POLITICAL HISTORY AND ECONOMIC FORMATION 29

Pre-Medieval Gaur
S H A R M I C H A K R A B O RT Y

Gaur as a concept of politico-cultural unit has geneity is noticed in this period in material culture
been assigned a vast geographical space as evi- throughout South Asia. The urbanization of this
denced by literary sources. In some sources, Gaur phase is attributed to the development of trade and
defines the entire Bengal under its fold, while in exchange network throughout the subcontinent.
others it is limited to the eastern region. More of- However, such evidence is limited to just two
ten the western or north-western part of Bengal is sites – Bangarh on the Punarbhaba river to the
accepted as Gaur. The political space and entity of north-east of Gaur and Farakka on a small tribu-
Gaur first finds mention in Harshacharita in relation tary stream of the Ganges to the south-west.
to Sasanka, the king of Gaur and then again to the Bangarh is a large mound and was excavated in
medieval capital of the Bengal Sultanate. However, 1938–41 by K. G. Goswami of the University of
there remains some ambiguity with regard to the Calcutta (Goswami 1948). The excavation at
geographical limits of pre-medieval Gaur. This is Bangarh shows a continuous occupation from
especially true because archaeology is concerned Early Historic to medieval times. Stratum IV was
with tangible material remains that are spatially assigned between first and second centuries BC and
distributed and archaeologists would like to char- Stratum V belonged to a still earlier period charac-
acterize such space with scattered artefacts. The terized by Black Ware besides Red and Grey. The
question that remains to be resolved is the archaeo- ceramic assemblage from the site follows the gen-
logical expression of pre-medieval Gaur. eral North Indian tradition in the Early Historic
While discussing the environment of Gaur later, period. Other characteristic artefacts from this pe-
in this journal, we have tried to convey the idea of riod from the site include the moulded terracotta
an activity zone based on locational factors. Gaur plaques belonging to the Sunga idiom, beads of
is essentially a meeting point of two fluvial envi- semiprecious stones and glass, and punch-marked
ronments: namely, Gangetic and Barind. There- coins. A gold amulet with early Brahmi inscription
fore, in a broader sense, the archaeological domain was also recovered.
should encompass it. This is not to undermine the The site of Farakka is situated on Gumani, a
political or cultural domain of Gaur. Following the rivulet, near its confluence with river the Ganges
ideas in literature of ancient and medieval times, (Banerji 1993–94: 193–209). It was exposed while
the spatial limits of pre-medieval archaeology has digging for the Ganges Barrage Project. The site
been left unclear. This is done with a view to carry- yielded several handmade terracotta figurines of
ing the essence of Gaur towards a cultural space the archaic type. Some Black Ware of Early His-
that should be able to project continuity and evolu- toric period together with Red Ware and Grey
tion of human occupation in the landscape and Ware were also recovered. A few silver punch-
situate the Sultanate period Gaur in proper per- marked coins of the imperial series were found
spective. from the site. On the basis of C 14 examination, the
site is dated between the fourth century BC and sec-
E ARLY HISTORIC P ERIOD ond century AD .
The earliest habitation in this region goes back to Other than these two sites, NBPW (Northern
the Early Historic period, about third century BC Black Polished Ware) was reported from Raykhan
(Mauryan according to K. G. Goswami 1948). This Dighi some 15 kilometre north of Gaur. But recent
phase is associated with the second phase of urban- explorations in that area have not yielded anything
ization of the Indian subcontinent. A lot of homo- and the context did not seem to be primary in
Pratna Samiksha, New Series 3, 2012. © Centre for Archaeological
Studies & Training, Eastern India, Kolkata, pp. 29–37.
30 S H A R M I C H A K R A B O RT Y

