Tenth century skeletons shed light on Nadol’s history

JAIPUR: Three skeletons found at a historical site at Junakhera in Nadol, Pali district date back to the 10th and 11th century Chahamanas kingdom. The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) in Lucknow carried out Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating of the soil samples to conclude the time period of skeletons. Nadol was a flourishing trade town of the Chahamanas (later called Chauhans) located on the banks of Barmal River, which is extinct now.
The dynasty declined in 13th century and Nadol was abandoned by the rulers due to repeated attacks by the invaders. First reference of the trade city was mentioned in Jain texts of 16th century. This is the sixth excavation carried out in Nadol since 1989. The BSIP concluded that iron bricks found from the excavation site prove the use of furnace in the region. Anthropologist and historians are upbeat about the discovery of skeletons in the area dating back to the period which has very limited archaeological evidence. The skeletons were found one metre deep in two complexes. These complexes were apart by three to seven metres in distance. They were found in slanting positions with hands open. Two of the three skeletons were exhumed as the condition of one is very critical. The officials fear that critical one will collapse, if attempted to exhume.

“Strikingly, the Chahamanas had the strong tradition of cremating bodies. Neither any paraphernalia related to prayers performed for the deaths nor any weapons were found near the skeletons. No ornaments were found in any of the skeletons which draw the most convenient conclusion of them being males,” said Vineet Godhal, exploration and excavation officer, department of museum and archaeology, Rajasthan. The complexes are being studied minutely to conclude its nature: residential, commercial, government or prison. “The insignificant recovery of weapons from the site indicates that the town was dominated by Jains and Baniyas. They had the exclusive rights to do business in that period,” said Godhal. The department did recover weapons like butcher knives and other sharp edged or pointed tools but not from the site of the skeletons.