A team of archeological experts from three institutions has discovered a habitation site and a graveyard on the land bordering Farmana and Samayan villages in Rohtak district of Haryana, about 110 km from New Delhi.
The excavation work carried out over three years revealed a housing complex and a cemetery in the ruins belonging to the Harappan civilisation, which existed about 4,000-4,500 years BP (Before Present).
Before Present is a time-scale used in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines. The standard practice is to use 1950 as the arbitrary origin of the age-scale. For example, 1500 BP means 1,500 years before 1950, or in the year 450.
The team comprises archeologists from the Deccan college, Pune; Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, and the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan. The Japanese body is also the funding agency for three projects in Haryana — Girawar and Farmana in Rohtak district and Mitathal in Bhiwani district.
According to Prof Man Mohan of MDU, while the habitation site is spread over nearly 45 acres of land in Farmana village — about 40 km from Rohtak — the cemetery was about 600 meters northwest of the housing complex on about 7 acres in the neighbouring Samayan village.
{{/usCountry}}According to Prof Man Mohan of MDU, while the habitation site is spread over nearly 45 acres of land in Farmana village — about 40 km from Rohtak — the cemetery was about 600 meters northwest of the housing complex on about 7 acres in the neighbouring Samayan village.
{{/usCountry}}Both the housing complex - consisting of 26 rooms, three-four kitchens, an equal number of bathrooms and a courtyard situated in the centre - and the cemetery are considered to be of the mature Harappan period. The rooms vary from 6 feet by 6 feet to 16 feet by 20 feet.
The archeologists have also found about 70 skeletons at an adjacent site. This is perhaps the largest habitation site of the Harappan period in Haryana. The findings also indicate that this region was part of the Indus Valley civilisation, considered to be one of the most developed ancient civilisations.