The recovery of chariots is set to give new dimension to our history and date of the Mahabharata period, and further into the origins of chariots and horses in the Harappan age
The Archeological Survey of India has unearthed royal burials with remains of horse chariots dating back to 2000 BC at an excavation site, at Sanauli, near Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. This is the first time the archaeologists have found evidence dating back to the Bronze Age that suggests a warrior class existed in that era and they lived a highly sophisticated lifestyle.
According to The Pioneer daily, the archaeologists said that the recovery is set to give a new dimension to our history and date of the Mahabharata period, and further into the origins of chariots and horses in the Harappan age.
Speaking to The Pioneer, SK Manjul, director of Institute of Archaeology, and co-director Arvin Manjul, who led the excavation team, said, “The new findings will shed light on India’s place in the ancient world history. Previously, chariots were found to be a part of Mesopotamia, Georgia, Greek civilisations. But, the Sanauli recovery shows we were on par with them.”
“This is also for the first time in the Indian sub-continent that we got royal burial pits,” the archaeologists said. “It is confirmed that they were a warrior class. The swords have copper-covered hilts and a medial ridge making it strong enough for warfare. We have also found shields, a torch and daggers,” said Manjul.
At least three burial places with highly decorative have been unearthed from the site. They are decorated with “floral designs and anthropological figures like horned and peepal leafed crown.” Reportedly, the graves also contained full skeletal remains and a few human bones along with pots.
The new findings have debunked the myth and canards propagated by the leftist historians. Through a series of writings including textbooks the leftist historians have been contesting the historicity of Mahabharata and the Kurukshetra war. With the new archaeological evidence coming to the fore, most of their claims, like chariots and horses were not part of Indus-Valley civilisation, have been proved futile.
“The chariot is a lookalike of the ones found in its contemporary cultures like Mesopotamia. It is a solid wheel with no spokes. In one of the pits, crown or helmet worn by the rider of the chariot has been recovered,” Manjul said. “This throws light on the lifestyle and cultures of the people who lived in the pre-Iron Age — there are mirrors with copper, the elaborate burials, all this show the society was technologically advanced, aesthetic and had the sense of art and craft. They were warrior clans, and had a sophisticated lifestyle,” he said.
