Ojiyana (Ojhiyana)
Ojhiyana
Chalcolithic Ahar-Banas (c.3000–1500 BCE)·Ahar-Banas·🇮🇳 Rajasthan, Bhilwara/Beawar District, Aravalli piedmont, India
About
About Ojiyana (Ojhiyana)
Unique hill-slope Ahar-Banas settlement 30 km southwest of Beawar (Asind tehsil, Bhilwara), excavated 1999–2001 by B.R. Meena/Alok Tripathi (ASI Jaipur Circle). Unlike valley Ahar, Ojiyana cascades down granite hill with terraced stone foundations, yielding painted black-and-red ware, copper tools and ivory comb—showing Ahar pastoral adaptation to Aravalli uplands and upland–valley transhumance.
Why it mattersTerraced hill-slope Ahar settlement demonstrating upland pastoral adaptation distinct from valley Ahar.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Terraced hill settlement vs valley Ahar — defensive or pastoral niche?
Theories
- 01Aravalli upland pastoral transhumance model for Ahar expansion
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3000 BCE
- Period
- Chalcolithic Ahar-Banas (c.3000–1500 BCE)
- Culture
- Ahar-Banas
- Builders
- Ahar pastoralists
- Purpose
- Hill-slope settlement adapting Ahar to Aravalli uplands
- Abandoned
- c.1500 BCE
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.3000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1313 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
25.8787° N · 74.3576° E · 500 m · 2 mapped features
Hill-slope terraces
settlementStone-retained terraces cascading down granitic hill
25.8790° N · 74.3573° EValley-edge copper workshop
workshopCopper tools, ivory comb and painted pottery
25.8784° N · 74.3579° E