Agra: Evidence that the Mainpuri district in Uttar Pradesh was inhabited during the Chalcolithic period has come to the surface. About 77 copper weapons were discovered by a resident who was getting his field leveled in the Ganeshpur village of Mainpuri. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said the weapons were found to be nearly 4,000 years old upon preliminary examination.
As per the findings, a soldier camp used to stand in Ganeshpur village of Kurawari tehsil. Copper weapons were very popular in the Chalcolithic period. The first copper weapons from this period were found in Bithoor, Kanpur in 1822.
Bahadur Singh, a resident of Ganeshpur village, was leveling his field on June 10 when he discovered the copper treasure buried in the ground. Initially, he had carried the weapons back to his home, but as the word spread, the administration and police were alerted. Officials appealed to the locals to hand over the weapons and other ancient artifacts to the authorities.
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In addition to the administration and the police, officials from the ASI also arrived at the spot. The ASI team took possession of 77 copper weapons and other artifacts from the village in the Mainpuri district. It conducted the scientific investigation for nearly 8 days and discovered Garrick pottery (also called the Ochre-coloured pottery) and cooking furnace (chulha) in addition to the copper weapons.
Rajkumar Patel, the superintending archaeologist of ASI's Agra Circle, said that among the 77 copper weapons discovered in Ganeshpur village, were 16 human figures which varied in their sizes and weight, swords of different sizes, spears of distinct sizes and textures, garrick pottery, a cooking furnace, and other utensils such as bowls and urns made of mud.
The newly discovered copper weapons were covered with soil due to which their surface is not visible, said the spokesperson of the ASI, Vasant Swarnakar. The artifacts will be sent to ASI's lab where they will be cleaned and properly preserved after they are surveyed. The copper artifacts discovered in Ganeshpur are of three kinds- swords, spears, and human figures. The purity of the metal is up to 98 percent, he added.
The Garrick pottery culture was followed by the people who lived in this area, said Patel. Initially, the ASI team had trouble figuring out the cultural history of Ganeshpur. Upon the discovery of the copper weapons, it was found that the inhabitants followed the Garrick pottery tradition. Traces of this tradition have been found on the Ganeshpura site.
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"These copper hoards belong to the Chalcolithic period (copper age) and the presence of Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) is directly associated with this time," said the director of archaeology at ASI, Bhuvan Vikram. When the copper weapons were carbon dated, it was found that they belonged to the copper age between 1800 BCE to 1500 BCE.
Mainpuri used to be a popular meditating site for sages such as Rishi Mayan, Rishi Chyawan, Rishi Markandeya, and many others. Numerous artifacts from the 9th Century have been discovered in Mainpuri. Copper weapons were also discovered in Saifai in Etwah district. The artifacts are almost seven decades old, and it is very likely that Mainpuri was densely populated in the Chalcolithic age.
ASI will document the artifacts by measuring the dimensions, and conducting chemical tests on them. This makes the process of carbon dating and preservation much more efficient. Upon analyzing the artifacts, it was found that they were of three kinds. There were domestic, hunting-based copper artifacts and those found in Mainpuri. Almost all of the artifacts other than the human figures were weapons, suggesting that they were used in war.
To date, the highest number of copper weapons from the Chalcolithic age have been found in Madhya Pradesh. 424 copper artifacts were discovered during just one excavation project in M.P. Copper artifacts have also been discovered in Rakhigarhi in Harayana, Sanauli in Baghpat, Saifai in Etawah, and Kanpur.
