Grounded in OBSCURITY

Rajendra P Kerkar
Keri: Lying in thick vegetation along national highway 17 at Goa Velha, the ruins of what locals believe is the royal palace are fast being eroded by natural elements and neglect, but three unique stone mortars, one broken and two intact, of the Kadamba period still stand out at the site.
Goa Velha, known during the ancient period as Gopakapattanam, was the capital of the Kadambas of Goa and even today displays various vestiges of the bygone era.
The site, on a slightly elevated level from the road, does not have much by way of ruins, but for a few wells of the pre-Portuguese period and remains of the plinth in some places. But researchers’ attention has been drawn to the three stone mortars as they were once used for oil extraction during the Kadambas’ rule.
A research paper, ‘A study of unique stone mortars from Goa Velha’, jointly written by Abhijit Ambekar, Rohini Pandey Ambekar, D N Sridhar and A S Gaur was published this year in ‘Man and Environment’, a journal of the Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies.
Through the article the four researchers made attempts for the proper identification of these stone mortars based on ethno-archeological studies of the conventional method of jaggery production and coconut oil extraction in Goa. They also studied travellers’ records to ascertain the proper function of these stone mortars.
Two references were of Frances Buchanan and Lopez Mendis. In 1799, Buchanan, a Scottish physician, recorded conventional methods of jaggery production and oil extraction using stone mortars. In 1886, Mendis, in his book ‘A India Portugueza’, also mentioned the conventional methods of extraction of sugarcane juice.
The four researchers opined that the mortars used to extract sugarcane juice were similar in shape to the stone mortars of Goa Velha. Their comparative study involved visiting the jaggery manufacturing unit at Chapoli and the coconut oil extraction method used by Minino Fernandes and Tomatur Fernandes of Agonda in Canacona.
Another reference point was the inscription of Jaykeshi III in 1187, which mentions sugarcane production along with banana, betel plant, coconut palm, citron and so on in Goa. The Italian traveller, Niccolao Manucci, who reached India in 1656, also mentioned the cultivation of sugarcane in Goa during Portuguese rule.
The four researchers’ geo-chemical study has identified the stones used for mortars as granite, and the major area of activities for Goa Kadambas was the region encompassed by Belgaum, Dharwad and Uttar Kannada districts of the state of Karnataka.
Based on references related to oil extraction industry, oil mill, oil men, oil lamp of the temple, taxes on it, similarity in mortar design with old records and its operational method, it was concluded by the four researchers that the mortars from Goa Velha were certainly used for coconut oil extraction.
Oil extraction might have commenced after the shifting of the capital from Chandrapur (Chandor) to Gopakapattanam in the mid-11th century.
Abhijit Ambekar, one of the researchers, told TOI, “The three stone mortars of Goa Velha are in a neglected condition, since villagers dump garbage in the area. There is an urgent need to protect and conserve the mortars as they are assets of our history and heritage.”