Archaeological Excavation at Annigeri (District Dharwad, Karnataka, India)

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

I am happy to place before the world of Archaeologists this report on the Archaeological excavation at Annigeri conducted by the Department during February-March 2011. The excavation has revealed a very interesting, yet forgotten, facet of Indian history, which occurred two centuries ago. This incident is the popularly known Davagi bara, or the Skull famine, which took toll of millions of people in the Deccan between the years 1789-92 AD. Details of the famine are found in old Gazetteers of the Bombay Presidency. But no tangible impact of this skull famine was ever known. Sudden appearance of scores of skulls in the drain construction work at Annigeri during September 2010 evoked the attention of public. Everyone was eager to know the cause of death of so many people at one time at Annigeri.

The Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage took up excavation work in the month of February 2011. The condition of the site, at that time, was not ideal for an archaeological probe. The concerted efforts of the excavators made the area suitable for the exposure of the burial. The revelations of the stratigraphical sequence, nature of the burial, the condition of the bones, have all revealed that the burial is a mass burial. It is done for the skulls and bones which were left exposed to the ravages of time and weather for at least a year.

The cause for the death of people in such large numbers in Annigeri village alone could only be a natural disaster. Such a disaster, faintly remembered by the folk of the region is the Davagi bara, which occurred two centuries ago. The clues found in the excavation have led the excavators to associate this burial with the victims of the Davagi bara. It is at this time that the skeletal remains of the dead were lying all over the roads and fields in the Dharwad region. Bones and skulls that were lying scattered on the surface in and around Annigeri appear to have been collected and given a respectable burial after the end of the famine.

This discovery, no doubt, reveals to us a very interesting facet of the history of the Dharwad region.

In the successful completion of this excavation project, the Department has received unconditional support and encouragement of the officers of the State and the Centre, the Municipal administration of Annigeri and honourable citizens of Annigeri. It is our earnest duty to acknowledge the help received from them.

First, we thank Sri Bindu Rao Jhalaki, the Secretary, Department of Kananda and Culture, for his words of encouragement to take up this venture on priority.

The Deputy Commissioner, Dharwad district, Sri Darpan Jain has extended his full support and cooperation throughout the course of the excavation work. We are thankful to him and to his Staff for the help we have received.

We gratefully acknowledge the concern and help extended by Dr. Gautam Sen Gupta, Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, in granting permission for the excavation on priority basis.

The Officers and the Staff of the Annigeri Municipal Council have helped us day and night in the smooth conduct of the excavation and also in protecting the site. We thank them immensely for their help.

The honourable citizens of Annigeri, the Press, the Audio, the Visual media have shown keen interest in the progress of the excavation. We thank them for their cooperation and periodical publicity made thereof.

Dr. (Mrs.) Kanakatara and Dr. C.G. Somannavar residents of Annigeri, have provided a small anecdote in the form of a recollection of the incident of "Davagi-Bara" as narrated by their grand father. This is enclosed as an appendix to the report in Kannada. We thank them for their information.

We also thank the Doctors of the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubli and Dr. T.N. Chandra Shekar, Professor of Forensic medicine, Mysore Medical College, Mysore, Dr. T.K. Umesh, Professor of Physics, Manasagangotri, Mysore, Dr. Mrs. Vasundhara Filliozat, Mysore and Prof. B.B. Rajapurohit, Mysore for their valuable comments and suggestions.

We thank Dr. Darden Hood, President, BETA Analytic Inc. Miami, Florida, USA and his Associates who examined the samples of bones of Annigeri burial at their institute and have supplied Radio Carbon Dates. The dates provided by them were highly useful in arriving at a definite dare for the burial. Dr. Ashith B. Acharya and his team of SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Sattur, Dharwad have given a detailed report on the examination and analyses of the samples of teeth, skulls and mandibles recovered from the site, which is highly useful for corroborating our conclusions. We immensely thank them for their timely help.

Annigeri, a small town with rich cultural heritage, is situated by the side of the highway between Hubli and Gadag. This town of antiquity came to limelight in September 2010, when the local administration had taken up the work of expansion of the waste-water drain in the middle of the town. The J.C.B. machine was scooping a section of the drain; suddenly a good number of human skulls came out of the ground. Careful leveling of the ground revealed about fifty to sixty skulls and heaps of bones, systematically placed side by side. The discovery of human skulls in such a large number attracted the attention of the locals and the Media. The District administration interfered, stopped the work, decided to get the matter scientifically probed.

The Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage in Karnataka swung into action, examined the spot and planned for a systematic probe into the matter. A team of archaeologists consisting of Dr. M.S. Krishna Murthy, Professor Emeritus, University of Mysore, Dr. R. Gopal, Director and Sri T.S. Gangadhara, Deputy Director of the Department conducted the excavation during February-March 2011, and the results of the excavation are placed before you now.

