Northern Black Polished Ware Pottery is the eminent and supreme ware pottery of early India, mostly seen in the northern parts of India. It has showcased a strong foundation in Indian dating chronology. Usually, it has slim black potteries with slip having plenty of assortments like Grey, Red, Ochre, Silver, and Gold. These wares have seen the highest degree of technological brilliance during the 6th century B.C.. 

It is very accurate that these potteries were first established in the northern area of early India, and hence, they are known as Northern Black Polished Ware Pottery (NBPW). Moreover, these wares were chiefly black, with slips of unusual colour and polished. 

However, there is some disagreement about the name of pottery since these kinds of potteries were found in every part of India a little later.  But it is imperative to understand that the incidence rate of NBPW in the rest of India, excluding the Northern region, is very low. So as per the Archaeologist’s description, the name of this ware is reasonable. 

Expansion 

As the name indicates, it is fundamentally the pottery of Northern India, but it also has a very extensive allocation in terms of time and space. 

• Northern black polished ware pottery elongated particularly in Afghanistan Pakistan, i.e. the Northern division of the Indian region. 

• In the North-Western part, its potsherds were seen in Begram (Afghanistan), Charsadda (Peshawar), Udaygram (Peshawar, Pakistan), Taxila (Rawalpindi). 

• In Western Gujarat, these were located especially in Arabian Sea coastal places such as Prabhas Patan. In South India, its potsherd was seen at Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, and Dharanikota. 

• Its main incidence is the Middle Ganga Basin, more chiefly the ancient Magadh region, the area about Patna, ancient Pataliputra, and the capital of imperial Maurya. 

• Excavation which happened in different parts of the country too specifies the development of NBPW in Alamgirpur, Roper, Ahichchhatra, Kasseri,Bairat, Sravasti, Ratura Atranjikhera, Such, Sanghol, Noh, and Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

Therefore, northern black polished ware pottery has a very broad division all over the Indian subcontinent, following the black and redware. The entire spread area of these wares is anticipated to be around 4000 sq. km. 

Technology Of Making Pottery 

The most significant and decisive phase of using northern black polished ware pottery is that “how were these potteries and their slips prepared and consequently polished?”  Several Archaeologists have given different speculations in this regard.

• As per Dr B.B.Lal- the shine on potteries was because of the post-firing usage of natural substances on the pottery when it was in a red hot state. 

• Mr Hegde believes that the black colour was because of the oxide of iron and its shine is a sort of glaze for which crushed glass may have been utilised. 

• Mr Bharadwaj’s analysis led him to conclude that the black colour of the slip is the consequence of carbon and magnetic ferrous silicate. Fast-running potter’s wheel prepared these wares. 

• As per Mr Sanaullah, “The black covering has roughly 13% ferrous oxide that is liable for the black shadow”. The original slip was an extremely ferruginous body, perhaps of a delicately levitated combination of clay and red ochre ground in water and applied to the vessel’s exterior before it was fired. The black colour was doubtlessly widened by the action of dropping gases formed in the kiln. The polishing may have been done previous to or after firing. 

Origin Of Northern Black Polished Ware Tradition

After getting influenced by the shining and polish of the wares, some archaeologists have spotted its origin as “Western origin”. They have supported that Greek black-glazed potteries are the creator of NBPW. But this analysis is not being deemed because of lack of evidence. 

Mr Wheeler suggested, “the Persian origin” of these wares. But the profusion of NBPW in Ganga valley corroborates its “Indian origin”. 

According to Dr B.B.Lal, “perhaps black and red stone led to the origin of NBPW.” However, there are enough diverse views about the derivation of NBPW.  

Conclusion

Northern black polished ware pottery is mainly the prehistoric archaeological foundation of Indian history, which specifies the lost stage of the second urban civilisation. Every facet of the use of northern black polished ware pottery is related to a custom that reflects some unusual orientation. Without considering this custom, we cannot envision the history of 6th century B.C.