DOROTHY DEEP SHELTERS 1 - 4
22.470800,78.395800
Description
The British »Dorothy Deep«, locally pronounced Dropodee Deep (or vice versa?), is a group of four rock shelters called Bhrant Neer and containing well executed animal paintings. SITUATION: West of –>Pachmarhi town (22°28'N: 78°26'E) and opposite the airstrip. APPROACH: The site is reached by a fair weather road via the discriminating Bee Falls Forestry Department Gate (Attention: Heavy toll for non-Indian races) to the northern side of Monte Rosa (Saffronised: Astachal). A sign posted footpath branches off to the right (approximate north) and climbs steeply down to the shelter (BANSAL circa 1998 s.a.; GHATE, R circa 2000 s.a.). Dorothy Deep 1 and 2 are above and on the west side of the stream; Dorothy Deep 3 and 4 are below and on the east side of the stream. CULTURAL HISTORY - rock art: The officially »protected monument« (Archaeological Department) is not protected at all and much of the rock art is spoilt. There is a curious painting of a human figure with an elephant's head and trunk, which may be a Ganesh (?), and another figure with a tail, apparently leading a tiger by a string. Above this there is a horse rearing up on its hind legs (GHATE, R circa 2000 s.a.). »There are few paintings of recognizably religious or mythical significance. In the large Dorothy Deep cave there are two paintings depicting the Bhut-asana or magical sky chariot« (Glennie, E A circa 1948 s.a. Mss "Preliminary record" after GUIDE TO PACHMARHI 1936). »The rock shelters are believed to be of 10th to 15th century B.C. They depict scenes of hunting, dancing and war and some of them are fully covered. In an excavation carried out years back a skeleton of a human being measuring nearly seven feet was found« (BANSAL, circa 1998 s.a.). »Bhrant Neer (Dorothy Deep) … has well executed animal paintings and, when excavated in the 1930s, yielded many pottery shards and microliths« (TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE 2002.09.15). ARCHAEOLOGY: Investigation by HUNTER (1935, 1936) of the Allahabad University Department of Archaeology yielded a human burial (note 1) and pottery including terracotta fragments of a horse's head and saddle with a certain amount of sterile cave filling below (ALLCHIN & ALLCHIN 1993: 82; KUSCH 1996: 15; PACHMARHI GUIDE MAP 1996). »Attempts to find chronological indicators for rock art from archaeological excavations were made by G.R. Hunter, Professor of History in Jabbalpur University … Hunter sunk several trenches into the floors of shelters with paintings in Jambu Deep, Monte Roza [Astachal] and Dorothy Deep. Although his intentions were clear, his conduct of the excavations was rather eccentric, his quantitative measurement of microliths were at times liqueur glasses whose sizes he specified as holding two table spoonfuls. The records of these excavations (Hunter, R.G. 1935, 1936) are records of the archaeological joie de vivre in that pleasant little hill station of Panchmarhi [sic!], where even now one can find broken gold-rimmed porcelain in the most unlikely places, which are hard to reach on account of slippery paths and sheer dropping rock walls even without having to worry about ones own fine crockery. However, Hunter's excavations with all their logical intentions did not make much of a contribution to the unveiling of the chronological riddle the rock paintings posed. He found -- as is expected in the Mahadeo Hills -- quite a few cigarette packs full of microliths, and several burials, whose stratification and accompanying material can not be disentangled any more. The skeletons got eaten by white ants, the pottery was divided between different institutions and ultimately lost« (NEUMAYER, E 1993: 9-10).
NOTE 1: CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS (1945.09.22: Letter to Glennie, E.A.) relates -- perhaps a bit acidic -- that Dr. Hunter »is alleged to have recently exhumed a Dhobi's daughter [*] after a prolonged excavation on the floor of Dorothy Deep rock shelter.« * KNIGHT (1863 Diary: 1860 June 7): »The staff consisted of khidmutgar, bawurchie, bhistie, dhobie, and mihtar; or, in plain English, butler, cook, water-carrier, washerman, and sweeper. Of these, the washing department only brought with it its insignia and badge of office. This was an enormous smoothing-iron, highly ornamented with brass, decorated with Gothic apertures, and made to contain an amount of charcoal that would have kept an entire family warm in the coldest depths of winter. Being of great weight, we rather objected to such an addition to our stores -- the more so as our linen was not likely to require much gettzing-up. The dhobie, however, declared himself unable to get on without it, and it accordingly had to be engaged with its master.«
Documents
Bibliography 28/03/2016- Allchin, Bridget & Allchin F Raymond 1968, 1990, 1993; Ghate, Rhona circa 2000 s.a.; Gordon 1939, etc; Guide to Pachmarhi 1936; Hunter, R G 1935, 1936; Kusch, Heinrich 1996; Neumayer, Erwin 1993; Verma & Venkatakrishnan 1980; Pachmarhi Guide Map 1996; Ramamurthy, Krishna 1988; Tribune News Service 2002.09.15.
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: »R. G. Hunter (1936, 1936)« or »G. R. Hunter, Professor of History in the Jabbalpur [Jabalpur] University, about the same time and in the same general area of the Mahadeo Hills where Gordon had explored approximately fifty painted shelters … sunk several trenches into the floors of shelters with paintings in Jambu Deep, Monte Roza [Monte Rosa, Astachal] and Dorothy Deep …« (NEUMAYER, E 1993: 9). 1930: One »Dorothy Deep« shelter was excavated (ALLCHIN & ALLCHIN 1993: 82). 1932: G.R. Hunter excavated (KUSCH, H 1996: 15).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3 | Monte Rosa Cave 1 | ||
| 0.6 | Monte Rosa Shelters 1-4 | ||
| 0.8 | Monte Rosa Cave 2 | ||
| 1.0 | REECHGARH | ||
| 1.7 | KITES CRAG SHELTER | ||
| 2.0 | CHHOTA MAHADEO GUFA | ||
| 2.1 | BEE STREAM CAVE | ||
| 2.1 | BEE STREAM SHELTER 1 | ||
| 2.1 | BEE STREAM SHELTER 2 |