Post by jadedsage on Nov 4, 2004 16:21:42 GMT -5
By Norman Hammond, Archaeology Correspondent
THE banks of the Thames have yielded many strange finds over the years, from the famous Battersea Celtic shield to modern handguns.
Recent discoveries, however, have included more exotic, if equally surprising, items, notably a series of Hindu deity figures, some of which could be more than a century old.
Four different gods are represented, according to Nikola Burdon, of the Museum of London. “Ganesha, with four hands, a big stomach and an elephant’s head, is the god of knowledge.
“Hanuman, the monkey god, is a provider of courage and hope, and a noble hero. Lord Vishnu, the preserver, is one of the most popular Hindu gods today, as is the Goddess Durga, depicted riding on the back of a lion.”
The statuettes are of stone or metal, and other recent discoveries include two metal plaques called yantras, one of copper alloy, the other silver-plated. Yantras have a geometrical diagram which acts as a talisman to ward off evil spirits, Burdon reports in the London Archaeologist: the copper example has details of the nine planets; on the silver one a serpent entwines rows of numbers each of which adds up to the magical number 15.
Some Hindu objects are modern, including a plastic banner with three gods and a plastic wallet containing a card with an image of Swarminarayan, but three of the statuettes and the copper yantra “could possibly date back to the late 19th century,” Burdon says.
Consultations with the Hindu community suggest that the objects were made in India, and while those of a devotional nature could have been brought to Britain by individuals, a number of clay lamps might have been sold here for use at Diwali, the Festival of Light. Two clay pots may have been used for holding sacred water, or ashes from cremations.
Their deposition in the Thames seems to have been connected with the Hindu veneration of rivers. The Ganges, deified as the goddess Ganga, is an important place of pilgrimage.
“As the Ganges is not very accessible to the Anglo-Hindu community, it could be that they are utilising the next best thing — a river that has an impact on their lives and their surrounding landscape,” Burdon suggests.
There have been reports in recent years of Hindus in Southall, West London, throwing items such as coconuts and barley into the Grand Union Canal in the hope that they will eventually drift out to sea and end up in the Ganges.
“Another explanation is the disposal of damaged religious objects. A Hindu has a responsibility to dispose of them in a respectful way, by returning them to the earth: this is often done by submerging the object in running water that flows to the sea,” she says. “But not all the Hindu objects found on the Thames foreshore are broken or damaged.”
As more objects are found, it seems likely that a lot were lost, but there may not be one simple or single explanation. Hindu leaders who were consulted by the Museum of London were surprised at the discoveries, Burdon says.
Whether the deposition of Hindu objects has been going on for a long time is also unknown: some date to within the past 20 years, and they have been reported only within the past decade.
The museum is keen to boost its contemporary collections to reflect the cultural diversity of London: “Deposition and discovery reflect a long tradition in the use of the Thames as a spiritual site,” says Burdon. “The Thames holds a wealth of evidence that needs to be investigated and recorded: how, exactly, is London’s river being used and celebrated by today’s diverse community?”
London Archaeologist vol 10, No 10: 276-279
THE banks of the Thames have yielded many strange finds over the years, from the famous Battersea Celtic shield to modern handguns.
Recent discoveries, however, have included more exotic, if equally surprising, items, notably a series of Hindu deity figures, some of which could be more than a century old.
Four different gods are represented, according to Nikola Burdon, of the Museum of London. “Ganesha, with four hands, a big stomach and an elephant’s head, is the god of knowledge.
“Hanuman, the monkey god, is a provider of courage and hope, and a noble hero. Lord Vishnu, the preserver, is one of the most popular Hindu gods today, as is the Goddess Durga, depicted riding on the back of a lion.”
The statuettes are of stone or metal, and other recent discoveries include two metal plaques called yantras, one of copper alloy, the other silver-plated. Yantras have a geometrical diagram which acts as a talisman to ward off evil spirits, Burdon reports in the London Archaeologist: the copper example has details of the nine planets; on the silver one a serpent entwines rows of numbers each of which adds up to the magical number 15.
Some Hindu objects are modern, including a plastic banner with three gods and a plastic wallet containing a card with an image of Swarminarayan, but three of the statuettes and the copper yantra “could possibly date back to the late 19th century,” Burdon says.
Consultations with the Hindu community suggest that the objects were made in India, and while those of a devotional nature could have been brought to Britain by individuals, a number of clay lamps might have been sold here for use at Diwali, the Festival of Light. Two clay pots may have been used for holding sacred water, or ashes from cremations.
Their deposition in the Thames seems to have been connected with the Hindu veneration of rivers. The Ganges, deified as the goddess Ganga, is an important place of pilgrimage.
“As the Ganges is not very accessible to the Anglo-Hindu community, it could be that they are utilising the next best thing — a river that has an impact on their lives and their surrounding landscape,” Burdon suggests.
There have been reports in recent years of Hindus in Southall, West London, throwing items such as coconuts and barley into the Grand Union Canal in the hope that they will eventually drift out to sea and end up in the Ganges.
“Another explanation is the disposal of damaged religious objects. A Hindu has a responsibility to dispose of them in a respectful way, by returning them to the earth: this is often done by submerging the object in running water that flows to the sea,” she says. “But not all the Hindu objects found on the Thames foreshore are broken or damaged.”
As more objects are found, it seems likely that a lot were lost, but there may not be one simple or single explanation. Hindu leaders who were consulted by the Museum of London were surprised at the discoveries, Burdon says.
Whether the deposition of Hindu objects has been going on for a long time is also unknown: some date to within the past 20 years, and they have been reported only within the past decade.
The museum is keen to boost its contemporary collections to reflect the cultural diversity of London: “Deposition and discovery reflect a long tradition in the use of the Thames as a spiritual site,” says Burdon. “The Thames holds a wealth of evidence that needs to be investigated and recorded: how, exactly, is London’s river being used and celebrated by today’s diverse community?”
London Archaeologist vol 10, No 10: 276-279