History of Sankisa

Archaeological investigations at Sankisa (ancient Sankasya) in present-day Farrukhabad district, Uttar Pradesh, have identified a cultural phase associated with Painted Grey Ware (PGW), a distinctive pottery tradition of early Iron Age northern India. The archaeological report Excavations at Sankisa 1995–96, authored by B. R. Mani, provisionally places the site's earliest identified cultural period between approximately the 9th and 6th centuries BCE. Painted Grey Ware pottery is characterised by fine grey surfaces decorated with black geometric patterns. Its occurrence at Sankisa provides material evidence for an early phase of human activity at the site. However, pottery finds alone cannot establish the exact size, political status, or continuous occupation of the settlement during this period. The archaeological report classifies this phase within a broader cultural sequence that also includes the Northern Black Polished Ware period, followed by the Sunga and Kushan periods. The authors note that further excavation and study would be necessary to confirm the proposed chronology.

During the 9th–6th centuries BCE, the region around ancient Sankasya, identified with present-day Sankisa in Farrukhabad district, formed part of the wider cultural landscape of the Gangetic plains. Archaeological investigations conducted at Sankisa under B. R. Mani in 1995–96 identified an early cultural phase associated with Painted Grey Ware (PGW). These findings provide a starting point for understanding the settlement's early material culture, although the precise layout and everyday arrangements of the settlement during this period remain incompletely documented. Housing and Domestic Life Across contemporary Painted Grey Ware settlements in northern India, houses were often constructed using locally available materials such as timber poles, reeds, branches, mud, and thatch. Wattle-and-daub techniques, in which a framework of branches was coated with mud, were also used. Such construction methods offer a plausible model for imagining early domestic architecture at Sankasya, but the exact design of individual houses at Sankisa during this period has not been conclusively established. Domestic life would have revolved around food preparation, storage, craft activities, animal care, and household cooperation. Pottery was important for storing and handling food and water. These activities represent a regional historical reconstruction rather than a complete record of daily life excavated at Sankisa itself. Settlement Layout and Pathways The ancient settlement landscape at Sankisa contains numerous mounds spread across a broad area. The ASI's excavation report describes an earthen rampart enclosing a substantial part of the archaeological site. However, the precise relationship between this feature and the earliest PGW phase requires caution. Within an early settlement, movement may have taken place along compacted-earth paths connecting houses, working areas, fields, and sources of water. In some contemporary settlements, broken pottery was used to improve pathways, but this practice should not be attributed specifically to early Sankisa without direct archaeological evidence. Water Resources and Daily Needs Water resources played an important role in the settlement and everyday life of ancient Sankasya. The archaeological site of Sankisa is situated near the Kali Nadi, a river identified in historical geographical literature with the ancient Ikshumati. The Kali Nadi would have been an important part of the surrounding landscape, potentially supporting access to water for domestic needs, livestock, cultivation, and movement through the region. Its proximity also provides a significant geographical context for understanding the location of ancient Sankasya. The wider Gangetic plains offered additional water resources, including seasonal streams, ponds, and natural depressions that could collect rainwater. Pottery vessels would have been useful for carrying and storing water. However, the precise arrangements for water collection, wells, drainage, and irrigation at Sankisa during the 9th–6th centuries BCE have not been conclusively established by the evidence cited here. The relationship between Sankasya and the Kali Nadi is therefore an important element in reconstructing the settlement's historical geography, while specific claims about ancient water-management structures require further archaeological confirmation. Agriculture, Food and Livelihoods Agriculture and animal husbandry were important to many communities across the Gangetic plains during the early Iron Age. Cultivation, grain processing, livestock care, pottery production, and the exchange of locally produced goods likely formed part of the wider regional economy. However, the exact crops, occupations, and household production activities of early Sankasya require direct evidence from the relevant archaeological layers. ### Researcher's Perspective From the research perspective of Raj Kamal Singh Shakya, the early settlement of Sankasya should be understood in relation to its geographical setting, particularly the surrounding Gangetic plains and the nearby Kali Nadi, historically associated with the ancient Ikshumati in geographical literature. The availability of natural resources, including river water, fertile land, clay, timber, and other locally available materials, provides a useful framework for interpreting how the inhabitants may have organised their homes, livelihoods, and community life during the 9th–6th centuries BCE. Agriculture, animal husbandry, pottery, food storage, and the collection and transportation of water may have formed important parts of everyday life. The proximity of the Kali Nadi is particularly relevant when examining the settlement's historical geography and its potential access to water for domestic needs, livestock, and cultivation. However, the precise water-management practices, routes, house structures, and protective arrangements of early Sankasya cannot be reconstructed with certainty without further site-specific archaeological evidence. Accordingly, this interpretation combines archaeological findings from Sankisa with comparisons to contemporary settlements of the Gangetic plains. It distinguishes documented evidence from historical possibilities and presents early Sankasya as a settlement whose relationship with its natural environment is an important subject for continued archaeological research.

Excavations conducted at Sankisa in 1995–96 under the direction of archaeologist B. R. Mani uncovered archaeological materials associated with the site's Painted Grey Ware (PGW) period, provisionally dated to approximately the 9th–6th centuries BCE. According to the Archaeological Survey of India's excavation report, finds from this cultural phase included iron chisels, bone points and arrowheads, terracotta objects, stone beads, and several pottery traditions, including Painted Grey Ware, Black-and-Red Ware, Black-Slipped Ware, and associated Red Ware. These discoveries provide evidence of the material culture of the early Iron Age at Sankisa. Iron implements indicate the use of iron technology, while pottery, beads, and terracotta objects offer insights into craft production and everyday material life. However, the individual objects do not independently establish the precise social organisation or economic structure of the settlement. The report places these finds within Period I of Sankisa's archaeological sequence. Its chronology remains provisional and was identified by the excavators as requiring further excavation and scientific dating.

During the Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) period, approximately the 6th–3rd centuries BCE, ancient Sankasya (modern Sankisa, Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh) was associated with a distinctive pottery tradition found across parts of the Gangetic plains. The archaeological excavations conducted at Sankisa in 1995–96 under B. R. Mani documented Northern Black Polished Ware alongside associated red ware, grey ware and black-slipped ware. The excavated pottery assemblage included vessel forms such as bowls, dishes and other domestic containers. NBPW is particularly recognised for its fine fabric and highly polished surface, often displaying a glossy appearance. These finds provide evidence of the material culture present at Sankisa during this period. However, pottery alone cannot establish the settlement's exact population, political status or extent of trade. The proposed chronology remains tentative and requires further archaeological investigation.

Between approximately the 6th and 3rd centuries BCE, settlements across the Gangetic plains experienced significant cultural and economic changes. This broader period is associated with the growth of settlements, expanding craft activities, agricultural production and the emergence of organised political formations in different regions. At ancient Sankasya (modern Sankisa, Farrukhabad district, Uttar Pradesh), archaeological excavations documented Northern Black Polished Ware and other pottery traditions. These finds provide evidence of domestic material culture and help researchers investigate how people used pottery and other everyday objects. Houses constructed from locally available materials such as earth, timber and thatch are plausible reconstructions of settlement life in the wider region, but their precise form at Sankisa during this period has not been conclusively established by the pottery evidence alone. Agriculture, animal husbandry and local exchange may have contributed to livelihoods, as they did in many contemporary settlements, but the specific economic structure of Sankasya requires further site-specific evidence. Similarly, the wider Gangetic region contained different political and administrative systems during this period. However, the available pottery evidence does not establish whether Sankasya had a particular governing institution, fortification system, official hierarchy or administrative centre. These aspects should remain open questions for archaeological and historical research.