4-Feb-2018: Copper Stone Age artefacts unearthed in Odisha

A team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is camping at Bharatihuda under Niali block, Cuttack district, Odisha. Excavation has been expedited after recovery of ceramic relics of Prachi river valley civilisation believed to be from the Copper Stone Age.

A comprehensive excavation will be taken up since the Prachi valley civilisation is believed to have flourished at Bharatihuda which is a gigantic mound in Jalalpur village. The five Metre high mound is spread over 12 acres.

On the basis of the findings, archaeologists claimed that Prachi river valley civilisation flourished 3000 to 4000 years ago at the site. A few items including weapons made of clay and stones, earthen pots, animal and bird bones belonging to Copper Stone Age were found.

Discoveries of ancient artefacts indicated that a rural settlement might have thrived in that period. These settlements could have had cultural and trade ties with other settlements in the Prachi Valley that had come up around the Prachi river, which gradually disappeared.

Prachi Valley civilisation is believed to be earlier than that of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro flourished on the banks of Prachi river. Prachi Valley civilisation has contributed a lot towards amalgamation, assimilation and proliferation of different religious faiths and cults.

The Prachi river, a tributary of Mahanadi, originates about 10 km away from Bhubaneswar. The river flows through Puri, Khurda, Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur districts and it is this region that is called the Prachi Valley.