Pachad (Cave at)
18.250000,73.416700
Description
What appears to consist of a natural cave (no name mentioned) in Deccan Trap rocks (basalt, laterite or limestone) near the village of Pachad is an archaeological findspot of microliths (note 1) and possibly is identical (guesswork!) with the "caves" at –>Kuda. SITUATION: Just above the village Pachad (note 2) in »Raigad district« (also: Raygad, Raigarh) and at a travelling distance about 24 km (SANKALIA, H D 1974) along the road (18.6 km in a direct line) in an unspecified direction (probably due north) from Mahad (note 3). CAVE DESCRIPTION: Three cave entrances, of which only the northern one is »approachable« (read: accessible without climbing), lead to a chamber (10 square metre floor space large space) with two circular, window-like openings to a southern scarp (cliff face?) in a steep narrow ridge of the Mahableshwar Hills. CULTURAL HISTORY - Human Use: MISRA, V N (2001: 517): Jorwe Culture: »An example of a camp site is a cave at Pachad in Raigad district, which has a floor area of only about 10 sqm but yielded Chalcolithic [nte 4] pottery« (DHAVALIKAR, M K 1997, pp 172–175).
NOTE 1: An archaeological trial excavation revealed a 5 cm thick accumulation of loose brown dust at the surface, underlain by 15 cm of light brown or ashy earth, and below this was rock rubble mixed with earth. The maximum depth reached was 1.5 m (SANKALIA, H D 1974: 249 figure 670). NOTE 2: Pachad (18°15'N: E073°25' AMS sheet NE43-05 Bombay, U502 series, 1960 edition) lies south-west below »Shivaji's Palace« which seems to correspond to the »Raigad Fort« and »Raigarh Fort« near N18°15': E073°26' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) and on the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 90 B4). NOTE 3: Mahad (Mhar) N18°05': E073°25' (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 16: 429; nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003). NOTE 4: Chalcolithic is applied 1) »to essentially stone-using communities to which copper and bronze are rare luxuries« and 2) to »less aptly, to copper- and broze using communities which retain a substatial though subordinate stone equipment. … The term has been widely and not always very discriminatley used by writers on Indian archaeology« and »may be accepted as an ugly utility-term; an alternative label, 'Protometallic', is scarcely more elegant or exact« (WHEELER 1959 revised 1968c, 1968d: 93).
Documents
Bibliography 30/04/2016- Dhavalikar, M K 1997; Joshi, Ramchandra Vinayak & Bopardikar, B P 1972; Marathe, Ashok 2006; Misra, V N 2001; Sankalia, Hasmukh Dhirajlal 1974.
Histoire
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1970: R.V. Joshi discovered the cave (SANKALIA, H D 1974: 249): »Joshi and Bopardikar on behalf of the Archaeological Survey of India explored the region around Kolaba and Ratnagiri districts. Their major discoveries were of Mesolithic cave sites at Pachad (District Raigadh) and Hatkhamba (District Ratnagiri). Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts were discovered around Mahad (District Raigadh) as surface finds« (MARATHE, A 2006: 1539).
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | KUDA CAVES, Pachad | ||
| 16.8 | PALA CAVES, Mahad | ||
| 17.5 | GANASURAT CAVES, Khadsamla | ||
| 17.6 | KHADSAMLA CAVES | ||
| 17.8 | CHAMAR LENA, Khadsamla | ||
| 21.6 | KOL CAVES, Mahad | ||
| 29.2 | BRAMHA RISHI CAVES | ||
| 44.8 | CATUHSRNGI TEMPLE CAVES | ||
| 46.7 | NADSUR CAVES |