The document discusses the Iron Age culture of India, focusing specifically on the megalithic burials in the Takalghat-Khapa region of Maharashtra. It details various burial types, cultural developments, and archaeological findings, asserting the significance of these burials in understanding ancient Indian society, including their habitation patterns, pottery, metallurgy, and domesticated animals. The excavations at Takalghat mark a pivotal point in revealing the megalithic culture in Vidarbha, providing insight into the burial practices and lifestyle of its people.

1. Iron Age Culture of
India with Respect to
the Megalithic Burials of
Takalghat-Khapa
DR. VIRAG SONTAKKE

2. Introduction
u Discovery of Iron is significant
Achievement in human history
u Advent of iron in India was not
particular
u Different geographical zones has their
area/sites
u Difference in chronological set-up
u Marked in second Millennium BCE
Iron Age
Protohistory
PGW, BRW,
Megalithic etc.
Copper Age
Protohistory
Indus Valley
Civilisations
Stone Age
Prehistory
Palaeolithic
sites

3. Iron Age Culture in India
1. Gandhara-Grave Culture: Northern India
2. Painted Gray ware Culture: North-west India and
western UP
3. Black-and Red ware culture : Gangetic Doab and
Middle Ganga Valley
4. Megalithic culture: South India including
Maharashtra

4. Gandhara-Grave Culture
u Also known as Swat culture, or Swat Protohistoric Graveyards
Complex
u Nature: Burial tradition spread over a wide geographical area
u Area: north India, Pakistan
u More than 30 cemeteries in the swat valley of Pakistan
u Chronology: 1400 BCE to 800 BCE
u Main burial type: Cist

5. Painted Gray ware Culture
u Location: Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan, Western Uttar
Pradesh (Indo-Gangetic Plain and Upper Ganga Plain).
u Name: Characterized by a style of fine, grey painted
pottery (continued for more than thousand years)
u PGW culture is associated with village and town settlements,
domesticated horses, ivory-working, and the advent of iron
metallurgy
u Upto 2014, more than 1,100 PGW sites have been discovered.
u Food: rice, wheat, millet and barley, green gram, black
gram, red gram and grass pea
u Animals: cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses
u Houses: small huts, wattle and doub
u Imp Sites: Hastinapura and Atranjikhera Jhakera, Mathura,
Ahicchatra (UP), Bhagwanpura (Haryana),
u Chronology: 1500/1200 to 600/500 BCE
u PGW associated with Mahabharata ((Lal, 1954-55)

6. Early Iron Age in Ganga Plain
u Area: Gangetic Plain and Middle Ganga Valley,
eastern Vindhyas
u Imp Sites: Raja Nala-ka-tila, Malhar, Dadupur ,
Lahuradewa or Lohradewa
u Ceramics: Black-and Red ware
u Iron: nail, clamp, spear-head, arrow-head, awl,
knife, bangle, sickle and plough share.
u Iron smelting furnace evidence
u Chronology: 1800 – 900 BCE

7. Megalithic
culture

8. Defining Megaliths
• MEGALITHS CAN BE DESCRIBED AS MAN MADE
STRUCTURES OF STONE OR STONES CONSTRUCTED
FOR BURYING THE DEADS.
• THE WORD 'MEGALITH' COMES FROM THE ANCIENT
GREEK MEGAS MEANING GREAT,
AND LITHOS MEANING STONE.
• THE WORD WAS FIRST TIME USED IN 1849 BY A.
HERBERT IN CONNECTION WITH STONEHENGE.

9. Vidarbha
Map of Vidarbha
Megalithic Culture of Vidarbha

10. Megaliths of Vidarbha, Maharashtra
o Vidarbha is an administrative division of Maharashtra consisting 11
districts.
o It is one of the important pockets of megalithic culture in India.
o Recent researches suggest that Maharashtra especially Vidarbha is the only
region after south India that has yielded more than hundreds of Megalithic
burial sites.
o Plenty of excavations and explorations carried out in this region provide a
strong database to study and analyze the megalithic culture.

