Artefacts found at Thoubal village
Source: Chronicle News Service
Thoubal, June 17 2021:
State Archaeology Department has started examination of some artefacts which were unearthed during construction of compound wall for one Md Muji Rahaman alias Manglemnganba at Keibung Mayai Leikai in Thoubal district.
On receipt of information of the discovery, an official team of archaeology department led by its surveyor Gunindro under the supervision of superintendent Sachikanta Sharma visited the site and assessed the findings.
According to the team, the artefacts could date back before the advent of Hinduism in Manipur.
The pots unearthed could have been buried with bones of deceased persons.
Before Hinduism arrived in Manipur, Meeteis used to bury dead bodies and then dig up after one year to collect the bones for reburial by placing them in a large pot, the officials said.
Mention may be made that one iron axe, one small spear, one small sword along with some fossil bones were found inside the pot, which was unearthed on Wednesday.
There are still some pots underneath which are yet to be excavated.
According to superintendent Sachikanta Sharma, similar pots were also found in 1984 in some other parts of the state.
It is also similar to the pots found at Sekta in Imphal East in 1991.Similar pots were been recovered from Khangabok, Andro, Koutruk among others.
These artefacts belong to pre-Hindu era.
Exact period could be known only after carbon dating.
However, the fossil bones unearthed by the home owner cannot be processed since it has already been exposed to direct sunlight.
The department will excavate the area further to find more fossils so that proper carbon dating could be conducted, he added.