Iron Age Village Unearthed in Western India

MAHARASHTRA, INDIA—The Hindustan Times reports that a team led by D. Nihildas of the Archaeological Survey of India has uncovered a settlement near the Poorna River in west-central India. Nihildas said the site provides the first evidence for occupation of the region in the early Iron Age. The excavators found traces of a 2,500-year-old bead workshop, including 400 finished and unfinished beads made of semi-precious stones such as carnelian, quartz, chalcedony, chert, agate, and lapis lazuli; iron equipment; pottery; hearths; storage areas; carbonized fruit; and the bones of cows, buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, deer, hare, porcupines, mongoose, cranes, ducks, and turtles. Glass bangles and molds dating to the later Iron Age were also recovered. Finds from this same period included iron tools such as pestles, chisels, sickles, nails, axes, daggers, and knives, as well as bangles, rings, and blades made of copper. For more on Iron Age India, go to "Double Vision."