Making Sense Of Ancient History
I keep going down a rabbit hole. I am researching ‘just enough’ to create a setting for my novel set in 600 BCE Indian Subcontinent.
Historical Retelling
Making Sense Of Ancient History
I keep going down a rabbit hole. I am researching ‘just enough’ to create a setting for my novel set in 600 BCE Indian Subcontinent.
Folklore and mythology
Wikipedia is a poor friend. I end up diving deep into Reddit, Quora, and public conversations between scholars and laypeople arguing their versions of the truth. Really, this is my box of prompts and where the muse lives. Some stories resonate while others, I don’t touch. How do I choose? Usually, it’s a gut feeling. There’s also the cherry-picking of stories to suit the story I ultimately wish to tell. I’m diving in with a purpose. What I pull out are the pearls.
The colonists collected anthropologic stories of the natives. Today, what they wrote down is available as scanned books. There’s a wealth of documented history. The limitation is in needing English versions. Also, decolonizing what was written.
If THIS is my truth, then what does that mean?
How to make it all real
Several weeks ago, I was reading about Kankhal, the City of Sages. Wikipedia is NOT helpful.
“Here, O king, before thee is the Kanakhala range, the favourite resort of sages. ‘And yonder is the mighty river Ganga. Here, in ancient times, the holy sage Sanatkumara attained ascetic success. O scion of the Ajamidha race, by performing thy ablutions here in this river, thou wilt be freed from all thy sins.
— The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva: Section CXXXV.
Google Maps and Google Earth to the rescue. I needed to know the layout of the land. Where does the Ganges touch the city? It’s a mega flood plain? How can I imagine what this city looked like 2000 years ago? How about 5000 years ago? Shiva walked these paths. Did he? Who was he? What did they look like? I doubt anything standing today was there, perhaps some stones, maybe some walls, defintely parts of the harbour and the burial grounds.
I’m reminded of K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid. Or is it Keep It Simple? Whatever the case, I’m not trying for perfection.
What I see in my mind’s eye are crowded multi-rise buildings made of materials that will withstand an earthquake or fire. The rich can withstand things better than the poor. Temples depend on donations — they can withstand most — while falling to decay if unsupported. Flooding. The river must flood from time to time. Walls. There must be city walls, even for a City of Sages. Set in the North of India, it must be cold at times. The windows must have shutters, unlike the open concepts of the South.
Ancient locations and naming conventions
A lot of the places I’m researching don’t map to Google Earth. I have to guess or find papers that draw connections. One amazing resource has been the Ancient Ports Website.
Through this site, I am learning about the links and references in literature and scripture that paint a picture of the ancient world. I was reminded that transportation before roads mostly happened via waterways or open plains and natural passages.
Reading the landscape that has changed is hard. In Sri Lanka especially there are numerous water tanks that have been created over time that block ancient rivers. Try finding the “Mahakanadara River” and you get a water tank. Little help in establishing where said river may have met the sea.
Every now and then, I’m gifted an Easter egg: a city near enough to a harbour that it makes sense. I have no roads. I have a jungle that is alive and ready to consume when human habitation is left undisturbed. There’s a reason the colonists found incredible palaces and temples buried in the heart of the jungle. Was it a famine? Pestilance? The Plague? Where did the people go and how long did it take them to forget?
Animals, Insects, Weather Patterns
Finally, let’s not forget what really makes a setting real. The fire ants building their tall nests that survive a monsoon flood. The Egyptian vulture that flies the subcontinent and more. What are the seasons that can tell the passing of time?
It’s important to envision what life must have been before roads, before the landmarks we find familiar today, and more importantly WHY the people chose to settle there.
-D.M. De Alwis
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