nature. Kushana gold coins belonging to Vasudeva Dhyani Buddha was recovered in the excavation of
(about AD 185 and 220) have been found from old 1962. The neighbouring villages also reported
Malda (Majumdar 1932: 127–9). But no evidence sculptural remains showing Buddhist affiliations.
of habitation was found and, therefore, should be But sculptures belonging to Brahmanical pan-
treated as stray find. theon, like the Mahishamardini, were also found.
However, to get a fair picture of the urban centre,
EARLY MEDIEVAL P ERIOD further excavations covering a wider area are
It has been widely accepted that one imported fea- needed.
ture of early medieval period in India is the begin- The archaeological and epigraphic evidence
ning of local-level state formation. Unlike the shows the spread of settlement in this region in the
urban centres of Early Historic period, which are early medieval period. The copperplate land-
considered to be of commercial origin, the urban grants from this region mentioned the villages,
centres of the early medieval period are considered wastelands and water-bodies which were donated
to be primarily centres of political power. This idea to individual brahmanas and Buddhist viharas. Re-
coexists with the theory of urban decay and the cent explorations in this region (Panja 2002: 225–
theory of survival of the sites as religious centres. 76) have given interesting and better results. The
The fact that the post-Gupta period inscriptions settlements show clustering around religious cen-
frequently speak of jayaskandhavaras or victory tres, expressed by sculptural remains and structural
camps which are essentially transient in nature. But mound as well as linear pattern along the rivers.
another argument urges to understand the urban- However, the evidence is not absolutely clear be-
ism of Bengal, a ‘new understanding’ is needed as cause of the ephemeral nature of the settlement of
the rural, urban, the commercial, and the religious this region. This often leaves no trace due to con-
form is an inseparable web. stant flooding of the terrain.
During the early medieval period, the geo-po- A cluster of sites were noticed around the mo-
litical limits of Gaur take a more expressed conno- nastic site of Jagjivanpur like Gomratala, Harish-
tation under Sasanka, the King of Gaur, with capi- chandrapur, Kanyadubi. Lonsa is another site with
tal at Karnasuvarna, which has been identified structural mound and extensive habitation (Map
with Chiruti in the Murshidabad district. The site 1). Marulu is another important site on the Tangan
has several structural mounds rising at times to river, which has both structural remains and scat-
about 100-ft from the surrounding ground. These tered pottery of the Pala-Sena period. To the north
include Rajbaridanga I and II, Rakshasidanga, of this zone, there is another cluster. Deotola re-
Thakurbaridanga, Sannyasidanga, and Beltala- ported by Cunningham (Cunningham 1879–80) is
danga. The first excavation was done at Rakshasi- an important site with a structural mound and a
danga in 1928–29 by K. N. Dikshit of Archaeologi- temple of the late medieval period as well as exten-
cal Survey of India. Then in 1962 excavation was sive habitational remains. Tungi Sahar, Rajnagar,
carried out by Department of Archaeology, Uni- and Sahil have yielded sculptures and habitational
versity of Calcutta under S. R. Das. The excava- remains. Gajol is another centre, which has a struc-
tion yielded seals with Raktamrittika Mahavihara tural mound and a lot of sculptural remains were
written on them. This established Chiruti as found from the area. Another cluster is found with
Karnasuvarna, as this particular vihara was men- sites like Banpur, Srikistopur, and Dharmadanga.
tioned by Hiuen Tsang (Das 1968). The archaeo- Bangarh continues to flourish in the early medieval
logical remains fall into three periods – Period I period with religious structures at the top of the
from the second-third century to fifth-sixth century mound. The early medieval habitation is extensive
AD , Period II from fifth-sixth century to ninth-tenth and encompasses the villages of Shibbari and
century and Period III are from ninth-tenth cen- Kesabpur (Panja 2002: 225–76). Other sites that
tury to twelfth-thirteenth century. The site yielded are found near Bangarh complex include Kal
extensive structural remains. Some Gupta gold Dighi and Dhal Dighi, Elahabad, Dhumridanga,
coins were recovered from the site. Some stucco of Sukhdevpur, Joypur. Some of these sites have
 Pre-Medieval Gaur 31

