GUWAHATI, May 29 ? A series of ring wells with terracota rings on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra may help in establishing the age of the Brahmaputra Valley Civilisation. A team of the Guwahati Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), led by Superintending Archaeologist Dr Syed Jamal Hasan, recently discovered a series of about ten ring wells buried under about two metres of earth at Borachuburi village, one kilometer ahead of Da-Parbatia in Sonitpur District. The place is located along the northern bank of Brahmaputra river.
Exploration in the area led to the discovery of architectural member and one brick wall in a village. A trial trench was dug at the site for one week in January last, to study the nature of the ring well. A few red ware sherds were also collected from the river bed, said Dr Hasan while talking to The Assam Tribune here today.
The discovery is significant, Dr Hasan said, as, the series of ring wells was reported for the first time in the Brahmaputra Valley in the pattern of the Gangetic region. The period of the ring wells may go back to the 2nd Century BC or 3rd Century BC, he said, adding, however, the structures of the ring wells in Brahmaputra valley, as appeared in the Borachuburi area, were slightly bigger and a little crude, compared to the Gangetic Valley ones.
In the trial trench, 16 rings of a ring well were exposed. Dr Hasan expects that a thorough probe in the area may help in revealing the exact picture of ancient settlement of the NE region and its river valley civilisation. In NE region, he feels that a thorough exploration and excavation is what is needed, especially all along the banks of the tributaries, to establish the chronology of its civilisation.
It is pertinent to mention here that Dr Hasan, who joined the Guwahati Circle of the ASI on November 26, 2000, as its Superintending Archaeologist, excavated many sites, similar to the one at Borachuburi, like Shringaverapur, Bhita, Sravasti and Bharadwaj Ashram, among others, in Uttar Pradesh and other States of the country since 1977-78.
Unfortunately, said Dr Hasan and Assistant Archaeologist of the ASI, Guwahati Circle, Bimal Sinha, archaeology was not given its due importance in the NE region.
Moreover, climatic condition here also is playing the spoil sport in matters of exploration. A piecemeal cultural information rather than the broad cultural sequence, is also a disadvantage here, they said, attributing it to the unique climatic condition of the region. The ASI team that explored the BorachubUri site also comprised Archeologist AK Gupta and senior photographer Tarun Srivastava, besides Dr Hasan and Sinha. Dr Hasan is joining the ASI Circle at Dehradun early next month as its Superintending Archaeologist.