAs, R1a1- M17 and R2a- M124 which are typically found in Northern India in large percentages. Shilpkars appears to be the ethnic descendants of ancient copper and iron workers. These facts combined together indicate that the ancient and modern population movement can be worked out if we examine the distribution of copper ore find spots, archaeology and archaeometallurgy of Northern India, Himalayan and Trans Himalayan, DNA of modern population of Uttarakhand and literary traditions of India.

Copper Ore find Spots, OCP Culture and Copper Hoards related to OCP Culture: The map showing find spots of copper ore over Northern, Western and Eastern India, Pakistan and Nepal indicate that copper from copper ore was extracted from different mines of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Nepal. In Himalayan zone, the density of the find spots is maximum in Uttarakhand. Another high-density area is the Aravalli hills in Rajasthan.

04/09/2025

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Dear Contributors / Viewers,
Thank you for your continued support of the Indian Journal of Archaeology. We are happy to inform you that, Indian Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 9/ No. 3/ July 2024 mega issue has been published. Please visit https://ijarch.com/ija-vol-9-number-3/
We encourage all viewers to explore the diverse range of topics covered in this mega issue. We look forward to your feedback and suggestions for future issues. Happy reading!

Sincerely,
The Editorial Team

26/08/2025

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Recent Archaeological Investigations of Patan, Dist. Durg, Chhattisgarh (Special Reference to Excavations at Tarighat and Jamraon)
Tarighat (Latitude: 21°05' N, Long: 81°40' E), Patan tehsil, district Durg, Chhattisgarh is an important early-historical site in Central India. Among the river bank townships, Tarighat holds an important position in Indian archaeology. Its location in the ancient South Kosala territory has been strategically significant politically as well as economically. This site falls on the ancient trade route connecting north to south. This site is roughly 30 km from Raipur, the state capital of Chhattisgarh. The site is located on the left bank of Kharun, a tributary of Seonath River. Beings an important river of the district, its upper stream, the Chorha nala rises near Petechua in the south eastern part of the district. It flows due north to join the Seonath and forms the boundary between Durg and Raipur districts for about 80 km in its central and later courses. The total length of the river is about 120.7 km. Its bed is generally rocky and water is available in the pools and the dwindled stream even in the summer. The valley of the river is very fertile, mostly occupied for paddy cultivation. Occupation inside the city was more or less continuous till later Kalchuri period (14th – 15th C.A.D.).

Link of the Article: https://ijarch.com/ija-vol-9-number-2/

04/08/2025

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Khambhaur Taal lies on latitude 25000’11.64” N & longitude 80029’01.15” E, on the northern slope of Kalinjar hill, below the fort rampart nearest to the Taal Chandel / Jauhara and above the stairs leading from 5th gate to 4th gate. This water body is nestled in the angle made by northern face of Kalinjar fort and eastern wall of Shringar Qila projection. This point is located 72 feet below the main rampart wall and 687 feet above Tarahati Kalinjar. This place got its name because of the pillared cave on the southern sides of the pond of the same name. Khambhaur literally means Stambhapur. The making of sculpture start during the Gupta period as shown by sculptures in western part of southern bank of Khambhaur Taal. In 6th-7th century A.D., some Vasant made the Khambhaur rock-cut caves on the southern bank of Taal. He also commissioned the Saptamatrika panel his own image and the inscription. This place was famous for sacred Banyan tree as is clear in the inscription of Siddheshwara Deva. The tradition of carving Ekmukhi Shivalingas was continued even after 13th century A.D. There are images of Shaivacharyas also. It appears that this place was dwelling place of some of the Shaivacharyas. The traces of their establishment have disappeared.

Link of the Article: https://ijarch.com/ija-vol-9-number-2/

01/08/2025

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Dear Contributors / Viewers,
Thank you for your continued support of the Indian Journal of Archaeology. We are happy to inform you that, Indian Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 9/ No. 2/ April- 2024 mega issue has been published. Please visit https://ijarch.com/ija-vol-9-number-2/
We encourage all viewers to explore the diverse range of topics covered in this mega issue. We look forward to your feedback and suggestions for future issues. Happy reading!

