Abstract
Mayong in Morigaon district of Assam is known as a land of black magic, witchcraft, sorcery and tantric practices, spiritual healing and indigenous medicinal system since the medieval period. The area is also extremely rich in terms of archaeological remains and sites of historical importance. With an objective of documenting and mapping the archaeological landscape of the region, an extensive field survey was undertaken during 2020–21. This survey has resulted in the discovery of diverse archaeological remains including polished stone tools, early and late medieval rock-cut sculptures and temple ruins, specimens of sculptures belonging to the Pala-Sena period, archaeological mounds with pottery, brick and terracotta architectural pieces, metal objects belonging to Vajrayana religious sect, inscriptions, engravings, mason marks, ancient stone quarrying, battle ground, ramparts, cannons and cannon balls, water tanks, manuscripts, bronze and bell metal sculptures, Vaishnavite <em>Satras</em> (monasteries), <em>Naamghars</em> (prayer halls) and <em>Thans</em> (sacred places). This paper discusses these archaeological remains and their relevance for understanding the ancient cultural development in Mayong and the Kalang-Kapili Valley.
Highlights
Mayong is well known as a land of black magic, witchcraft, sorcery and tantric practices
The area includes hill ranges like the Mayong Pahar, long stretches of grasslands, thick forests and animal habitats including the wildlife sanctuary of Pobitora, vast alluvial plains of Brahmaputra and its tributaries like Kalang and the Pakaria, wetlands and beels and palaeo-river channels
The diverse archaeological remains discovered in the area include polished stone tools, early and late medieval rock-cut sculptures and temple ruins, specimens of sculptures belonging to the PalaSena period, archaeological mounds with pottery, brick and terracotta architectural pieces, metal objects belonging to Vajrayana religious sect, inscriptions, engravings, mason marks, ancient stone quarrying, battle ground, ramparts, cannons and cannon balls, water tanks, manuscripts, bronze and bell metal sculptures, Vaishnavite Satras, Naamghars and Thans
Summary
Locality 1: The Locality 1 contains the evidence of early medieval period, i.e. three rock-cut sculptures (Figure 9) and some temple architectural remains. This site with a rock-cut image of Ganesha (Figure 11) is located on the foothill of the Mayong Pahar by the road side, on the left side of the Guwahati-Mayong road. The site contains early medieval rock-cut sculptures of Uma-Maheshwar and Ganesha (Figure 13) and a late medieval shrine dedicated to goddess Kali.
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