The village of sadiqpur Sianuli popularly called Sanauli, is found on the Barot – Chhaprauli road in tehsil Barot, district Baghpat, western Uttar Pradesh, in the Yamuna – Hindon Doab. the location revealing the proof of burials, lies on the southeastern fringe of the Sanuali village, on the Khadir tract of the Yamuna on its left bank. The Yamuna flows nearly 6 kilometre west of the site as the crow flies.
the current contours of the site clearly indicate that the Yamuna was flowing within the close neighbourhood of the site throughout the 2nd millennium BC. At present, there is a giant depression close to the excavated site towards the northwest, that originally might have been an enormous natural jobad (a massive talao, a water reservoir), as also referred to by the villagers. The prosimity of such a regular water body near the cemetery site is a well – acknowledged feature of the traditional settlement pattern as well as a modern village layout. The cemetery site beneath reference, evidencing pottery assemblages and associated skeletons and other relics, were recovered from an agricultural field whereas the villagers were trying leveling operations here. This field is found at a distance of roughly 300 m southeast of the modern village amid the agricultural fields. the overall extent of the burial site could not, in fact, be assessed due to the standing crops. associated with the burial ground, there must have been a habitational settlement site, that also could not be located for a similar reason.
all these issues, together withothers, are needed to be tackled whenever the work is taken up here in the future. Typology of the BurialsThe salvage operations carried out so far have succeeded in recovering a complete range of 116 burials from totally different depths, revealing completely different modes of the disposal of the dead. All the 116 excavated burials (mostly primary and extended, only a fewsecondary and symbolic) were found arranged in the northwest – southeast orientation, with heads placed in the north, and legs towards the south.These burials were exhumed from three consecutive levels.
So, far, any proof of animal sacrifice along side the human skeletons has not been determined from the lowest levels. However, these have been noted from both the center and also the higher levels.Evidences of symbokic burials of the Sanaulians, suggesting antyesbti of the dead at their birth places (janma – bhumi) have also been documented. Personal belongings, jewellery, copper weapons, etc. besides pottery are found placed within the graves, without any skeletal remains.
It suggests that the persons involved died far-off from their birthplaces. And their bodies couldn’t be recovered
