Burzahom’s call for help: Kashmir’s oldest Archaeological site faces neglect, apathy
By: Sualiha Zubair
Srinagar: Burzahom, an ancient Neolithic archaeological site near Srinagar, is rapidly deteriorating, sparking urgent concerns about its preservation. A pivotal settlement in 3000 BCE and a testament to Kashmir’s rich history, it now suffers from severe neglect and mismanagement. Despite its immense significance, Burzahom’s current state stands as a stark reminder of the lack of protection offered to the region’s invaluable heritage.
According to historians and archaeologists, Burzahom has provided crucial insights into the lives of Kashmir’s first inhabitants, showcasing the evolution of agriculture, animal husbandry, pottery and jewellery making in the region.
Over years, findings from this site have been instrumental for anthropologists studying the development of Neolithic societies and practices in this part of the world.
The site is located on a plateau, locally known as a Karewa, at a height of 5,900 ft above sea level. Burzahom is a protected monument under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), declared of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (24 of 1958). It is also a part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) tentative world heritage sites list. Yet, its condition hardly reflects its esteemed status.
The large standing stones that characterize the site, locally known as menhirs have either collapsed or are in disrepair. The surrounding area, which should be a cultural treasure, has been transformed into a grazing land for local cattle. Visitors are greeted by an overwhelming stench of cow dung, with only a few damaged historic structures left exposed.
Gaurav, a resident of Jalandhar, Punjab along with his colleagues Jasmeet and Bhupinder came to explore the site after somebody recommended the place to them. Photographers by profession, the three men had come to Kashmir to shoot a wedding.
“I have been visiting Srinagar from past 15 years. However, it took me many years to know that such a historic place exists in Kashmir,” said Gaurav, referring to the lack of awareness about this place.
Hopes of finding something interesting had faded away for the three men, when they arrived at the site.
“It took us half an hour to find the place and upon reaching, I felt like I have come into a lawn. Nothing belonging to historical site has been preserved. There is no guide to give information about the place. There is no office,” complained Gaurav.
Apart from negligence, environmental factors such as weathering, encroachment, and insufficient funding contribute to the deterioration of this place. Moreover, presence of several cows at the site intrigues visitors.
Apparently, the site is used by the locals as a grazing land for their cows and is lined by cow dung making the whole site odorous. Gaurav and his colleagues were guided on the site by the locals.
According to locals, a govt. team that had visited the site in 2019 only to blame the locals for damaging signboards and structures built around the pits.
“Then in 2020, authorities started fencing this place and today the excavated areas and menhirs have been fenced completely,” they said.
Abdul GhaniBhat, an expert on the site highlighted the site’s remarkable history, noting that it spans the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods, with artefacts showing early trade links with Central Asia and Southwest Asia. “Yet, this wealth of history is slowly vanishing, thanks to neglect,” he noted.
He added that upon earliest excavations, pits, tools made of bones and stone, harpoons were found at Burzahom.
“The architecture of the site indicated that the prehistoric people of the Burzahom established contact with Central Asia and South West Asia. Pottery found in Burzahom showed close affinity to those found in the Swat valley in present-day Pakistan. The burial practices and type of tools recovered from the site were inferred as having close resemblance to those found in the North Chinese Neolithic culture,” he added.
Speaking about menhirs, Bhat said that earliest photographs show 11 menhirs at the site while today only seven menhirs remain there. “Others collapsed one by one,” concluded Bhat, sadly.
Among seven, only one menhir stands upright while others lay down. ‘T20’ has been written in bold white letters on the menhir, implying the famous ‘Burzahoma Premiere League’ that used to take place on this archaeological site every year but now the tournament is no longer allowed here.
According to documents, the artefacts and other material collected from here were transported to Kolkata for carbon dating and then were never returned back. After five decades, they still remain at PuranaQila storehouse of the ASI in New Delhi and in the Kolkata office of the Anthropological Survey of India.
The Neolithic site of Burzahom appeared in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2014 and still remains there. UNESCO’s website mentions about the site-
‘The entire site retains its physical integrity and is still set in a landscape that is reminiscent to the natural setting of the Neolithic men approximately in 4th millennium B.C. Each pit is protected and retains its physical stability, demonstrating types of spaces devised by Neolithic society’.
Things have changed since 2014 and the above-mentioned information does not remain true to this day. The site may face a delisting from UNESCO if the situation remains same. Although, several steps towards betterment have been taken, a lot more needs to be done on a faster pace because the site is on verge of extinction.
KV News
