Binjor - 4MSR (Thed of the local villagers) is an archaeological site in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, near the international border between

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. It is situated a couple of kilometers from Binjor village,

Anupgarh tehsil Anupgarh Tehsil is the one of ten tehsils of Sri Ganganagar district in Rajasthan, India. The tehsil headquarters are located at the town of Anupgarh. Demographics People have migrated from other tehsils of Sri Gangagnagar district, and fro ...

Sri Ganganagar district Sri Ganganagar district is the northernmost district of Rajasthan state in western India. History Named after Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar district was part of Bikaner state. This was a mostly uninhabited region. The his ...

.Subramanian, TS.
Harappan Surprise
'. ''Frontline'' (Madras) 17 April 2015

Site location

The 4MSR site is 5 km west of Anupgarh Fort & Binjor village is further 1.5 km west. 4MSR archaeological site is immediate south of Anupgarh-Binjir Road.

Excavation

4MSR, in the Ghaggar river (

Ghaggar-Hakra River The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, ending ...

) valley and excavated by

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

(ASI), is widely considered as an Early Harappan and Mature Harappan site (

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900 ...

). There are no indications that a Late Harappan phase existed. In the Ghaggar river valley, explorations and excavations had been done in several sites. These sites included

Kalibangan Kalibangān is a town located at on the left or southern banks of the Ghaggar ( Ghaggar-Hakra River) in Tehsil Pilibangān, between Suratgarh and Hanumangarh in Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan, India 205 km. from Bikaner. It is also id ...

, 46 GB and Binjor 1, 2, 3 and 4,

Rakhigarhi Rakhigarhi or Rakhi Garhi is a village and an archaeological site belonging to the Indus Valley civilisation in Hisar District of the northern Indian state of Haryana, situated about 150 km northwest of Delhi. It was part of the mature pha ...

and Baror. "The purpose of the present excavation at 4MSR is to learn about the Early Harappan deposits, relationship with other contemporary sites and to fill the gap between the Late Harappan phase and the

Painted Grey Ware culture The Painted Grey Ware culture (PGW) is an Iron Age Indian culture of the western Gangetic plain and the Ghaggar-Hakra valley in the Indian subcontinent, conventionally dated 1200 to 600–500 BCE, or from 1300 to 500–300 BCE It is a success ...

", Sanjay Manjul, Director, the Institute of Archaeology and head of the excavation at 4MSR, said.

Finds

During 2017 excavation, 4000 years old high protein multi-grain

laddu ''Laddu'' or ''laddoo'' (; ms, kuih laddu; id, kue laddu) is a spherical sweet originating from India and spread through the Indian subcontinent and the Malay world. Laddus are primarily made from flour, fat (ghee/butter/oil) and sugar or j ...

s were found along with terraçota seal, two bull figurines, etc all of which were part of rituals, likely ancestral worship. Inclusion of various items shows their significance in the agrarian society of that era.

References

{{Coord missing, Rajasthan Indus Valley civilisation sites History of Rajasthan Former populated places in India Archaeological sites in Rajasthan

Site location

Excavation

Finds

See also

References