Early historic gemstone bead workshops at the Badmal Asurgarh and Bhutiapali in the Middle Mahanadi Valley Region, Odisha, India

Abstract

Recent archaeological investigations conducted in the tributaries of the Middle Mahanadi Valley region of Odisha have brought to light evidence for large-scale bead manufacturing workshop sites, i.e. Badmal Asurgarh and Bhutiapali belonging to the Early Historic period. Most interestingly, while the Badmal site is a fortified settlement, the latter site is an extensive open-air bead workshop site. Significantly, both the sites brought to light evidence for gemstone bead manufacturing activities during the Early Historic period. Preliminary studies and limited excavations conducted at both the sites appear to suggest their significant role in the Early Historic trade and exchange network in the Middle Mahanadi Valley riparian system and probably beyond. The present paper outlines the results of our preliminary archaeological investigation conducted at both the nature of sites.