Farmana Khas or Daksh Khera is an archaeological site in Meham block of Rohtak district in northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

spread over 18.5 hectares. It is located near the village of Farmana Khas, about 15 kilometers from the Rohtak-Hissar highway and 60 kilometres from Delhi. It is significant particularly for its burial site, with 70 burials, of the Mature Harappan period (2500–2000 BC) and fairly recent addition (excavation started during 2006)Times of India.10.10.201

retrieved 29 June 201265 graves point to largest Harappan burial site next door to capital
''Indian Express'' 3 March 2009. Access date 7 January 2011. to

Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

sites excavated in India.Vasant Shinde, Toshiki Osada, Akinori Uesugi (eds.), ''Harappan Necropolis at Farmana in the Ghaggar Basin'', Special Report No. 4 of the Indian Archaeological Society (2009).

Excavations

This site was excavated under the direction of Vasant Shinde of the Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. The project was financed by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature,

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, which also provided technical expertise. The Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak and Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune under the aegis of the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

(ASI) are the

n partners of the project.

Architecture and material culture

The site is divided in two areas, one for the living and one for the dead, separated by a distance of 1 km. The finds were made in intensely cultivated, flat land. The habitation site is spread over 18.5 hectare. Excavation has revealed a well-laid-out road with houses on either side.

Complex with 26 rooms

The site has four complexes and so far one complex has been excavated which has 26 rooms, 3 to 4 kitchens, an equal number of bathrooms and a courtyard in the centre.

Terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

toys, whistle, wheels and seals, copper bangles, a small ornament of gold and large amount of pottery has been retrieved.

70 burials

The cemetery at Farmana has revealed 70 burials so far and has been assigned to the Mature Harappan phase (2500–2000 BC), whereas the burial site at

Sanauli Sinauli is an archaeological site in western Uttar Pradesh, India, at the Ganga-Yamuna Doab. The site gained attention for its Bronze Age solid-disk wheel carts, found in 2018, which were interpreted by some as horse-pulled "chariots". The e ...

, in the

Baghpat Baghpat is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bagpat district, which was established in 1997. It is part of the National Capital Region. Etymology The original name of the city was ''Vyaghrap ...

district of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, which revealed 116 graves, belongs to a later stage of Harappan culture. Most of the graves are oriented northwest-southeast, though there are some with north-south and northeast-southwest orientations as well. Notable amongst them is a

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

of a middle-aged woman, which had three shell bangles, two copper bangles, copper earrings, beads and ornaments on the feet, indicating her wealthy status.

Scientific testing

Vasant Shinde announced in March 2009 the intention to conduct scientific tests on skeletal remains, pottery and botanical evidence found at the site, including DNA tests on bones to attempt to establish the origins of the Harappans, and trace element analyses to help understand their diet. However DNA extraction from these skeletons did not succeed as they were contaminated due to long exposure and floods. Four-thousand-year-old teeth from skeletal remains in Harappa cemetery & Farmana were examined. Human dental enamels were compared and chemical analysis of water, fauna, rocks of those times using ratio of lead & strontium ration was done. Differences in early molars and late morals indicate people living in Indus Valley Cities migrated from countryside to urban areas. The team also plans to carry out coring tests in lakes around the Farmana site to ascertain climatic conditions prevalent at the time of the Harappan civilization, and investigate whether the decline of the culture followed catastrophic climate change.

Plant use and dietary practices

Study of Starch Grains which are plant microfossils, obtained from storing and cooking ceramic vessels, stone tools as well as dental calculus of burials has shed a light on plant usage in

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...

. Use of wheat, barley, millet, gram, garlic whose seeds were found and use of horsegram, eggplant, mango, ginger, turmeric, sedge whose seeds were not found, has been confirmed. Presence of cooked ginger & turmeric starch grains inside ceramic pots & teeth of skeletons in burial sites make Farmana (Indus Valley)

first civilization A cradle of civilization is a location and a culture where civilization was created by mankind independent of other civilizations in other locations. The formation of urban settlements (cities) is the primary characteristic of a society that c ...

to use spices for cooking.

Other findings

A recent advance in the study have shown evidence of inter-regional marriage performed by the Harappans for trade purposes as well.Times of India 10.10.2011
/ref> Bangles and beads made out of conch shells from Gujarat were also found at this site.

References

{{Haryana 4th-millennium BC architecture Former populated places in India Indus Valley civilisation sites Archaeological sites in Haryana