The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-05-05
moA ~ PREHISTORIC risaE&.

10 |T ~ ~
osaassy DstseA Win nsun1s wAssA
Are RieA - Antl0uities.
What were prehistoric times once arc
now no longer 20 Their history has
bean .exhumed and studied. In India
We know that the authors Of the vedas
speak shout q darker race of Dasyas
who werc the inhabitants before the
Aryans. They lived In cities. But we
ionot know much about them, although
Il u certain that many OF the present
Inhabitants of India are their de-
scendants. Some Of their mounds have
yielded flint implements. Those which
contain antiquities are scattered all
over the country. being situated In the
plains. When the country was first
peopled some of the earliest inhabitants
made their homes on these sites. The
houses were of mud or wood. In the
course OF centuries the site of town
grew higher than the plain. Deposits
OF all kinds were the cause of this ele-
vation. But in the unsettled condition
OF those early times no century ever
passed without the occasional destruc-
ton of the town by raiders or by inter-
necine warfare. And Il must have been
the case that owing to famines and cpl
demics the town was often depopulated
and deserted. Time after time, how
ever, the elevated site was again chosen
to be place of residence. and thus in
the course of centuries the mound grew
In size and height. Owing to the re-
currence Of the causes mentioned the
site was altogether abandoned.
One other cause there was-the
change In the course of the rivers and
the loss of water near the surface. All
these sites were not similarly situated.
Some were near supplies Of stone, and
this was utilized in building rs civiliza-
ton spread. Some religionists Use
stone extensively for temples or stupas
rs we'll as for palaces, houses and city
walls. When stone was not available
clay was used, the bricks made being of
great size and many of them highly or
namenteL. The great archaeologist, Sir
Alexander Cunningham, says that the
large size Of the bricks points to q
period before the Christian era. The
nodded bricks are the most character
istic feature of all the old cittes OF the
Punjaub. Tho stone used was often
sculptured. In the Punjaub these
mounds are often rich In architectural
remains. which tell their own story Of
bygone grandeur and cultivation. The
abandonment Of the. sites ,was, some
times sudden IN extreme. 30 sudden that
the inhabitants had not time to remove
their boarded wealth. 1t was left be-
hind and remains there still. Some
times the raiders gave the inhabitants
no chance Of escape. A town would be
surrounded, its inhabitants seized and
the place plundered and burned. There
Is Persian couplet which exactly de-
ncribes this:
They came. they uprooted, they burnt.
They slew. they carried away. they de-
parted.
After that the climate-the rains and
tho sandstorms-covered the place
over. Nothing, however. could destroy
the mounds and their contents. Every
year the rains disclose numbers Of
coins, and these find their way into the
hands of the money changers in the
bazars Of adjoining towns. These coins
show who was ieigning on the occasion
Of the last abandonment Of the site. In
the Punjaub the mounds have yielded
vast quantities Of coins bearing inscrip-
tions In Greek and Pail. The Greeks
were q people given to recording events
on stone. As yet, however. no mound
has given Greek inscription. Only
mounds which were regarded as being
the deposits Of Buddhist remains have
been examined by the natives, and
those only partially. A small parcel OF
ancient coins from the Akra mound
near Bannu. on the northwest frontier.
contained one Of Kanishka, and had on
its reverse the image Of Nanaia. Her
hair is done In fashion which must
have neccssitated the use of large pins.
Along with the coins was one Of the
pins. II is OF copper and Is ~ inches
long and 0.2 inch thick. tits surmount-
ed by an image Of female l.s5 inches
high. What story that pin tells Of
art and vanity 1900 years agol All the
ancient mounds in India are the prop
crty OF, the government Of India. which
has already at work several srchaeolog-
ical surveys. which have brought many
valuable antiquities TO light. But much
sculpture and many antiquities have
been quietly taken ont Of the country
unknown to the government Year by
year collections OF coins are made. and
they too disappear without our mu-