yielded structures, some pottery sculptures and tiation also continued to exist. It is important to
bronzes. Many of these sites show a continuation understand the emphasis in the land-grants –
to the medieval period. Another cluster is noticed whether in the agricultural land or artisanal prod-
at around and near Itkhola on the Chiramati river, uct and trade to see if the mentioned settlement is
which has remains of structure of early medieval urban or rural. However, he accepts that such
lying below the layer of medieval period. clear-cut divisions are not always possible.
Dehaband also has a structural mound extending Few land-grants have been found in the region.
over one kilometre (Panja 2002: 225–76). Bairhatta One of the earliest being found in the village of
is another large habitation, which have yielded Dhanaidaha, in Nator subdivision of Rajshahi dis-
terracotta plaques. Around it, there are a large trict, belonging to the period of Kumargupta I, 113
number of sites like Adyakhanda, Mahendra, and of Gupta Era. It records the sale of cultivated land
Surhor, all having old tanks. All these clusters fall in Khadatapara visaya (Basak 1923–24: 345–9). The
essentially under the rolling Barind topography Damodarpur (Dinajpur district) grant of GE 124
(Panja 2002: 225–76). (Gupta Era), recorded sale of uncultivated khila
The region presently under the influence of the land to brahmana in Kotivarsha vishaya of
Mahananda and Kalindri rivers has important sites Pundravardhana bhukti (Basak 1919–20: 113–45). An-
like Kandaran, which has associated smaller other copperplate grant from Baigram village
settlements around it (Panja 2002: 225–76). All (Basak 1931–32: 78–83), post office Hili dated to
these sites occupy elevated areas on the Mara GE 128, records purchase of fallow field and home-
Mahananda. Near Pandua on the present course of stead land belonging to the state connected with
the Mahananda are sites like Raykhan Dighi, Vayigrama to meet the expense of worship in the
Dhana-Manar Bhita, and Harshimashi Dighi. temple of Govindasvamin. A grant issued from
These sites can be treated as lying in a zone of Purnakaushika belonging to Sringavera Vithi
transition between the Barind and Gangetic records sale of land belonging to three villages at a
system. lower rate than those mentioned above (two dinaras
There is also a cluster that falls under the for one kulyavapa of khila land against three in the
Gangetic system, the largest being Pichhli- others mentioned above) (Sircar 1943: 12–26). This
Gangarampur (Panja 2002: 225–76). It covers inscription was found from Kalikuri village in
about 4 square kilometre area and yielded struc- Bogra district and belongs to GE 120. This suggests
tural fragments of chloritic schist and brick and that the prices of land mentioned in those grants
also pottery from early medieval period and con- are higher and at least signify that the region was
tinuing to the Mughal period. Amriti is another site well settled. Though it is by no means a certainty, it
which has yielded a large number of sculptural is most likely that the find-spot of the copperplates
fragments. Other sites in this area are Ganipur, were very near the place mentioned in the record.
Arapur, Narhatta, Sailpur, and Kotwali. Pala period copperplate inscriptions are all is-
Thus early medieval period saw a sudden sued from jayaskandavara or victory camp. Though it
increase in the number of settlements in this suggests an impermanent nature of the seat of
region, which continued in many cases to the power, the typical description runs like ‘…Har-
medieval period. adhama, where illusion of a setuvandha with chains
of mountain tops placed (in the sea) is produced by
E PIGRAPHIC E VIDENCES docks of ships of various kinds proceed along the
Prof. B. D. Chattopadhyaya (Chattopadhyaya path of Bhagirathi’ (Banerji 1919–20: 293–301). It
1994) is of the opinion that since archaeological suggests that they were possibly also associated
evidence does not speak on the dimensions of me- with commerce. The other places of issue like
dieval settlement, therefore, epigraphic evidence is Vilaspura (Banerji 1919–20: 293–301), Ramavati
very important. There is a continuation of use of (Morrison 1980), and Sahasaganda (Sircar 1987:
the terms like grama, nagara, and pura from the Early 1–13) are all on the Bhagirathi. However, the
Historic period, which signifies that such differen- Jagjivanpur copperplate grant of Mahendrapala
32 S H A R M I C H A K R A B O RT Y