Sincerely,
The Editorial Team

12/11/2024

(www.ijarch.org)

भारत मे पहली बार 4500 वर्ष पुराने (2500 वर्ष ई०पू०) तांबे के हार्पून (भाले) पर आदि-शिव की मुखाकृति की खोज के बारे मे पुरातत्ववेत्ता श्री विजय कुमार ने बताया।
1. आदि-शिव की मुखाकृति वाले 4500 वर्ष पुराने हार्पून (भाले) OCP संस्कृति के है। यह संस्कृति गंगा घाटी की संस्कृति है। यह पूर्व से पश्चिम जालंधर से अयोध्या तक फैली हुई है। इसका विस्तार उत्तर से दक्षिण, हिमालय और विन्ध्य पर्वत श्रेणियों / आरावली पर्वत के मध्य है।
2. OCP संस्कृति का कालखण्ड 5000 ई०पू० से 1700 ई०पू० तक है। इसके विपरीत Mature Harappa संस्कृति का कालखण्ड 2500 ई0पू0 से 2000 ई०पू० तक ही है।
3. इस संस्कृति के लोग विभिन्न प्रकार के हथियार / उपकरण जैसे भाले, तलवारे, छोटी तलवारें, हार्पून, कुल्हाड़ियां, चिजेल, आरी, गड़ासा, चाकू, कड़े, रापी का प्रयोग करते थे। हथियारो का जखीरा गांव के बीच एक सुरक्षित स्थान पर रखा जाता था। OCP संस्कृति के गांव 1-2 वर्ग किलो मीटर में फैले होते थे। इनके खेत भी इसी क्षेत्रफल में फैले होते थे। हर परिवार अपने खेत के बीच मे झोपड़ी बनाकर रहता था। झोपड़ी सामान्य रूप से गोलाकार होती थी।
4. पूरा कबीला शस्त्र धारण करता था क्योकि जहां भी यह हथियार पाये गये है, वह सब गांव के बीच मे किसी सुरक्षित स्थान पर पाये जाते है। एक गांव मे हथियारो के जखीरे का वजन 100 किलोग्राम से लेकर 250 किलोग्राम तक होता था। इतनी बड़ी संख्या में हड़प्पा कालीन स्थलों से भी तांबे के हथियार नही पाये गये हैं।
5. इनकी तांबे की ढ़लाई की तकनीक बहुत उन्नत थी। इसे वह उत्तराखण्ड और राजस्थान की तांबे की खानों से प्राप्त करते थे। यह पहले तांबे के हथियारों को सांचे मे ढ़ालते थे और फिर उसको पीटकर धार बनाते थे अथवा उसको आवश्यक्तानुरूप आकार देते थे।
6. इनके तांबे के हथियार बनाने की तकनीक विश्व में और कही नही पायी जाती है।
7. इनके हथियारों के जखीरे के साथ ही इनके युद्ध के देवताओं की प्रतिमायें भी रखी जाती थी। इनके युद्ध के देवता गरूड़ और कार्तिकेय थे, जिन्हें यह ध्वज के रूप में लेकर युद्ध के मैदान मे जाते थे। गुप्त सम्राट भी गरूड़-ध्वज का प्रयोग करते थे जैसा कि उनके कुछ सोने के सिक्को पर दिखाया गया है। गुप्तो से पूर्व पश्चिमी भारत के यौद्धेय शासक अपने सिक्को पर हार्पून लिये हुये कार्तिकेय की आकृति बनाते थे और सिक्के के दूसरी तरफ देवी सष्ठी की आकृति बनाते थे।

Link of the Issue- https://ijarch.org/issue/ija-vol-8-no-1january-2023current

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