3,000-yr-old remains found near Nagpur

In a rare archaeological find, four human skeletons have been found in burial site at Gorewada near Nagpur — throwing light on the culture and practices that existed in this part of the globe nearly 3,000 years ago.

The excavations are part of an initiative of the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) and Pune's Deccan College Post Graduate & Research Institute.

"We have taken up an in situ conservation and protection of the Megalithic burial site, the first-of-its-kind in the Indian sub-continent," Dr Kantikumar Pawar, who is leading the excavations, told DH. "This will tell people about our rich cultural heritage," he added.

The government is developing Gorewada Archaeological Theme Park at the Gorewada Reserve Forest.

About the discovery at the burial site, Dr Pawar said that the four skeletal remains include that of a couple.

"On the skull of the female, there was a sort of copper bowl, there were bangles as well. The male skeletal had weapons like axes," he said, adding that two cremated portions of animals like cattle or horse have been found. "Scientific analysis are being done to establish what animal it was," he said.

The couple seems to have been buried together. "Whether it is a sort of coincidence or a practice needs to be established," he said.

A dagger was also found with the male skeleton. The handle has two copper plates and was riveted. "Which means riveting technology existed then," he added.

He also pointed out that similar burial traditions exist among tribals in central India like the Gonds, Korkus, Madias and Kolams.

"We are trying to recover the DNA and conduct further analysis and match with DNA of the tribals," he said.