Why in news?

• Asurgarh fortified settlement (ninth century BC) in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, has been ascertained to be the oldest among the major fortified settlements in the State.
  • Archaeologists deployed Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon technique, a technology that allows to distinguish different types of atoms on the basis of differences in atomic weights (mass).
• Major Findings:
  • Cultural sequence of the site could be divided into three phases:
    • Iron Age (ninth century BC to fourth century BC),
    • Early Historic or Rampart phase (second century BC to first century AD), and
    • Late Period/Dedine of the settlement (second century AD to third-fourth century AD).
  • Antiquities found include Beads of coral, lapis lazuli, carnelian, glass, jasper, garnet, shell, agate, milky quartz, terracotta, kaolin, and soft stone, and circular discs made out of potsherds and stone.
  • Only site in Odisha which shows highly skiled engineering of water management in comparison to contemporary sites.
• Other early historic sit es in Odisha include Sisupalgarh (near Bhubaneswar); Jaugarh, a fortified settlement on the Rushikulya valley (Ganjam); Khalkattapatna (Puri); the port site of Manikpatna (Puri) etc.