Robin Coningham

This book offers a critical synthesis of the archaeology of South Asia from the Neolithic period (c.6500 BCE), when domestication began, to the spread of Buddhism accompanying the Mauryan Emperor Asoka's reign (third century BCE). The authors examine the growth and character of the Indus civilisation, with its town planning, sophisticated drainage systems, vast cities and international trade. They also consider the strong cultural links between the Indus civilisation and the second, later period of South Asian urbanism which began in the first millennium BCE and developed through the early first millennium CE. In addition to examining the evidence for emerging urban complexity, this book gives equal weight to interactions between rural and urban communities across South Asia and considers the critical roles played by rural areas in social and economic development. The authors explore how narratives of continuity and transformation have been formulated in analyses of South Asia's Prehistoric and Early Historic archaeological record.

The third volume of the Anuradhapura series documents the results of six years of settlement survey, excavation and geoarchaeology in the hinterland of the Citadel. Mapping the response of rural communities to the growth of Anuradhapura as Sri Lankan capital and Indian Ocean pilgrimage centre, this interdisciplinary study presents the establishment and consolidation of settlement within the island's Dry Zone and the associated investment in hydraulic infrastructure from the first millennium BC onwards. It also traces the division of hinterland settlement into either Buddhist monastery or agricultural village with an absence of towns as well as the hinterland's subsequent collapse in the eleventh Century AD. Conforming to a model of Tropical Forest 'Low Density Urbanism', this volume presents the most detailed archaeology study of the dynamic and contested nature of a South Asia urban hinterland. (See also BAR S1508 and BAR S824)

Charsadda has long been recognised as one of the most important cities in the second urbanisation of South Asia. For its chronology, however we are still reliant on the 50 year old conclusions of Sir Mortimer Wheeler, which have been heavily criticised in more recent years. This study reports on new excavations at Charsadda designed to illuminate the origins and development of the early period of the site, and to create a typology and chronology for the ceramics and structures found at the site. The study also contains a broader regional synthesis.

The excavation project undertaken at Anuradhapura responded to the general lack of research on early historic cities in India. This first volume details the environmental and geographical background of Anuradhapura, the history of the city from the small circular houses of the Iron Age through to the stone built architectural structures of the 13th century AD as the city developed into a thriving fortified metropolis. A large part of the volume is taken up by the results of the excavations carried out between 1989 and 1994 providing a better understanding of the development of urbanism on Sri Lanka. The second volume will include the artefacts and materials discovered during the excavations.