Overview
An archaeological site in Hazaribag district of Jharkhand has yielded evidence of a layered settlement in the Mohane river basin. The site is located in Chauparan block and includes villages like Dehar, Sohra, Mangarh, and Hathinder. Archaeologists have found artefacts dating back nearly 3,200 years. Using Ground Penetrating Radar, they have detected large buried structures over 100 feet long. The site has also produced statues of Buddhist and Hindu deities. A large mound in Mangarh village has been identified as an ancient Buddhist stupa. Historians are now calling for the Archaeological Survey of India to protect this important heritage.
Latest News: Ancient Remains Discovered in Hazaribag
A major archaeological discovery has come to light in Jharkhand. The site is located in the Mohane river basin in Chauparan block of Hazaribag district. Villages such as Dehar, Sohra, Mangarh, and Hathinder have yielded artefacts. These items were found during farming and foundation digging. Local villagers often unearthed old pots, statues, and bricks while ploughing their fields or digging for new houses. Now, scientists have confirmed that these remains belong to a settlement that is nearly 3,200 years old. The evidence spans multiple historical periods. The site contains habitation layers, debris zones, and buried structures.
What Has Been Found at the Site?
The archaeological team has collected many important items. One of the most significant finds is Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) . This is a black-glazed type of pottery. It is associated with the early historic period in South Asia. The presence of NBPW suggests that the site was active around 600–200 BCE.
The site has also produced many stone and terracotta statues. These include figures of Gautam Buddha, Tara, Marichi, Avalokiteshvara, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh (Shiva), and Ganesha . The mix of Buddhist and Hindu iconography shows that the site was a place of religious importance for many centuries.
Most exciting of all, a large mound in Mangarh village has been identified as an ancient Buddhist stupa . A stupa is a dome-shaped structure used for Buddhist meditation and for keeping sacred relics. This stupa is believed to be about 2,500 to 3,000 years old. That would make it one of the oldest Buddhist structures in eastern India.
How Did Scientists Discover These Remains?
Teams from IIT-ISM Dhanbad and Visva-Bharati University worked together on this project. They used a technology called Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) . GPR is a geophysical method. It sends radar waves into the ground. When these waves hit buried objects or structures, they bounce back. Scientists then create an image of what lies beneath the surface. This method does not require digging. It is fast and non-destructive.
The GPR surveys identified subsurface anomalies – meaning strange patterns under the ground that are not natural. These include large buried structures measuring over 100 feet in length . Such long structures could be the walls of a large building, a temple, or a monastic complex.
Why Is This Site So Important?
This discovery is important for several reasons. First, it pushes back the history of settled life in this part of Jharkhand by more than 3,000 years. Second, the presence of Northern Black Polished Ware links the site to the wider Ganges Valley civilisation of the early historic period. Third, the Buddhist stupa and the Buddha statues show that Buddhism was practised here from a very early time. The