Indian Antiquary Vol 10

Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 16

8
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
javelin or spear-head 13"-6 long, over all, of which 15 was the tang, the blade being about 1'1 wide at the base, and tapering gradually to the tip (Pl. IV, Fig. 5). At most it is only 0" 16 thick. Eastward of this lay a broken-pointed (? knife) blade 2.5 long, 0-9 wide, and 0"-12 thick. It has a slight bend at the break at each end, and is better preserved than the other iron blades. The pottery was all broken, and contained nothing distinguishable from common earth.
The dimensions of this kist (No. 3) were as follows:-Interior 8'-2" long, 4'-9" wide, and 5'-9 high. The entrance hole was nearly circular, 1'-9" in diameter, and more nearly in the centre of the east end wall than usual.
The four side stones were 6' to 9' long, 5'-9" high, and from 2" to 5" thick.
No. 4 Kistvaen.
Whilst No. 3 was being excavated, a fourth kist close to it, also without any capstone, was excavated as being convenient. It was smaller, bat otherwise like No. 3, with only a single circle of stones, 18 ft. in diameter. The recent rain had penetrated but slightly, and the earth being comparatively soft and friable, its examination was completed first. As in the cases of Nos. 2 and 3, nothing was found, except two or three small fragments of pottery, until near the bottom, when a great many jars and pots were found very closely packed, especially towards the west end and the two sides, but more or less spread all over the floor.
Four or five high narrow tripod jars were found, one of them standing up, the rest lying down. Some globular pots with rather pointed bottoms and large mouths occurred; and some flat bowls, one of which, a little east of the centre, was full of charred bones, besides which there were two other pots full of bones on the south side.
[JANUARY, 1881.
The dimensions of this kist (No. 4) were7'-8" long, 4'-6' wide, and 5'-4" high.
The entrance hole, 1'-9" in diameter, was as usual high up in the slab forming the east end of the chamber, and within 9" of the north side.
The two side slabs were 8' and 9' long, 5'-4" high, and from 3" to 6" thick; the end slabs 5'-5" and 5'-8" long, 5'-4" high, and 2" to 5"
thick.
Two circular pot-stands were seen and numerous small hemisperical bowls interspersed amongst the rest of the pottery. Everything was already more or less broken or cracked, and could not be taken out whole. The jars, pots, bowls and vase-stands numbered thirty-two in all. Except the bones, nothing could be made out of the contents of the pottery, but that it consisted largely of common gritty soil; no iron implements were found here, nor was anything of any special interest noticed.
They all stood about a foot above the ground within the circle of stones, which was very little above the general ground level.
The "bearing" or direction of the length of this cell was a point or so to the south of east, whereas by far the most of those observed were rather north of east: but a few differed considerably.
The peculiarities of the kistvaen (No. 1) first opened at Sâvandurga, wherein it differs from those ordinarily found in this part of the country, are as follows:
1. The earth with which it was filled contained fragments of all sorts of pottery, a copper coin or token, a few pieces of wrought iron, and some charred bones, possibly human, as well as of birds (apparently uncharred), all scattered up and down throughout the kist, except near the surface.
2. There is no cinerarium, but the remains of many of the bones of a human skeleton (besides the charred bones above mentioned) as if a body had been buried unburnt. The earth in which they were embedded was very hard and dry, and the bones were so brittle or decayed that few or none of them could be taken out whole.
3. The couch or bed-stone raised a little above the floor, on and beneath which lay a number of iron weapons and implements of the chase, amongst which was a knife or dagger with a copper fillet round the handle-guard.
4. The somewhat large size of the entrance hole (2'-7" wide).
Arch-stone Kistvaens.
On this occasion I visited a small group of kistvaens amongst the rocks 10 minutes' walk or more to the north of Ittige-bail, having been attracted thither from the foot-path by catching sight of a conspicuous upright arched stone, standing in the inner edge of a double circle of stones in front of a fine half-buried kist, with a capstone 12' long, 9′ wide, and 9" thick (Plate I, Fig. 4). The arched stone is formed out of a very