Pandu Rajar Dhibi in the valley of the river Ajay is an

Archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

in Ausgram II block in the Sadar North subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. It was the first

Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...

site discovered in West Bengal. It was excavated by a team led by Paresh Chandra Dasgupta. The common man believes that the main mound at Pandu Rajar Dhibi is associated with King Pandu mentioned in the epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

, hence the name came into being from the folklore .Chattopadhyay, Akkori, ''Bardhaman Jelar Itihas O Lok Sanskriti'' (History and Folklore of Bardhaman District.), , Vol I, pp. 125-130, Radical Impression.

Geography

Location

It is located near the southern bank of Ajay River and excavations have been made near Rajpotdanga and Panduk villages.

Excavations

The site was first excavated by Paresh Chandra Dasgupta in 1954-57. While Pandu Rajar Dhibi was the first

or Copper Age site to be discovered, a number of other sites have been discovered in an area spread over the districts of Birbhum, Bardhaman,

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology It comes from the old Austric word ráŕhá or ráŕho which means “land of red soil”.P.R. Sarkar Rarh - ...

and Midnapore, and interspersed by rivers Brahmani, Mayurakshi, Kopai, Ajay, Kunur, Damodar, Dwarakesvar, Shilabati, and Rupnarayan later in 1962 to 63 the archaeology department of West Bengal excavated some areas of Ajay, Kunur, Kopay in Birbhum and Bardhaman district through this excavation the archaeologists found some elements of ancient civilizations that was existed in 1500 BCE the excavated site nearest the South Bank of a river origin name as Rajar dhibi as The Scholars found its main Mound associate with the "Pandu Raja" mentioned in the Mahabharata . There were two main periods – the Chalcolithic period around 1600 BC – 750 BC, and the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

The people and their culture

As to the artists of the Chalcolithic culture of Bengal, we are in the dark. From an examination of skeletal remains (14-male, female & children) it appears that they were long-headed and medium to tall in height. There was perhaps a brisk maritime trade in Chalcolithic Bengal, but sufficient evidence is not available. Certainly, the Ajay and her tributaries meeting the Bhagirathi were navigable at that time. The excavation at Pandu Rajar Dhibi has provided evidence for the gradual growth of a Chalcolithic culture and its displacement by iron-using people. There is evidence of a great conflagration in period III, which may be considered as the transitional period. The transition perhaps led to the exit of the Chalcolithic culture and entrance of the Iron Age.

Significance

The excavations at Pandu Rajar Dhibi reveal the origin of the

Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...

. The Copper Age civilisation in eastern India but also distant lands such as Crete and the Mediterranean lands. They were predominantly a seafaring people.

References

{{Portal, India Archaeological cultures in India Former populated places in India Archaeological sites in West Bengal Purba Bardhaman district