Late Harappan-era skeleton found in Rohtak village

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Samchana (Rohtak), February 27

A skeleton which may date back to 1500 BC – nearly 3,500 years ago – has been found from sand dunes at Samchana village of Rohtak district during the digging of earth.

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As per the historians, the condition of the skeleton and the earthen pots and beads, etc., found along with it indicate that it belongs to the late Harappan era.

As per the villagers, digging of earth with JCB machine was going on in the fields of a local farmer yesterday. After digging for about 4 to 4.5 ft, a human skull surfaced from the pit. The villagers informed a local student of history about it.

Subsequently, historian Prof Amar Singh, an Academic Consultant at the Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh, reached the spot with a team of researchers and salvaged the entire skeleton and the other artifacts.

Talking to The Tribune here today, Amar Singh, who is also a former Professor and Head of the Department of History at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, said an earthen pot was found buried under a leg of the skeleton. The nearly 5-ft skeleton is supposed to be of a woman.

Four carnelian beads, a steatite bead and some pieces of faience bangles, besides some earthen pots were also found along with the skeleton.

“The beads and earthen pots indicate that the skeleton is nearly 3,500 years old and dates to 1500 BC. Recovery of skeletons from Rakhigarhi, Farmana and now Samchana villages in Haryana also indicates that the state residents used to bury their dead during the Harappan period,” Amar Singh observed.

The skull of the skeleton will be placed in a museum of archaeology for the benefit of the students and researchers of history, he maintained.