11. Megalithic Types
1. STONE CIRCLE
2. CAIRN CIRCLE
3. MENHIR
4. DOLMEN
5. CIST BURIAL
6. ROCK – CUT CAVE
7. UMBRELLA STONE/ HOOD STONE
8. POT BURIAL ETC.

12. Stone Circle
Circular Peripherical stones/boulders

15. Cairn
Packing/heap of bounders

16. Menhir

17. Dolmen
Non sepulchral chamber open from one side

18. Cist

19. Capstones/
Flat-stones

20. Double stone circle
Triple stone circle

21. Excavations, process and recovered
material from burials
Inside the Burial
1. HUMAN SKELETON
2. HORSE SKELETON
3. ANIMAL SKELETON
4. CERAMICS
5. IRON TOOLS
6. COOPER OBJECTS
7. GOLD ORNAMNETS
8. STONE IMPLEMENTS
9. SEMI-PRECIOUS STONE BEADS
10. HORSE ORNAMENTS

31. Bone remains from Megaliths

32. Courtesy: Dr. Ismail Kellellu

33. Takalghat -Khapa
u Situated in Nagpur District, Maharashtra
u 29 km. away from Nagpur
u Situated on either site of river Krishna
u First time reported by Father Hislop
u Further, Excavated by Department of Ancient Indian
History, Culture and Archaeology, Nagpur University
u Excavated during 1968-69
u Directed by Prof. S.B. Deo
u First megalithic culture excavations in Maharashtra
u Established: Megalithic burials + Their Builders

34. Rev. Stephen Hislop (1817-1863)
ØIn Maharashtra Rev. Stephen
Hislop as the earliest worker in
Vidarbha in 1849.
ØHe initiated excavations at
Khapa in Nagpur and excavated
a few stone circles.

37. Excavations
Takalghat
u Habitation site
u Megalithic people lived here
u Three different development stages
u 1A: Earliest: Wattle & daub houses
u 1B: Middle: houses with mud walls
u 1C: Late: no evidence of structure
Khapa
u Burial site
u Type: mostly stone circle
u Diameter
1. Largest:26-23 meters
2. Medium: 17-14 meters
3. Small: 13-12 meters
u Nine megaliths were excavated

39. Ceramics
Wares:
u Black and red ware
u Coarse red ware
u Micaceous Red ware
u Black burnished ware
u Painted black on red ware
Shape:
1. Bowl
2. Dishes
3. Basins
4. Pots
5. Storage jars

41. Beads
u Agate: 14
u Carnelian: 71
u Crystal: 6
u Chalcedony: 2
u Jasper:2
u Glass: 2
u Shell
u Terracotta

43. Iron objects
u Arrowheads
u Axes with crossed ring-band fasteners
u Adzes
u Chizels
u Swords
u Daggers
u Spikes
u Nail parer
u Laddle
u cauldrons

46. Copper objects
uBangles
uBells
uHorse gear
uBowl
uDishes with lids

48. Society
u Lived in a small houses
u Houses had clay walls
u Lime plastered
u Clay floorings
u Wooden post
u Using iron implements: Weapons, Carpentry tools,
u Masters in metallurgy
u Using variety of ceramics
u Also made beads

49. Domesticated animals
uPigs
uCows
uBulls
uSheep
uGoat
uHorse

50. Skeletal Remains & Chronology
Skeletal Remains
u Fragmentary bones
u No complete
skeleton
u Horse remains
Chronology
u14 C
1. 1B: 555 BCE

51. Significance of Takalghat -khapa
1. First systematic excavated Megalithic sites of Vidarbha
2. First detail excavation report of Megalithic sites of Vidarbha
3. Established Relations between megalithic burials and habitation
4. Result of Excavations:
a) Burial types and its nature and locations
b) Burial appendages
c) Nature of constructions
d) Their way of living
e) House structures
f) Food habits
g) Domesticated animals
h) Workmanship

52. Any Questions ?