Ancient city discovered
2002-02-19 08:15
India - The discovery of an ancient city on the seabed off India's western coast has scientists salivating at the prospect of a fundamental rewrite of the chronology of ancient human society.
Preliminary tests have suggested the site in the Gulf of Cambay
off Gujarat state could date as far back as 7500 BC, several
thousand years older than what were previously known to be the
first significant urban settlements.
The discovery was made purely by chance last year as
oceanographers from the National Institute of Ocean Technology
(NIOT) were measuring water pollution levels in the area.
The team picked up strange signals and sent down two highly
sensitive pieces of sonar equipment, which produced astounding
images of what appeared to be a large settlement, stretching for
nine kilometres (six miles) along both sides of an old river bed.
A dredge was used to bring several tonnes of sludge up from the
site which contained a number of artefacts such as stone tools,
ornaments and even a human jawbone and tooth.
"We are very excited, naturally," said S. Kathiroli, who headed
the NIOT team that did the dredging.
The main source of the excitement was a fossilised wooden log,
which carbon dating techniques dated back to 7500 BC.
Changing history?
Until now, the world's first urban settlements were believed to
have thrived in the river valleys of ancient Mesopotamia around
4000-3500 BC. These were followed by the colourful Pharaonic
culture seen in Egypt's Nile Valley civilisation.
The Indian subcontinent had the great Indus Valley settlements
that came up around 2500 BC.
Indian historians and archaeologists country who have examined
the artefacts and other data procured by the NIOT team seem
convinced that the "Cambian" people did pre-date the Indus Valley
civilisation unearthed in the twin cities of Harappa and
Mohenjodaro.
One of India's topmost marine archaeologists, SR Rao, after
examining the findings at the NIOT, concluded that Cambay did have a prehistoric settlement and the pottery picked up at the site was pre-Harappan.
Among the most exciting sonar images were those of a large
public bath the size of an Olympic swimming pool and a fortified
citadel.
"I am very much impressed. All this clearly indicates an urban
civilisation that is not linked to the Indus settlements," said
Iravatham Mahadevan, president of the Indian History Congress.
However, Mahadevan also sounded a strong note of warning
regarding the wooden log, which remains the only source and
evidence of the 7500 BC date.
"The fact is that the wood could have floated in from anywhere.
Okay, it's teak wood which is indigenous to western India, but if
we want to claim the oldest civilisation in the world, we need
stronger evidence than that," Mahadevan said.
"If you take the log out of the equation, you are left with some
stone implements which cannot be carbon dated and would appear
consistent with the late neolithic period," he added.
Evidence needed
"Clearly, this is a very big discovery, but we should not spoil
it by claiming dates for which there is no strong evidence."
Dr S Badrinarayanan, a senior geologist engaged by the NIOT,
said a small piece of fired pottery picked up by the dredger may
give the necessary supporting evidence for the date suggested by
the log.
Irrespective of the date, the question remains as to how the
Cambay settlement came to be submerged by the sea.
The region is in a zone of heavy seismic activity, and one
possibility is that a major earthquake had literally shorn the
landmass off the coast and tossed it into the sea.
"During our survey, we picked up sonar images showing that at
places, the surface levels dropped as much as 30 metres (yards),
which meant there were severe upheavals," said Kathiroli.
State funds have been promised to probe further into the history
of the Cambay site, with the chance of a full international
collaborative study in the future. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA