A shashan patra or notice, dating back to the 12th century, was found from the premises of BARC, Trombay. Archaeologists say Mumbai has been referred to as

Konkan-Bimbasthana in the inscriptions. (Source: Express Photo) A shashan patra or notice, dating back to the 12th century, was found from the premises of BARC, Trombay. Archaeologists say Mumbai has been referred to asKonkan-Bimbasthana in the inscriptions. (Source: Express Photo)

THE HISTORY of Mumbai, as we know it, is in for a change. A new study by a team of archaeologists has found evidence of urban settlements dating back to as early as the twelfth and the thirteenth century.

An archaeological exploration project by Centre for Extra-Mural Studies (CEM) of the Archaeology department of University of Mumbai and Sathaye College has found evidence that urban settlements in Mumbai date back to the pre-Portuguese era. The popular notion so far had been that urban settlements in the city started taking roots only after the influx of the Portugese colonialists.

“Sporadic studies had shown that the urbanisation of Bombay began only with the arrival of the Portuguese. However, the structural fragments and artifacts we found show that urban settlements existed as early as the 12th century,” said Kurush Dalal, Deputy Director of CEM, who is a part of the study. The study was carried out by 16 researchers mentored by five senior archaeologists over one year.

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Tracing the medieval past of Mumbai, the team found remnants of temples, structural fragments and pottery from the pre-Portuguese era.

“We found Bharvakas (the top of a pillar) of an ancient temple at the Johnson compound in Mahim. The carvings and stylistics elements suggested they were product of urban settlement,” he said.

Several temple remnants have been found across the Salsette island, from Bandra to Bhayander and Thane to Sion.

The team stumbled across several land grant stones during the survey. Land grant stones contain inscriptions carved on them, saying the land was being granted to a particular individual, and these stones would then be planted on the said land.

Three land grant stones were recovered from Gorai, two from Versova, one from Girgaon. On Thursday, the team recovered another such stone in Bhandup.

Earlier this year, the team stumbled upon its biggest finding, a shashan patra that has stood the test of time, on the premises of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay.

Dating back to Kartika Shuddha Dwadashi, Samvat 1290, i.e. CE 1368, the inscriptions refer to the Delhi Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq and his local vassal Hambirrao from the Bimba dynasty.

“The place referred to in the inscription is Konkan-Bimbasthana and there are names of villages identifiable today, including Marol, Nanale, Devnare (Devnar),” said Mugdha Karnik, Director of CEM. “It is possible that the name Mumbai-Bombay-Bombahem originated from the name Bimbasthana,” she said.

Pottery from Manori, Sopara and Ghodbunder fort date back to the medieval period, said Abhijit Dandekar from Deccan College, Pune. “The recovered pottery is similar to that imported from West Asia and date back to the 10th century, suggesting trade existed even before the Portuguese or the British came in,” said Dalal. The findings, funded by the India Study Centre Trust, will be presented Saturday at the Mumbai University.

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