Preliminary results of excavation at Karanpura, a Harappan settlement in district Hanumangarh

Abstract

Karanpura is located on the River Chautang (ancient Drishadvati, a tributary of River Sarasvati) nearly 60 km west of Hissar and 6 km west of Bhadra on the Bhadra-Goga Medi road in District Hanumangarh, Rajasthan. The Excavation Branch II of the Archaeological Survey of India excavated the site for two field seaso-ns, viz., 2012- 13 and 2013-14. The excavation brought to light occupational remains of Early Harappan and Mature Harap-pan phases of Harappan civilization. The occupational remains of over 3 m evidenced a continuous occupation at the site starting around circa 2800 BCE until around the end .of second millennium BCE. The upper 1.5 m of occupational deposit had been removed by local villagers for agricultural purposes and it hence could be presumed that the end of the habitation occurred towards 2000 BCE. Nevertheless the excavation has enabled us to understand the dynamics of Harappan culture and its spread into the areas watered by the tributary rivers like River Drishadvati for reasons of exploitation of various located in the northern Aravalli region. The access to these raw material sources might have been facilitated through the settlements located on the River Drishadvati to a larger extent. This paper puts forth the preliminary results of two seasons of excavation at this site