KOH BARA / KOHBARA
24.000000,85.500000
Description
Sort of a wide undercut or »cleft of a sandstone sheet several hundred yards wide and over a kilometre in length« (IMAM, B 2001), contains rock art (paintings) or a »painted cave wall« (SINHA 1995) associated with Lower or Middle Palaeolithic (Stone Age) tools. ETYMOLOGY (IMAM 2001): »This mammoth rock art site is called ‘kohbara’ by the local Munda and Oraon tribals, whose mud houses come to within a few hundred yards of it.« SITUATION (after IMAM, B 2001): At a distance of 65 km in an unspecified way west of the »Bargunda copper mines« (note 1) and about 1 km approximately south-west of the –>Marwateri Cave, the Koh Bara (Kohbara) lies within a few hundred yards of the Munda tribal village called something along the lines of Isco, Eisko or Isro (note 2), a »densely forested and temporarily inaccessible, picturesque village« on a stream of the same name in the north-easternmost corner of a certain »Eastern North Karanpura Valley« (note 3) in the upper Damodar River basin (note 4), and in an area where the »the Dudhi Nala, a small cataract [is] flowing to the east« (IMAM, B 2001). CAVE DESCRIPTION (IMAM, B 2001): »Over 100 feet [30.48 m] in length [read: broad or wide], this mammoth rock art site [note 5] is … located deep in a cleft of a sandstone sheet several hundred yards wide and over a kilometre in length, the kohbara divides the jungle from the village.« CULTURAL HISTORY - archaeology: SINHA, B P (in DATTA, GHOSH & MARGABANDHU 1995: 61) pleas for »more degging« (sic!) in connection with a »recent discovery of pre-historic painting on a cave-wall at ISRO [sic! for: Isco] in Hazaribagh claimed by Dr. P.C. Prasad, Director of Bihar State Archaeology. … A scraper was found lyig [sic!] on the floor of the painted cave. This may suggest middle Palaeolithic painting's presence here. A careful excavation is urgently warranted [sic!].«According to IMAM, B (2001), either the river bed, the rock art site or the village of »Isco contains Lower Palaeolithic deposits and deep underground caves [sic! for: rock shelters?] inhabited by humans during the ice ages, leaving one of the richest collections of the Middle Palaeolithic stone tool industry in South Asia. It has been recommended for listing as a World Heritage site by India’s leading archaeologists. Acheulian hand axes have been picked up from the bed of the Isco River, which flows through the Marwateri Cave. Borers, scrapers, strippers and hammerstones have been collected in large numbers in the cave and its surrounds. The deposit has been officially certified by the prehistory department of the Archaeological Survey of India [note 6]. … The rock art has been dated by the leading expert on India’s prehistoric rock art, Dr. Erwin Neumayer of Vienna, to the meso-chalcolithic period, so it is anywhere between 7000 and 4000 BC. There is an earlier level of rock art that could be much older. In Isco, microliths of the Vindhyan type, the so-called ‘surgical microliths’ have been found in large numbers, as well as hammer stones and core stones. Copper objects have also been found during rice cultivation, and the houses are in some instances located on deep iron slag beds. In the hills near the village, huge mines have been gouged into the hills [note 7] … A bright red pottery has been found throughout the area, some examples with traces of hand coiling. In the hills about Isco a pebbled shoreline is suggested, with finds of pebble single and bi-face choppers. At the uppermost level, on the plateau, huge hand axes and pebble choppers have been found at Chapri, while a wonderful series of flake tools have been found in the Dudhi Nala, a small cataract flowing to the east. Today, the entire region has become famous for the painted houses of the Kurmi and Ganju tribals, whose origins have been traced to the sacred tradition of the rock paintings. … Today, the entire region has become famous for the painted houses of the Kurmi and Ganju tribals, whose origins have been traced to the sacred tradition of the rock paintings.«
NOTE 1: »Bargunda« (IMAM 2001) or »Baraganda« (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER (1907-1909, 3: 144, 13: 93) is not indicated in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 59 E3) but positioned not only as Baraganda but also as Baragunda near N24°05': E086°04' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) where it falls on AMS sheet NG45-14 Giridih (U502 series, 1962 edition). IMPERIAL GAZETTEER (1907-1909, 13: 93 on minerals in Hazaribagh District) mentions »sulphide of lead, galena, has also been obtained in connexion with the copper ore deposits of Baraganda« and subsequently places »Baraganda in the Palganj estate, 24 miles [38.6 km] south-west of Giridih« (N24°11': E086°18' on the India Road Atlas, Eicher Goodearth 2006: 59 G2) and hence in the vicinity of Parasnath Railway Station (N23°59': E086°02'). NOTE 2: »Isco« (IMAM 2001) appears to correspond to »ISRO« (SINGHA, P C 1995a referring to a one »P. C. Prasad, Director of Bihar State Archaelogy«) and to »Eisko« (BHENGRA 1997 on picatype.com/dig/dn1/dn1aa05.htm accessed 2003.07.10). NOTE 3: I do not know where the stream or river called after the village of Karanpura flows. NOTE 4: The river Barki (Barki Nadi N23°44': E085°05') on AMS sheet NF45-01 Ranchi (1962 edition) and in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 58 D4) feeds Damodar River, which flows west-east across the Hazaribagh Plateau (India Road Atlas, Eicher Goodearth 2006: 58 D4, 59 E4 F4). NOTE 5: Needless to say this »mammoth rock art site« has nothing to do with extinct arctic mammals -- except that it is much larger than any mammoth. NOTE 6: IMAM (2001) refers here, reduced to utter uselessness, to a difficult to reconstruct »S. B. Ota, l995« which I find impossible to identify -- perhaps, but this is mere guesswork, in ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA (1994-1995): Indian Archaeology 1994/95: A review.- NOTE 7: The relatively »huge mines« (unidentified dimensions), are said to be »reminiscent of the Bargunda copper mines 65 kilometres to the east, which are India’s oldest copper mines. Today, a rich copper smelting tradition and production of copper figurines continues in these jungle villages, with the unique copper work of the Malar tribe. This complex of copper figurines and their sacred representations continues from the Hazaribagh Plateau and Damodar Valley to the hill ranges of Bastar in Chhatisgarh« (IMAM 2001).
Documents
Bibliography 29/03/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1991: »Rock art sites in the valley have been brought to light over successive years, beginning with the Isco rock art in l99l« (IMAM, B 2001 without bibliographical references).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | MARWATERI CAVE | ||
| 0.0 | SARIYA SHELTER, Tandwa | ||
| 0.0 | KHANDAR SHELTER, Tandwa | ||
| 0.0 | THETHANGI SHELTER, Tandwa | ||
| 0.0 | RAHAM SHELTER | ||
| 0.0 | SIDPA SHELTER | ||
| 0.0 | SATPAHAR SHELTER 1 | ||
| 0.0 | SATPAHAR SHELTER 2 | ||
| 0.0 | SATPAHAR SHELTER 3 |