was issued from Kuddalkhataka. It also speaks of victory camps there is very little mention of places
donation of land in Kuddalkhataka visaya (Bhatta- in the inscriptions. There are only two administra-
charya 1992: 165–70). Therefore it is likely that it tive divisions, which are mentioned time and again
was situated on the bank of an excavated canal or in the records Pundravardhana bhukti and Kotivarsha
kuddalkhataka (dug with spade) and the whole region vishaya, which had as its centre Pundranagari or
perhaps owed its prosperity to the canal. Mahasthan and Kotivarsha or Bangarh (Banerji
Two copperplates were found from the reign of 1982: 324–30). This together with the archaeologi-
Lakshmana Sena – one from Tarpan Dighi in cal finds led B. D. Chattopadhyaya (Chatto-
Dinajpur district and the other from Madhainagar padhyaya 1993–94: 169–92) to suggest that the
in Pabna district. These are situated near tanks and early medieval period marked a ‘definitive phase in
surrounded by cultivated land and populated vil- the formation of the regional power structure with
lages (Westmacott 1875; Majumdar 1929). a strong base in Varendra, represented also a sig-
The most important land-grant in the context nificant new phase in the history of the two urban
of Gaur is the inscription found at Khalimpur centres.’
village situated just a little south of Gaur belonging However, Ramavati, the illusive capital of
to the reign of Dharmapala (Keilhorn 1892: 77– Rampala, as mentioned by Sandhyakar Nandi
87, 1896–97: 243–54; Chattopadhyaya 1990). It (Sircar 1971: 154), from where copperplate inscrip-
cites the village of Kraunchasvabhragrama with tions like that of Madanpaladeva have been issued
Ganginika forming the boundary in the west, a cannot be satisfactorily identified. B. M. Morrison
devakula of Kadambari and a date palm tree in the feels that it was very near if not located within
north, an embankment made by Rajaputra Devata Gaur itself and possibly within the Bagbari region
and on the east (here the inscription is not clearly (Morrison 1987). He groups Gaur and Mahasthan
readable) a dyke of Vitaka. The village of as ‘city-centered complex’ characterized by large
Madhasammali has Ganginika in the north, village sized major sites, set in the midst of smaller and
of Kalikasvabhra in the south, on the west is simpler structures. Bangarh with very few sur-
Jenandryika, on the island the funeral rites of the rounding sites nearby is a smaller town, ‘lying out-
village are performed. Palitaka village has a small side the principal geographic locus’. These are all
island in the south, a channel to the east,
in conformity with the literary and inscriptional
Ganginika to the north. The village Gopipalli in
evidences from the region.
Sthalikatta visaya has Udragrama mandala to the
east, jolaka (marshy land?) to the south, a ditch T HE S ITE OF GAUR PRIOR TO
named Vesanika to the west and cattle path to the BENGAL S ULTANATE
north. These villages with Ganginika, which can
also be interpreted as minor channels of the The present remains of Gaur or the present visibil-
Ganges, and along with marshy lands seem very ity of archaeological remain hardly ever yields any
much similar to the surrounding landscape of pre-Sultanate period structure or pottery, though
Gaur, which has great marshy tracts of Chatia many scholars have considered this area as the
Patia to its east. Sena capital of Lakshmanavati. However, consid-
From Pala period onwards, the grants do not ering the general tendency of this region where im-
clearly mention whether the land sold was unculti- portant centres were built on reasonably stable
vated. Perhaps it lost its relevance with the spread landform, it seems likely that Lakshmanavati con-
of agriculture and settlement. The granted land tinued to be occupied in the medieval period and
was often bordered by villages. Therefore, it is ap- might have been even into the colonial period.
parent that the habitation settlement is becoming The place traditionally associated with the Sena
more common on the landscape. However, it is dif- rulers is located at the extreme north of the en-
ficult to find any image of town from these inscrip- closed space of Gaur – the Bagbari area. It is
tions that can be related to any archaeological site. thought to be the garden house of Lakshmana
Other than the names of administrative centres or Sena. It has a large tank called Tamna Dighi. At
 Pre-Medieval Gaur 33

