Part 1: History of Kashmir (Pre-historic & Neolithic)

Pre-Historic era – Ice Age

Excavations conducted by ASI in 1969 have discovered the occurrence of the Ice Age in the valley. The chief Geological formation of the ice age here are the lacustrine deposits called the ” Karewas “.

Karewa formation is of the Plio-Pleistocene age. In Kashmiri dialect, Karewa or Wudars means, “elevated table-land.” 

These deposits have good quality soil mix and very useful agricultural and horticulture activities especially Zaffran (Saffron)

For hundreds of million years Kashmir Valley remained under the Tethya sea and the high sedimentary-rock hills seen in the valley now were once underwater.

Ancient legends and popular traditions say that Samdimat Nagar, the capital of the kingdom of Sundra Sena, was submerged as a result of an earthquake, and the water that filled the area formed the Wular Lake, creating the largest freshwater lake in India. As per Wikipedia “it was said that during the winter months, at low water the ruins of the submerged idol temple might be seen rising from the lake“.

When the whole Valley of Kashmir was under water Shankaracharya hill was the first piece of dry land lying in the form of an igneous island. The oldest igneous rocks are still found there.

source – http://ikashmir.net/geography/

Oldest supernova found in 5,000-year-old rock carving in Kashmir

The rock carving – known to be the earliest form of human expression – found in the Burzahama region in Kashmir is on an irregular stone slab with a size of about 48 cm by 27 cm.

source – https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/oldest-supernova-found-in-5-000-year-old-rock-carving-in-kashmir/story-IrxEo1RLiFvVNvNHxDDOfI.html

Neolithic culture – Stone Age – 2000BC

The neolithic culture is indicated by the discovery of ground and polished stone axes, hoes, pestles, and bone implements at the well-known menhir site of Burzahom, ten miles east of, Srinagar.

Burzahom (place of birch), situated 16 km northeast of Srinagar is famous as one of the only two megalithic sites in the extreme northwest of the Indian subcontinent. It is dated back to 3000 BCE.

https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5917/#:~:text=The%20Neolithic%20Site%20of%20Burzahom,to%20the%20early%20Historic%20period

all the photos are taken from the internet

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