The historic and archeologically important
Gofkral tralGofkral site in Tral remains neglected and the
ancient caves used as stores and cattle sheds
by local residents
Believe it or not the ancient caves of Gofkral, an
important Neolithic and archeological site dating
back to thousands of years in Tral, are being
used as stores and cattle-sheds by the local
residents in the absence of any effort by the
government authorities to protect and safeguard
this historic site. Leave alone preserving the site
that dates back to between 2800 to1500 BC,
there’s not even a single signboard put up to
inform the passer-bys about the importance of
this historic site situated around 41 kilometers
southeast of Srinagar in district Pulwama.
Eighty-five-year old Ghulam Muhammad Kumar,
whose house is adjacent to one of the ancient
caves in Gofkral, says these caves were there
even when his grandfather was growing up.
“They have always been there and I was born in
these caves and my marriage was also held
there,” says Kumar who has been a potter
throughout his life. “I have heard from my
grandfather that people used to live inside
these deep caves when there were no houses to
live in.” The aged potter says the government
authorities never paid any attention to preserve
and look after this historic site which could have
been developed as a tourist attraction. “Only
once some district administration officials visited
this year, they did some measurements but we
didn’t see them here again,” he says.
Seventy-year-old Muhammad Akbar Kumar,
another local resident whose house also lies
adjacent to the caves, says he has lived in these
caves for three years in his childhood when they
didn’t have a house to live in. The caves remain
cool in summers and warm in winters. These
caves are also suitable for living in all seasons.
“At times we still get old and broken pottery
items and other things from inside these caves
that date back to hundreds of years,” says
Akbar, adding that the government authorities
have always neglected this historic site. “They
don’t even bother to keep one sign board near
the street to inform people that this is a historic
site,” he says.
Given the historic neglect of Gofkral over the
years, the caves of the site at present are being
used as store houses and as cattle sheds by the
local residents here. The residents store their
pottery items and other household goods inside
the caves, some of which are damaged because
of the neglect over the years. Continued neglect
over the years has also ensured that openings of
many other caves is blocked with waste and soil
that has poured into the cavities. However, the
local residents of Gofkral say if government
takes care of this site, they are willing to move
out their cattle and empty the caves that remain
stuffed with their household goods and other
items.
When contacted by GK, DC Pulwama, Manzoor
Lone said he was unaware of any project to look
after the conservation and excavation of this
historic site. “I don't know if the department of
tourism or anybody else has done any projects
there. I looked but couldn’t find any such
records in our office,” he said. “Maybe some
surveys were done around 5-6 years ago but we
don’t have any records of them.”
Historians and archeologists say Gofkral is a site
of tremendous archaeological and historical
importance. They believed many things could be
known if proper excavation and preservation of
the antiquities found in this site is carried out in
a sustained manner. Historians say the British
took away some antiquities from here in the
past that are still with them, adding charm to
their museums in London. "Some stolen pieces
of utensils, etc are still there in the Royal
Museum of London", points out Muhammad
Ashraf Tak, Chief Editor in Academy of Art,
Culture and Languages, Srinagar. “Many such
things have been stolen after the independence
too. It’s important to make people aware what
these things are and how valuable they are to
us,” he says.
In the later part of the 19th century and the
early part of the 20th century people of Tral
believed the caves to be dominated by ghosts.
They didn't go inside to explore these caves.
But, with the expansion of the British Empire,
explorations into this archaeological wealth
began. "Kashmiris feared to enter these caves
as these were believed to be haunted,” says
Tak. The caves were believed to be used by
some potters and hence the place was named as
Gofkral. The studies by the British archeologists
revealed a number of historical facts and led to
a vast amount of research into its historical
background.
The history of Gofkral is believed to date back to
some eight to ten thousand years, times when
nomads came to Kashmir and settled in caves.
"Nomads came from somewhere and settled in
Tral some eight thousand years back and their
origin is yet to be known," says Tak. These
nomads tamed animals and carved out weapons
and tools out of stones. These weapons and
tools are still found in this archaeological site.
“These early men lived in smaller pit-chambers,”
points out Professor Muhammad Ashraf Wani
who teaches in Department of History, University
of Kashmir. "Since the low level lands were
covered in water, they inhabited hilly areas,” he
says.
"Crockery, utensils and needles have been
excavated from Gofkral along with the remains
of the ancient humans,” says historian Abdul
Rashid Mir, an expert in Kashmir history. "These
weapons and tools were made up of stones and
even animal bone. These nomads who settled
here were not the most developed; the biggest
development in this area was made by the
Aryans.”
