India’s ‘dark age’ could be a myth, suggests new study

'Dark Age' is referred to as the period between the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization, and the emergence of 'Iron Age'

The “Dark Age” – the period between the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization, and the emergence of “Iron Age” and cities like Gandhar, Koshal, and Avanti – in Indian history may be a “myth”, a study by IIT-Kharagpur, Archaeological Survey of India, Physical Research Laboratory, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Deccan College, suggests.

The joint-study, a press release from IIT-KGP states, “retrieves evidence of cultural continuity in Vadnagar, India after the Harappan collapse”.

“From (a) deep archaeological excavation at Vadnagar, Gujarat a consortium of scientists (from institutions mentioned above)… now finds evidence of human settlement that is as old as 800 BCE contemporary to Late-Vedic/pre-Buddhist Mahajanapadas or oligarchic republics,” the note adds.

The study suggests that the “rise and fall of different kingdoms during this long 3000 years and recurrent invasions of India by central Asian warriors were driven by severe change in climate like rainfall or droughts”. The findings, in a paper, recently got published in a prestigious journal.

“The period between collapse of Indus valley civilization at 4000 year before present (early 2nd millennium BCE) and emergence of Iron age and cities of Mahajanapadas like Gandhar, Koshal, Avanti (6th-5th century BCE) somewhere between 3000 to 2500 year is often depicted as ‘Dark Age’ by archaeologists,” states Anindya Sarkar, professor at IIT Kharagpur, and the lead-author of the paper.

Sarkar adds that the “evidence” makes Vadnagar the oldest living city within a single fortification, unearthed in India, so far. “Some of our recent unpublished radiocarbon dates are suggesting that the settlement could be as old as 1400 BCE, contemporary to the very late phase of post-urban Harappan period. If true then it suggests a cultural continuity in India for the last 5500 years and the so-called Dark age may be a myth," he adds.