present, nothing can be seen of the ancient settle- worship can go back still further and the tutelary
ment. The bank of the dighi is also only partially goddess of the earlier capital continued to receive
preserved. Cunningham in his exploration of obeisance from the local population.
1879–80 (Cunningham 1879–80) too did not find Moreover, Pichhli-Gangarampur, which is just
anything archaeologically significant. ‘There are north of the enclosed place of Bagbari has yielded
no Hindu remains at any point to mark the ancient architectural fragments, sculptures dating back to
city; but perhaps the native names of Phulwari and eleventh-twelfth century including that of the im-
Patalchandi, which are still applied to two gates age of Varahi. This site is almost enclosed by river
may be taken as evidence of previous Hindu occu- Kalindri and the eroding scarp on the river often
pation. The old city of the Sena Rajas would thus shows structural remain. This region has been
be confined within two miles each side or four treated by Buchanan-Hamilton as an extension of
square miles of area extending from Phulwari to the site of Gaur (Buchanan-Hamilton 1928). The
Patalchandi and Ganges in the west to the great surface scatter shows orange ochre-coloured early
rice swamps in the east. Within these limits are medieval pottery, porcelain of the Sultanate as well
found Hindu names Gangasnana at the north-west as the turquoise blue Glazed Ware generally asso-
corner, Lohagarh to the south, Dharmapur, ciated with the Mughal period (personal communi-
Biaspur and Ramchandpur inside.’ He goes on to cation with Panja). It is an extensive site and would
say that ‘Ballalbari lies near four miles to the north almost cover about 4 square kilometre area. At
of the Phulwari Darwaza, and is completely cut off present there is no evidence of it being contiguous
from it by low swampy ground, it never could have with the Bagbari region, where the great walls/
formed a part of the city.’ He opined that ‘The vil- causeways of Gaur come to an end.
lage of Kamalabari rather more than one mile to There are few more areas within the site of
the north of the city rampart and just beyond the Gaur, which could have been possible sites within
great Sagar Dighi, no doubt formed one of the sub- the larger settlement. From locational point of
urbs of the city as it still possesses a shrine dedi- view, the present remains of the palace ground be-
cated to the goddess Gaureswari Devi.’ Abid Ali ing on the highest landform could have been ideal.
felt that the tradition of Sena palace at Bagbari is However, nothing has been found from the area
not without some substance. ‘All these facts suggest that can be assigned to a pre-Sultanate date. The
that the Hindu king prior to the invasion of the recent excavation by Archaeological Survey of In-
Mussalman, had seats of government at several dia too did not yield anything significant in this di-
places on the south bank of the Ganges, which rection (2003–05).
probably flowed through Kalindri. When the Further south near Mahadipur, loose sculptures
Ganges shifted its course, the southern and western have come out from time to time, both
banks of the old bed were converted to city by Brahmanical and Buddhist, stressing that the an-
erecting substantial bunds all around. There is no tiquity of the place went beyond the Sultanate pe-
doubt that the Hindu kings made the first attempt riod.
at constructing these bunds to protect the town but Even recent exploration by the team in March
the Mussalman rulers improved them.’ (Khan 2003 found a yonipitha (Fig. 1) kept on the ground of
1930) the Tantipara mosque, which is believed to have
The shrine of Gaureswari Devi is actually a gate been found from nearby area. However, it is diffi-
that is architecturally similar to the Dakhil cult to assign a precise date to it. But an earlier ex-
Darwaza (Ghosh 1997). Sunil Ojha in his editorial ploration by Sheena Panja and Sutapa Sinha has
note to Manik Datter Chandimangal mentions an im- found some early medieval pottery from the region
age of Chandi which is worshipped in the month (personal communication with Panja). The tank,
of Jyaistha otherwise lies abandoned at Gaur (Roy Piyasbari, also has a ghat, the stone staircase has el-
2001). The earliest account of such worship is ephant head, which is visible when the water goes
mentioned by Minhaj-us-Siraj visiting Gaur down. This should also belong to pre-Sultanate
around AD 1243. It is likely that the tradition of period.
34 S H A R M I C H A K R A B O RT Y

F IG. 1. Yonipitha, Gaur.

The mosques, which are presently standing, also

bears stone fragments, possibly belonging to a
temple. The Chamkatti mosque contains many
such pieces like kirtimukha (Fig. 2), an important
decorative motif of a temple. Many of the stone
fragments used in the Chhoto Sona masjid, now in
Bangladesh, also contain sculptural fragments of
pre-Sultanate period. Creighton has published
sketches of Varaha avatar, Sivani (or Sarasvati),
Brahmani and Bhavani, which were fixed with
their back turned but have been exposed by ravage
of time (Plinder-Wilson 1995). But Wilson believes
that Bhavani image is actually that of Marichi, a
Buddhist image. Abid Ali also mentions that mihrab
missing, and is at present in Scotland (Plinder-
Wilson 1995). Wilson also suggests that there is a
particular mihrab which has come from Gaur with
Buddha in dharmachakrapravartanamudra flanked by
bodhisatva Avalokitesvara and Maitreya (Plinder-
Wilson 1995) (Figs 3a & b).
But unlike them, Adina mosque was perhaps
built on the ground of pre-existing Brahmanical or
Buddhist structure as suggested by makara pranala,
doorjambs with defaced dvarapala. A series of pillar
F IG. 2. Kirtimukha, Gaur. bases can also be seen on the fore court which are
 Pre-Medieval Gaur 35