This Gofkral site resembles the ones that have
been previously seen in The North-Western
Frontier Province. “The excavations, particularly
the remains of flora, fauna and utensils reveal
that this locality was in line with those found in
Burzohom and SWAT Valley,” informs Professor
Wani.
Aryans are believed to have come to Kashmir
from Central Asia around five thousand years
back. They were equipped with better tools,
better weapons and they tamed animals in a
better way. "Aryans came to Tral and settled
here. They developed small localities and
constructed small houses much like the huts of
modern times,” says Tak. Aryans settled in
chosen places which were better connected and
suitable for living. Tak points out that the main
reason that they settled here was because ‘this
place enjoyed better connectivity, good
irrigation, soil fertility and, above all, their
concentration was to settle here.’
Professor Wani believes that if there is any
archaeological site that can reveal facts about
the history of Kashmir and its culture, it is
Gofkral, and the one at Burzohom.
In a research paper titled “GufkraI1981: An
Aceramic Neolithic Site in the Kashmir
Valley” (published in March 15, 1982), A. K.
Sharma, who conducted the excavation of the
site along with his team for Archeological Survey
of India, points out that “GUFKRAL (literally guf-
cave, kral-potter)— a site inhabited by potters
who utilize the caves cut into the karewa – was
excavated by the Prehistory Branch of the
Archaeological Survey of India from 18 August to
20 October, 1981.”
On the slopes of the 35m high mound, Sharma
writes in his research paper, “there are a
number of caves, both single and multi
chambered with pillars. Some, particularly on
the southeastern side, are occupied by Krals
both for residential and storage purposes.
Others, which are deserted, had their openings
closed due to collapse of the earth. Inquiries so
far have revealed that the oldest Kral, a
centenarian, was born in one of these caves.”
Sharma writes in his research paper that the
site was first explored in 1962-1963 by the
Frontier Circle of the Archaeological Survey of
India. “The aim of this season's dig was to learn
the culture sequence at the site, hence the dig
was restricted to almost the center of the
mound, where a maximum of 3.10 m of
habitation a I deposit was encountered over the
natural soil,” he writes. “On the northern side of
the mound another 5 m of deposit was expected
as indicated by rain gullies and side scrapings.
Some scrapings were also made in the rain
gullies that revealed oval and rectangular pits.”
Summarizing his findings, A K Sharma writes
that excavations at Gofkral have brought to light
five periods of occupation from the Aceramic
Neolithic to the Historical Period. “For the first
time it has been firmly established that in the
Kashmir Valley there was also an Aceramic
Neolithic Period before pottery was introduced,”
he writes in the summary section at the end. “It
is in this period that the process of
domestication of selected species of animals was
attempted. People also recognized the food
value of various grains as wheat and barley and
had started collecting them. Bone and stone
tools were manufactured. People lived in the
open and in huts with floors sunk into the loessic
deposits in order to protect the dwellers from
gusty freezing winds. They kept the floors tidy
and beautiful by painting them with red-ochre.
Their main occupation was hunting.”
Sharma further writes that one season's limited
dig at Gufkral has filled some of the gaps in the
cultural sequence of Kashmir and has ‘definitely
pushed back the antiquity of the Neolithic
Culture in the Valley.’ “The earliest 14C date for
Period I at Burzahom is 2375 ± 120 B.C. [lab
and half life used not reported, editor). The
Aceramic Neolithic Period at Gufkral is likely to
go back by 400 to 500 years earlier as even in
Period IB at Gufkral the technique of
manufacture of bone tools indicated an earlier
phase than the bone tools of Period I at
Burzahom which are well polished,” he writes,
concluding that, “from the size of the mound it
appeared that Gufkral might reveal a fairly vast
settlement.”
Noted Kashmiri poet and social worker Zareef
Ahmad Zareef says Gofkral is a stone-age site
which is believed to have existed at the same
time as the Burzahom civilization. “Because the
caves and many other things are similar to
those found at Burzahom,” says Zareef, adding
that after some excavations the work at Gofkral
was stopped midway just like at Burzahom.
Zareef says Kashmir has a 5000 year old history
and a very rich heritage which needs to be
preserved. “Look at how people in Ladakh and
Jammu have preserved their heritage sites and
the number of tourists visiting Ladakh has kept
increasing,” he says. “But sadly in Kashmir the
government and the people are not serious
about such things.” We need to inculcate a
sense of heritage among our children, he says,
so that tomorrow they can form forums and try
and save our heritage from vanishing forever.
