Systematic Archaeological Survey at Dholi Mangari: A Preliminary Report

The present paper is a preliminary report of the systematic archaeological surface survey conducted by the author at Dholi Mangari, district Udaipur, Rajasthan. The paper discusses the methodology, findings and the results of the survey. An attempt has been made to establish atentative chronology of the site with the help of ceramic analysis as well as a comparative study of pottery from Dholi Mangari with the excavated sites in the region such as Ahar and Balathal. Keyword: Dholi Mangari, Ahar culture, Chalcolithic Rajasthan. I. DHOLI MANGARI AND ITS ENVIRONS The archaeological site of Dholi Mangari (24°47.482 ́N, 73°49.218 ́E) is located in tehsil Mavli of Udaipur District, Rajasthan. It is located at a distance of about 43 km north of Udaipur city and 23 km from the tehsil headquarters of Mavli towards the west. The site lies close to a small town of GhasaKhedi and can be reached via a metaled road. The archaeological mound of Dholi Mangari is located to the southwest of the present day village and measures approximately 230 m (NS) x 270 m (EW) with an elevation of around 5-6 m above the surrounding areas; however, the mound presents a variegated topography. The mound is completely uninhabited except for a temple perched on the top of the mound. The mound is covered by patches of thick vegetation in the form of thorny bushes and shrubs as well as by kikar trees, which grow on certain portions of the mound. The surface of the mound is strewn with fragments of quartzite, which have been quarried while digging the foundations for the construction of the temple located on the top of the mound. The mound is surrounded by agricultural fields on the three sides and on one side by the present day village. It is a fairly preserved landform without any major encroachments, except for a large chunk of the mound to the north-east, which was removed in the year 2010 for constructional purposes. Figure 1.The Site of Dholi Mangari II. PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT THE SITE Systematic Archaeological Survey at Dholi Mangari: A Preliminary Report DOI: 10.9790/0837-2207013643 www.iosrjournals.org 37 | Page Dholi Mangari is an unprotected archaeological site and has never witnessed any kind of proper archaeological investigations prior to the present survey. In the year 2010, a substantial portion of the mound was bulldozed-off by the locals in order to make the surface level for construction of another temple in the village.They found pottery and fragments of bone coming out of the mound during the process of soil removal. The matter was immediately reported to the concerned authorities of the State Archaeology Department of Rajasthan, whose timely intervention prevented the mound from being destroyed any further. The members of the team carried out a preliminary survey of the site and also collected samples of pottery from the surface. However, the site was never surveyed or reported properly beyond catching the headlines of a few local newspapers. Figure 2. Exposed Section of the Mound at Dholi Mangari III. SYSTEMATIC SURFACE SURVEY AT DHOLI MANGARI The site was located during the reconnaissance survey by the author in 2013, during which the site and the surrounding areas were investigated and grab samples of pottery scattered on the surface were collected. The idea was to acquaint oneself with the morphology of the site and the material culture scattered across the surface. After an analysis of the pottery samples collected during the recce, it was decided to study the archaeological site in a more comprehensive manner by the means of a systematic surface survey and artefact analysis programme. Compared to the other sites surveyed during the recce, Dholi Mangari provided an ideal scenario for carrying out a systematic surface survey owing to its well preserved archaeological record and also to generate new datasets regarding the archaeological potential of the site and its placement within the wider archaeological landscape in the region. 3.1. Rationale for the survey There are several important archaeological sites in the area such as Ahar, Balathal, Gilund, Ojhiyana and so forth, which have received the maximum attention from the archaeologists and researchers and have been subjected to several seasons of excavations. Apart from that a large number of archaeological sites have been discovered during the previous explorations in the area, however, few systematic surface surveys have been carried out in the area in the past and the reports of these surveys remain largely unpublished barring a few passing references. Taking all these factors into consideration, it was decided to carry-out a systematic surface archaeological survey and collection programme at Dholi Mangari, which was aimed at: a) Delineating the spatial extant of the site on the basis of ceramic scatter. b) To study and understand the surface archaeology of the site by means of a systematic survey and documentation programme. Systematic Archaeological Survey at Dholi Mangari: A Preliminary Report DOI: 10.9790/0837-2207013643 www.iosrjournals.org 38 | Page c) To systematically collect a representative sample of the material (ceramics) scattered across the surface of the site for further analysis and to get a tentative idea about the chronological or occupational sequence of the site. d) To try and establish a relationship between Dholi Mangari and other important archaeological sites in the area. 3.2. Sampling Strategies and Survey Methodology Archaeological surface surveys form an integral part of the archaeological research and have in recent past out-paced excavations for generating information about the past [1].Archaeological surveys are usually aimed at locating or identifying the vestiges of human past and are carried in a number of ways and using a wide range of methods and techniques, which are considered useful for generating the kind of information required to fulfill the objectives of the survey project.For the successful execution of a survey project and to get the desired results, it is very important to design or devise the survey strategy with great care[2]. The methodology adopted for the successful execution of a survey project needs to be in accordance with the aims and objectives of the project. However, there arevarious factors which one needs to take into consideration while designing a survey as these factors can directly affect the execution and results of a survey project [3]. Systematic archaeological surveys are sometimes designed to cover large, contiguous areas or landscapes, hence termed as ‘full-coverage surveys’[4]and are used to cover vast areas. However, it is not always feasible to survey vast regions or landscapes at an equal intensity with limited resources at one’s disposal [5] and archaeologists employ different sampling techniques to extrapolate or generate data which should be representative of the whole [6]. Sampling is an extremely important aspect or component of archaeological fieldwork and has been widely employed by survey projects carried out in different parts of the world. Sampling techniques are used for a variety of reasons such as financial, labour, and time restraints and also to control the sheer volume of data generated during the fieldwork. The processes of sampling can have far-reaching consequencesor influence on the results of any survey project and one needs to be very careful while choosing or designing a sampling strategy as the spatial distribution of sites and material culture varies within diverse regions. Therefore, a sampling strategy must be designed which allows generation of a representative sample of an area/region surveyed and should be efficient in use of time and resources available. Sampling strategies should be carried out in a manner that enables the best use of the data that it generates [7]. Systematic archaeological surveys make use of different sampling frames or units such as transects, quadrats, tracts and so forthof varying dimensions with their own advantages and limitations [8]. Generally, transects and quadrats are the sampling units which are commonly used by archaeologists for surveying and have proven to be very successful in achieving the desired results. For the successful execution of the present survey project, a number of factors, such as the topography of the site, the vegetation, the composition of the survey team and the limited number of resources available were taken into consideration before designing the survey strategy. As the aim was to generate optimum information about the site and the material culture scattered across its surface, the entire mound was at first explored and examined for areas which were feasible for carrying out the survey and wherefrom surface collections could be made. There were certain areas at the site which were heavily vegetated and very difficult to access. Therefore, it was decided that the focus of the survey will beon the eastern part of the mound, which provided better accessibility and included the areas where pottery scatters were mainly concentrated. At first the survey area was marked with the help of a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) unit and readings were taken at different points across it in order to prepare a base map of the same. Owing to the undulated topography of the mound and thick vegetative cover, it was decided to make use of transects instead of the grid or quadrat method for surveying the site as it was relatively easier for the small survey team to put a series of contiguous or parallel-spaced transects across the site rather than gridding it. The aim was to intensively survey the area and to collect a ceramic sample large enough to suffice the goals or objectives of the project. In the process, a total of 33 transects were laid out across the survey area and numbered accordingly. The transects were separated by a distance of 5 meters apart from each other and measured about 70 meters