This archaeological probe is certainly unique for the nature of its contents. A detailed analyses of the findings revealed that it was a burial, most likely made, for the unfortunate victims of the dreaded famine recorded in the British revenue records and also remembered in the local folk lore as Davagi bara translated by the British as 'Skull Famine', which occurred between the years 1789-92, in the present day northern Karnataka region and its adjacent areas of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The then British rule estimated the toll of the famine as about eleven million people. The revenue records of that time state that the 'whitened skulls and bones of the victims of the famine filled the roads and fields of these regions'. Based on the clues obtained from the excavation the excavators have arrived at the conclusion that this burial is made for the bones and skulls of people who died in and around Annigeri, due to this famine.

This archaeological discovery is no doubt the first of its kind for its contents and for its revelations. The probe, for the first time, has brought to light tangible proofs for one of the facets of the dreaded 'Skull famine' that pestered northern Karnataka continuously for three years. The excavation is also unique in the sense that the skulls were noticed at the bottom of a stinking gutter. The ground- water table there was also a couple of feet above the level of the burial. Through diligent planning and skillful execution of the work, the probe was completed and the results obtained were really astonishing. I really feel proud that the Department has taken up work in such hostile conditions and brought out wonderful results.

The bones and tooth samples obtained from this burial were sent to US.A. based scientific laboratory for dating. It is heartening that the date given by the excavators for the burial has been confirmed by the scientific dating given by this laboratory.

On this occasion I congratulate Dr. M.S. Krishna Murthy, who at our invitation has worked as the Principal Investigator of this excavation project, braving hot Sun and other unpleasant natural settings at the work place.

It is the policy of the Department to publish the results of its research projects as and when they are completed. I hope this Report, replete with illustrations, line-drawings and appendices would clear all the questions and queries raised about the burial and its findings.

Archaeological excavation conducted at Annigeri during February March 2011 by the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Karnataka, has enlightened us about a very interesting but forgotten facet of a natural disaster that occurred in the recent past. This natural disaster that occurred very severely in the Deccan in particular, is the Davagi bara, popularly described by the English as Doji bara or the Skull famine, in the annals of history, Davagi bara, which occurred during 1789-92 affected mainly the people living in northern Karnataka and its adjacent parts of Andhra and Maharashtra states, took toll of millions of people. A frightening aspect of this famine was that the whitened bones and skulls of people who died due to starvation and hunger were lying scattered on the roads and fields.

Tradition says that the country in which the famine prevailed is said to have been dotted with skulls. The famine is still remembered as the Doji bara or the Skull famine because the ground was covered with the skulls of the unburied dead.

Except for the name of this famine, rest of its details are forgotten by the people of the region. British chroniclers have recorded the impact of this famine in their Reports and Gazetteers in quite a detailed manner.

Archaeological excavation conducted at Annigeri reveals a mass burial made to the skulls and bones collected by the locals in and around Annigeri, of the people who died due to Skull famine.

Many explanations were given by scholars who observed the burial and its contents superficially. But a systematic archaeological investigation done at the site has revealed that the Davgi bara is the most probable and plausible explanation that can be offered as the reason behind the death of so many people and their consequent burial. The large number of skulls and bones found in the burial are those who died due to starvation during Davagi bara.

The burial was situated at a place which was not suitable for conducting an Archaeological excavation. It is a low-lying area, marshy, wherein all the waste water/drain-water/storm-water of the region slowly flows through and sometimes also stagnates. The burial was situated at the level of the bed of the drain. Hence the area was marshy and filled with stench. Excess rainfall during the last couple of years had made the place worse. It was, in fact, a challenging job for the excavators to conduct excavation in such a bad condition. But a tactful planning and execution of the work resulted in the successful completion of the excavation and the entire burial and its complex nature was laid bare by the excavators.

The nature of the burial, the contents of the burial, the conditions of the bones, etc., all reveal that this is a mass burial made for the bones, which had already been exposed to the ravages of time and weather for at least a year. In the light if these facts, the only reason that could be ascribed for the death of people in such large numbers is not a war, nor a mass execution of traitors, nor a homicide due to religious vengeance, but a natural disaster, and that natural disaster, in all likelihood, is the Davagi bara (Skull famine), which occurred exactly two hundred and twenty years back in northern Deccan in particular and South India in general.

It is noteworthy that the date of the burial given on the basis of the archaeological evidence has been confirmed by the scientific laboratory analysis of the bones and teeth obtained from the burial.

A burial of this nature has not been encountered so far in Archaeological context, and hence, it is a unique archaeological discovery. A detailed report of the nature and condition of the site, the method of approach, the stratigraphical revelations, the condition of the bones and connected aspects of their study and the correlation with historical facts is given in this report. The study is appended with appropriate color photographs, line drawings, laboratory reports of the bone samples, etc.

Hope a complete perusal of this Report will clear all the doubts, apprehensions, questions and queries raised by the elite and the laity alike.