Samipya 1991 Vol 08 Ank 01 02

Author(s): Pravinchandra C Parikh, Bhartiben Shelat
Publisher: Bholabhai Jeshingbhai Adhyayan Sanshodhan Vidyabhavan

Page 14

In addition to the pottery some artifacts were also recovered which included stone tools, grinding stones as well as chipped stones. The blades recovered are from the mid-levels.
The antiquities recovered from excavations are as follows : 1. Agate bead 2. Fine red ware pendant 3. Fine red ware, red slip, perforated sherd 4. Fine red ware, red slip, bead 5. Etched carnelian bead (Broken )
To find out the date, the samples were sent to the laboratory and seven radiocarbon dates were fixed falling within the second half of the third millennium B. C. Considering corelation with the Rojdi, sequence, Babarkot falls within the Rojdi A and B bracket.
Babarkot is a site similar to other Harappan sites of Saurashtra but it diverges in 'two ways : (1) Fortification wall (2) Two parallel earth walls. Most of the Harappan sites are low, flat mounds with usual house plans, but few sites are diverged from this.
The people, we associate with Harappan were not necessarily alone in the region and may have culturally diverse people too. In this state there was a certain level of conflict between these people and this could have been a consideration for travel including the movement of pastoralists.
The site of Babarkot is situated on the traditional route that linked the other Harappan sites of Saurashtra.
For the site a hypothesis might take the following view Babarkot was purposely built on this route which was playing a key role in the regional movement of people for trade and subsistance. At some point in the life of the site the surrounding of Babarkot became dangerous to this movement and the settlement was fortified to become a kind of Dharmashala.
The black earth parallel wall could be the main walls for the small rooms constructed in between. This kind of tradition is still prevailing in the villages of the general sojourn.
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[Samipya : April, '91-March, 1992