Recent excavations at Tilaurakot's southern Industrial mound: a preliminary report

Abstract

First paragraph: Tilaurakot's southern industrial mound, known locally as Lohasariya, is a low mound located approximately 150 metres south of the ancient city. Measuring approximately 50 metres on its east to west axis and 30 metres on its north to south axis, metal-working residue is thickly scattered across its surface (Figure 1). The presence of this substantial area of metal-working beyond the city walls of Tilaurakot was first recorded by P.C. Mukherji during his survey in 1899. In a plan dating to the same year, Mukherj initially identified the mound as one of ancient Kapilavastu's cardinal stupas (Allen 2008: 191) but subsequently noted in his final report that "On the south of the southern ditch is a mound of earth, where is scattered a large amount of iron refuse, or something like it, which shows that there was a large workshop here in ancient days" (1901: 22). This early identification was not pursued by Debala Mitra of the Archaeological Survey of India, whose plans of the site did not extend past the moat on the southern edge of the city (1972). Characterised by an extremely high surface density of slag, a sondage was excavated into the mound in the 1970s by B.K. Rijal of the Department of Archaeology, Government of Nepal, although no detailed report was published. Consequently, one of the primary aims of the 2012 excavation was to characterize and scientifically date this industrial activity and thus to articulate it with the cultural sequence of the ancient city, while the 2014 geophysic.al survey to define its spatial distribution.