Speaking Archaeologically™

Have you ever looked at an ancient monument or sculpture Trishla is a research wing member at Speaking Archaeologically since August 2018 and wondered : how it is, that our ancient civilisations, armed with just a set of primitive tools, were able to conceptualise and execute them ? I know I have . But everytime a teacher responded with "That's for you to find out" and multiple google searches led me to the famous "Maybe the God's built it..?" or my mothers favourite, "Alien theory," I put aside my rather genuine inquiry only to forget about it completely-until it hit me again on site at Sanghol. If you haven't read my last blog here, where I took about how we reached the site, its history and present status, it would be a good idea to read that first for what we call "more context". In this blog I'll only be dishing on how we resourcefully tackled our biggest handicap at the Sanghol site which as I had mentioned in that...

If you're looking for a perfect holiday destination or somewhere you would drive to hangout and grab some beers with your friends,Sanghol might not qualify to feature in your list. But if your archaeology seeds are yearning to sprout, Sanghol is water to you. Archaeology does something to you. It makes you excited about an ordinary place, excited enough to write a blog about it. Sanghol, a small village in the Fatehgarh Sahib, district, around 40 kilometres from Chandigarh on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana highway is an archaeological haven. The village, in a series of excavations in 1968 and 1985 had yielded many sculptures, stone slabs and pillars dating back to the Kushans ( now housed at the Sanghol site museum), and also played host for the First Planning Workshop and Site Visit of Speaking Archaeologically’s New Batch. On the dawn of August 19, 2018 we set out, on what we as Batch 2018, assumed would be one great adventure trip. Something à la Indiana Jones, an idea tha...

What comes to your mind when I talk of an Archaeological recording workshop? A formal site visit led by a regimented Task In-charge?   If yes, then let me help you get rid of this preconception. Because the Speaking Archaeologically site visits are nothing like that. On the fine Sunday morning of 15th October,  I embarked on the bus journey from Chandigarh to Pinjore. Though I had visited the place before, but never knew there was a temple too. Anyway, it was a 45 minute long journey and I spent the whole time trying to wrap up the essay we had to submit the same day. I reached there by noon as we all were supposed to, where Shriya greeted us all warmly (See, what did I say? No formalities). We walked further, got onto the site, had a session on Hindu temples and conferred about them in detail. Studied Hinduism in its primary form, discussed Tantra, Mantra and Yantra, familiarized ourselves with different Gods, including the one pictured below. That's Ishana (Moon)...

Let the rooms be filled with shared beliefs and the walls speak of a cultural blend Let the doors open to rediscover and preserve a forgotten heritage. Indo Saracenic or a blend of Indian and Persian art has left its permanence in the history of India. Be it during the period of the greatest dynasty, that is, the Mughals or after its decline, this style continued to flourish in the schools of Deccan, Rajasthan and Punjab Hills even under the British Raj. With the popularity of Miniature paintings and the European influence during the end of Akbar's reign, the detailing, realistic appearance, use of soft or bright colours and embellishments made this form of Art and Architecture stand out. With an aim of reviving the Indo Saracenic art form and letting it highlight one's own culture and heritage, the last Workshop of Speaking Archaeologically proved to be an opportunity for the young artists to showcase their talent. The Government Degree College at Kandaghat, distr...

On the sultry, hot afternoon of 11th September a group of eager archaeologists in the making (not really but this hope might help us  sleep better at night) gathered at this not so historical but extremely aesthetic cafe called S-Cafe. *Inserts side note, it has a great bar, 10/10. Would recommend even to a teetotaller.* It started off as most SA workshops do, with Shriya reaching on time and waiting for her volunteers to show up. After the formalities were addressed we were asked to take out our surgical gloves because no where in the rule book does it say that only surgeons get to have fun.The thought of Woodwork all the way from Africa had my heart and rear end thumping to the beats of Ngoma. Each of us were given a precious hand out which contained information to build the basis of not only the workshop but also provided a bird's eye view into the life of Bembé tribe (and tribals). The workshop aimed to teach us object analysis and this led to...

Shriya, the Recruitment Team and the New Volunteers   Finally the post you've all been waiting for!  The Orientation Event of the Speaking Archeologically Volunteer Wing, the fruit of the efforts of our talented recruiters,  was held on August 13 at the Chandigarh Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10-C, Chandigarh.Panel member, Shriya Gautam joined in the team at 11 am at the Museum Entrance, with an ethnoarchaeological dress discussion drill for the new hands and a good news for the old one: she won't be alone on the next recruitment drive (but more on that later!) It was tine to show those who had joined the beautiful world of archaeology at the base source itself. Uma Maheshwari Sculpture from the Stone Sculpture Section, Chandigarh Museum As soon as a quick headcount was done, the tickets were  bought and the participants were advised to fasten their seatbelts for a tour in the world of antiquity. The twenty new history enthusiast, along with five...