226 
P. N. Bose — Note on some earthen pots. 
[No. 3, 
Note on some earthen pots found in the alluvium at Mahesvara (Mahesar ). 
—By P. N. Bose, e. Sc., e. g. s., Geological Survey of India. 
(With, two Plates.) 
Mahesvara is the capital of the southern portion of Holkar’s territory 
known as the Subha of Nimar, and is situated on the Narmada some 40 
miles south of Indore. Modern Mahesvara rose into importance during 
the reign of Ahalya Bai who made it the seat of her government. As 
containing the ashes of that remarkable and venerable woman it is largely 
resorted to by pilgrims. 
Captain Dangerfield in his paper on the Geology of Malwa^ mentions 
having been shewn in the alluvium at Mahesvara large “ earthen vessels 
and bricks,” which were stated “ to have been, at a very remote period, 
overwhelmed by a shower of earth.” Since Dangerfield’s time, however, 
—and he wrote more than 60 years ago—no one has taken any notice of 
them. I happened to pass through Mahesvara last April, and wanted to 
avail myself of the opportunity to examine the antiquities in question. I 
was located in a bungalow to the west of the town. (PI. XIV, fig. 1.) The 
upper 6 feet of the alluvium upon which the bungalow stands, is composed 
very largely of broken pottery, and I extracted a nearly whole urn-shaped 
earthen pot, quantities of more or less damaged cup-shaped vessels, fresh water 
shells, fragments of lower jaw and bones of Ruminants, &c. The pottery 
remains had evidently been carried by the river from some place higher up ; 
and I learnt on inquiry, that at the eastern extremity of the town, there were 
to be seen by the river side the remains of an ancient city turned upside 
down, as my informant stated, through supernatural agency. The banks of 
the Narmada at the place (known as the “ Mandal kho”) are some 65 feet 
high. Approaching it by boat, one sees from a distance two well-defined 
beds of unequal thickness, the upper (about 20 feet) remarkably light- 
coloured, and the lower (about 45 ft.) of a brownish hue. On getting to 
the place, my guides pointed out towards the base of the upper bed por¬ 
tions of pottery-work, no doubt as they had been pointed out to Danger- 
field threescore years ago, and are described by him as large earthen 
vessels. The pottery-works appeared to enclose round wells, of which 
I counted half-a-dozen. They are all more or less inaccessible, and it is 
not without considerable difficulty that I managed to clamber up to one. 
The two zones of the alluvium just mentioned are separated by a thin 
stratum of very dark-coloured clay which to all appearance formed the soil 
of the now inhumed city. The lower portion (6 ft.) of the light coloured 
upper zone contains bits of charcoal and fragments of pottery in abun- 
* Malcolm’s “ Central India,” Vol. II, p. 325. 
