Pr ade e p k. Be h e r a an d Pr an a b k c h at toPadh YaY

Figure 3
: use of natural resources by the modern settlers of Badmal 
village.
Table 1
: geological formations represented in the Sambalpur district, orissa, in order of increasing antiquity (after Senapati and Mahanti, 1971, 
pp.15-16).
Age 
Rock formations
Recent
…….Soil and alluvium.
Tertiary
…….Laterites and lateritic iron ore – usually manganiferous.
Lower Gondwana 
}
Damuda series.
…. Kamthi stage.
talchir series
 
}
Barakar stage, needle shales and
sandstone. Boulder bed.
------unconForMitY------
Cuddapah
…….. Shales and sandstones, quartzites and limestones.
Newer dolerites, pegmatites, quartz veins and amphibolites.
Dharwars
…….. Gondites, mica schist, dolomite-marble, phyllites.
Archaeans
…….. Gneisses, granites, charnockites, mica schist, quartzites and khondalites, etc.

---

i ron age – e ar LY h i Stor i c Pe r i od i n e a Ste r n i n di a . a St u dY i n M ate r i aL c u Lt u r e an d tec h n o Lo gY: 
eV i de n c e FroM th e Site oF B adM aL -a Su rgar h, di Str i c t Sa MB aL P u r , or i SSa , i n di a 
127
Figure 4
: a) Plan of the iron age-early historic fort at Badmal asurgarh; b) profile drawings of the fortification wall (after Yule, et al., 2005, p.311).
Figure 5
: Flanking remains of moat visible outside the north-eastern defence wall.
(a)
(b)

---

Pr ade e P K . Be h e r a an d Pr an a B K . c h at toPadh YaY
128
the surrounding plains and is approximately 20-25 metres 
wide at the base. In addition to the main fortification, two 
additional small earth ramparts are located on the north-
western side of the site, towards the stream, presumably to 
protect the settlement from seasonal flooding. At least three 
entrances to the settlement have been identified, located on 
the south-western, north-western, and north-eastern sides. 
While the north-eastern and north-western prominences of 
the rampart wall are to some extent better preserved, other