Forum Pakistan

The contemporary name of an archaeological site found to the southeast of Allahabad. In ancient times, according to inscriptions on seals, it was called Buru. John *Marshall, head of the Indian Archaeological Survey, studied this site from 1909 to 1912. The site covers 0.26 sq. kID. and the diggings reveal 1-1.5 per cent of its surface. The defence wall was 3.4 metres thick and about 12 metres high. The southern gates have also been execrated. The town square was crossed by several parallel streets. One of these, which Marshall called the 'main street', began at the gates and led to the sanctuary in the town's centre. This street was 10 metres wide. There was a narrower parallel street, tentatively called 'the bastion street'. The houses along these two streets were completely identical in layout, but noticeably bigger along the main street.
There were two rows of houses between the two main streets. They had two or three storeys and probably accommodated from ten to twenty people, including servants. A general assessment gives the number of such houses as 940, with a total population of 10,000-20,000.

One of the houses in the main street was built with burnt bricks. Twelve rooms were arranged around a rectangular court and covered an area of 14 x 13.4 metres. It probably had two storeys. Other houses consisted of two parts. The front looking into the 'High Street' comprised three rooms with a staircase leading from the street into the central room. This part was probably used as a shop. The houses formed cells looking into the street and surrounded with back alleys on three sides. The seals found in the site allowed archaeologists to establish the names of some of the house-owners.
Marshall believed that the houses he opened existed for almost a thousand years from the fifth *Maurya period to the 5th century AD.

BI BLiOGRAPHY: B.A. Litvinsky, A. V. Sedov, "Iepai-Shoh, Kushanic Bactria's Culture and Ties', Moscow, 1983 (ill Russian); J. Marshall, Archaeological Exploration in India, 1909-10', IRAS, 1911; J. Marshall, 'Excavations at BhitaArasi for 19l/-12', ont« 1915; O. Schlingloff, 'Oas