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Sinauli Necropolis

Sadikpur Sinauli

India · Uttar Pradesh, Baghpat

NecropolisIntermittent excavation
Approximate period2,000 BCE — 1,800 BCEChalcolithic Age See on the map ↓

In brief

Excavations have revealed a necropolis containing coffin burials and rich grave goods. The two-wheeled vehicles made of wood and copper have been interpreted as chariots in excavation publications.

What was found?

  • 1Wooden and copper vehicles

    Three full-size vehicles were made using wood and copper. Researchers interpret them as chariots; this interpretation is an assessment of how the vehicles were used.

  • 2Legged coffin with copper decoration

    The coffin lid bears a series of human-shaped figures. According to researchers, its elaborate construction and accompanying objects indicate a high-status burial.

  • 3Copper swords with antenna hilts

    These swords, whose hilt ends resemble antennae, are among the cemetery’s distinctive metal finds. They allow comparisons with pre-Iron Age copper artifact assemblages from the Ganga–Yamuna region.

  • 4Miniature copper vessel

    A small copper vessel also appears in the excavations’ official list of finds. It shows that grave goods were not limited to weapons.

What does it point to?

Artifacts combining wood and copper indicate advanced carpentry and metalworking. According to researchers, the elaborate coffins and weapons suggest differences in social status; the view that the graves were “royal” also rests on this interpretation.

What did it teach us?

  1. They documented a burial tradition in the Ganga–Yamuna region in which vehicles were also placed in graves.
  2. They showed that coffin burials, secondary burials and symbolic burials occurred in the same necropolis.
  3. A radiocarbon study dated the examined finds to approximately 2000 BC, suggesting that they were contemporary with the Late Indus period.

Latest news / selected archive

A radiocarbon and isotope study published in 2024 dated the vehicle burials to around 2000 BC.

Record

Culture
Ochre Coloured Pottery and Copper Hoard culture
First modern dig
2004
Team / historical
Archaeological Survey of India; S. K. Manjul
Coordinates
29.1411°, 77.2169°

Sources

  1. sansad.in
  2. cambridge.org

Nearby excavations


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12.000

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