F IG. 3a. Seated image of Buddha flanked by F IG. 3b. Reverse surface reused as decorative mihrab.
Bodhisattvas. Reused stone sculpture from The British Museum, London collection.
Chhoto Sona mosque, Gaur.

possibly also from earlier period. Other than these, the floral motif depicted on the arch of the mihrab
Cunningham has also reported sculptures from and similar decorations in the façade, which has
earlier period on the stairs leading up to the pulpit been derived from kirtimukha that is so commonly
(Cunningham 1879–80). These were probably part found in the art of the previous period (Plinder-
of frieze and included depiction of a cow and a Wilson 1995). He also believes that the leaf-like el-
calf, human figurines, goose, elephants among oth- ements on the arch are evolved from the flamed
ers. At Eklakhi mosque too, the doorjamb is taken nimbus present in so many Buddhist and
from an early medieval structure. Stapleton (1930) Brahmanical images. The rosettes in the form of
was of the view that the material for the building lotus flower that emerge from the plant stem ‘is
of Islamic structures not only in Pandua but Gaur more than an accidental reminiscence of the
also must have come from Pandua only (Stepleton makara’, the mythical figure.
1930). Almost all the colonial writers emphasized that
Other than these tangible evidences of material the tanks, which are aligned north to south are
culture, there was continuity of ideas of the pre- ‘Hindu’ while those aligned west to east are ‘Mus-
ceding period. These may be evidenced in the con- lim’. It has been considered an act of great merit to
tinued use of chloritic schist from Rajmahal as construct tanks. The Dinajpur copperplate explic-
much as in the motifs of decoration. Wilson men- itly mentioned that Rajyapala’s ‘fame is pro-
tions several motifs adopted by the Islamic art like claimed by water-tank as deep as sea and temple
36 S H A R M I C H A K R A B O RT Y

walls as high as the noblest mountain’ (Keilhorn not been discovered so far. Their alignment seems
1892: 77–87). The Great Sagar Dighi, Small Sagar to have been connected with geomorphological
Dighi, and the Piyasbari Dighi are all aligned in a factors and mundane requirements of the people
north-south direction. Most of the scholars have more than sectarian ideologies.
expressed opinion that they are of pre-Sultanate in
origin. There is an inscription alluding to Hussain C ONCLUSION
Shah as excavator of Sagar Dighi. Abid Ali Khan There is certainly no extensive pre-Sultanate ruin
cites Ravenshaw’s account and assigned an inscrip- at Gaur. Only remains of the previous period lay
tion dated to AH 916, whose provenance is un- dispersed at places suggesting that Lakhnauti
known (Bhattacharya 1992: 165–70). Others asso- might have been Laksmanavati.
ciate this inscription with Haidarpur mosque It is as yet not clear what are the parameters of
inscription from Maldah. The word siqayah men- urban centre of early medieval period that could
tioned in the inscriptions could denote many things be archaeologically defined. The archaeological
– irrigation water, office of water supplier, watering sites of pre-Sultanate period, which have been ex-
place, drinking vessel, etc. (Sinha 2001). Most of cavated, are mainly religious centres or religious
the scholars consider that even if the term was used structure within what is known to be a political
to denote Sagar Dighi, Hussain Shah did not con- centre as well. Where early medieval period is a
struct it but commemorated an act of conservation continuation from Early Historic period, most sites
only. Abid Ali has expressed opinion that it could show some disruption. Therefore the character of
have been the Small Sagar Dighi, where there is a pre-Sultanate heritage of Gaur remains uncertain.
structure belonging to the Hussain Shahi period Early medieval habitation record is yet to be recov-
(Khan 1930). These tanks could well have been of ered from the site, let alone anything that can be
the earlier period but there is very little archaeo- designated as mark of a political centre. It is known
logical evidence, except the elephants at Piyasbari that there were temples with a few tanks predating
tank. These would suggest that the ruins of the the Sultanate. But archaeological correlation be-
great temple hypothetically along those ‘sea-deep’ tween Lakhnauti and Lakshmanavati is still
like tanks should also be there. But such ruins have awaited.

A CKNOWLEDGEMENT : The illustrations at figures 3a and b are published through the courtesy of The
British Museum, London.

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 Pre-Medieval Gaur 37

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