Sanoli

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (Retd.)

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Location of Baraut in Baghpat District

Sanoli (सनोली) (Sinoli,Sinauli) is a village in Baraut tahsil, Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh. Sanauli is an archaeological site located in Barot tehsil, Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is a site of Indus Valley Civilisation.

Location

Pincode of the village is 250611. It is situated 8km away from Baraut town and 26km away from Baghpat city. Sadakpur Sinoli village has got its own gram panchayat. Akbarpur Thasaka, Mahavatpur and Kotana are some of the nearby villages.

Jat Gotras

• Maan
• Poonia
• Paliwal

Site of Indus Valley Civilisation

In Sanauli 125 graves belonging to Indus Valley Civilisation were found. These graves are dated c. 2200–1800 BC. Sanauli, discovered in 2005, is a fairly recent addition to the list of Indus Valley Civilisation sites in India.

The site at Sanauli was accidentally discovered by people levelling agricultural land. The Archaeological Survey of India began excavations at the site during September 2005.

Burials: As of 2007, the graves found are dated c. 2200–1800 BC.[2] and are 125 in number. These are all oriented in a north-south direction and most are identified as primary burials. Some of the burials are identified also as secondary and multiple burials and animal bones are also discovered next to human bones. The age group of buried starts from 1–2 years and includes all age groups and both male and female. Burial goods generally consisted of odd number of vases (3, 5, 7, 9, 11 etc.) placed near the head, with dish-on-stand usually placed below hip area as well as antenna swords, sheath of copper, terracotta figurines, gold and copper bangles, beads of semi-precious stones (two necklace of long barrel shape) etc.

Remains of a burnt brick wall with a finished inner surface ran along the eastern side of the burial. A dish-on-stands and a violin shaped flat copper container having nearly 35 arrow head shaped copper pieces placed in a row are included in other important findings from Sanauli.

A burial ground of this numbers should have been associated with a large habitation site, but so far such an habitation nearby has not been located.

Dish-on-Stand: The survey found that dish-on-stand was usually placed below the hip area, but in some cases was placed near the head or feet. It was clearly an important part of burial goods. Its mushroom-shaped form has not found at any other archaeological sites. It was used as holding stand and in one case, held the head of a goat.

The Archaeological Survey of India has categorised this site as a prominent cemetery site of the late Harappan period. There is evidence suggesting animal sacrifice in some middle and upper level burials.

Archaeological findings at Sinauli

Ref: UP village offers a fresh clue to solve a Harappan puzzle

For thousands of years, the fields of Sinauli in western Uttar Pradesh hid their secret well. But now its past is out in the open. Beyond the village’s brick lanes and lounging buffaloes, a burial site of the Harappans dating back to about 2,600 BC has finally given up its dead.

A skeleton lies in one of the trenches, the copper bangles on its hands intact though twisted with time. A few tiny beads are scattered around. Another was probably not fortunate enough to be buried whole, its bones lie in a heap. The Archaeological Survey of India’s excavations in Sinauli in Bagpat district, over 80 km from Delhi, have found 18 such skeletons. All of them have seven terracota vases and bowls buried near their heads. ‘‘One of the graves also had a dog’s head. Perhaps it was a favourite pet and was buried along with the dead person,’’ says superintendent archaeologist at the ASI, Dharam Vir Sharma. The beginning of this historical discovery, like always, was accidental. A farmer decided to level his wayward field. The labourers from the village found some pots while digging and took them home. That could have been the end of the story but for a villager with a keen interest in history.

Twenty-eight year Tahir Hussain, the only graduate among his seven siblings, runs an agriculture implements shop in Barhot — the tehsil under which Sinauli falls. But his heart has always been in history, especially in the pyramids of Egypt. ‘‘Whenever I am in Delhi I make it a point to visit the National Museum,’’ says Tahir. So when he saw some of these pots in his relatives house in Sinauli last year, he was sure of their worth. ‘‘I thought the best way was to tell the local press,’’ says Tahir. The article was published and officials at the ASI read it. They recovered the pots from reluctant villagers and on August 17, 2005, the ASI began its excavations. Digging up the past is a delicate business. About twenty people work at the site, scrapping the mud of with a needle like instrument, lest anything be damaged. At any time there are at least two guards at the site.

The ancient ghosts have caused much excitment among historians. ‘‘It is the first Harappan burial site to be found in Uttar Pradesh,’’ says Sharma. Previously Harappan cemeteries have been unearthed at Kalibanga and Lothal. Says Upinder Singh, reader in the department of history at St Stephen’s College, Delhi: ‘‘This is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much new evidence coming in that archaeologists may have to re-think on many counts.’’

The burial ground could shed new light on the funeral practices of the Harappans. ‘‘It could also point to a larger habitation. Also the pots found here are all unpainted. These should be co-related to the pots found in other burial sites. That exercise is yet to be done,’’ says Singh.

At Sinauli, the skeletons lie with their arms crossed and feet close to each other, head facing north-west. The burial site has many layers. ‘‘In archaelogical terms it means it was in constant use,’’ says Sharma. Evidences of the Harappan civilisation have earlier been found in UP in Saharanpur and Alamgirpur but Sinauli’s haul is much richer.

Sinauli has also marked another first. Says Sharma: ‘‘There is a copper hoard culture that is presumed to be late Harappan or said to follow it. But no one is sure of its authorship. Now two antenna swords belonging to this culture have been found next to a corpse. This could mean that the copper hoard was a contemporary or belonged to the mature Harappan period. An ancient riddle will be solved and historical chronology will change.’’

‘‘What is also interesting is that the soil found here shows that this site was on the banks of the Yamuna. The river now flows 8 km away,’’ says Sharma. It will take a while to tie up all these threads blown astray by time. At present, a team from Kolkata’s Anthropological Survey of India is conducting DNA and other tests on the ancient bodies.

The excavations, says Sharma, will go on for another year. After the burial ground, the team aims to move towards the habitation. ‘‘This is a big burial ground so there could be a buried town around too.’’

ASI unearths 'first-ever' physical evidence of Copper-Bronze age chariots

Sanauli (UP): The "first ever" physical evidence of chariots dating 2000 BC - 1800 BC have been found by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) during a trial excavation in Sanauli village near Baghpat here. Decorated with copper motifs, the findings of the Copper-Bronze age have opened up further research opportunities into the area's civilisation and culture. The three-month long excavation, which started in March this year, has unearthed eight burial sites and several artifacts including three coffins, antenna swords, daggers, combs, and ornaments, among others.

Population

Population of Sadakpur Sinoli according to Census 2011, stood at 8148 (Males: 4490, Females: 3658).

Notable persons

• Subhash Singh Pooniya (Rtd ASI DP)

External links

• Information about Sadakpur Sinoli village - villageinfo.in website
• https://soki.in/sadakpur-sinoli-baraut-baghpat

References

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