Giant stone vessels have been found at an archaeological site in northeastern India. The team of scholars, from three local and Australian universities, believe they may be over two thousand years old. Similar artifacts had recently been found in Laos
Of the gigantic stone vases were found in India. I’m 65 the mysterious artifacts in sandstone which – reports the BBC
– according to archaeologists they may have been used as ancient burials. The discovery took place in four different sites in the state of Assam, in the north-eastern part of the country. Objects they vary in shape and size: some are tall and cylindrical, while others appear different, but are still partially or completely buried. Not the first time stone vessels like these have been found, something similar had surfaced during excavations in Laos and Indonesia.
The discovery
The news of the discovery, with all the details, was published this week in the magazine Journal of Asian Archaeology
by the research team of three universities in India and Australia driven by Tilok Thakuriaof North-Eastern Hill University e Uttam Bathari of Gauhati University. We still don’t know who made the giant pots – all a bit of a mystery, he said Nicholas Skopal, researcher at the Australian National University. While it is not yet clear what these vases were used for, scholars believe they likely were associated with mortuary practices. This is because, they explain, there are stories of the Naga people (an ethnic group in northeastern India) which refers to vessels found in Assam filled with cremated remains, beads and other artifacts.
Excavations in Assam
The next step will be to dig some more. So as to document the characteristics of each of these vessels, Thakuria explained to the BBC. In the past, similar sites, scholars say, have been discovered in the nearby state of Meghalaya and in Assam, where they have been found over time over 700 vessels in ten different locations. The hypothesis of archaeologists that these artifacts date back before 400 BC and – say the researchers – there are likely to be many more sites like these. The longer it takes us to find them, the more likely they are to be destroyed, says Skopal. This is due to the actions taken to cut down the forests and to the practices of intensive agriculture.
Previous discoveries in Laos
Of the similar vessels discovered in Laos in 2016in Xieng Khouang province, are believed to have at least 2 thousand years. Here the researchers studied three different types of burial: bones placed in pits with a large block of limestone to seal them, bones buried in ceramic vessels and a whole body in a tomb. The size and structure of the vessels found in Assam and Laos are very similar, explains Skopal. But there are differences. Those in Assam are rounder, while those in Laos are more cylindrical.
March 31, 2022 (change March 31, 2022 | 12:43)
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