Locals of Guwahati were digging up a pound in the district of Charaideo, Assam on Saturday, and this is when they found a large number of Antique coins that belong to the Ahom Dynasty, which existed 300 years ago.

Deputy Commissioner of Charaideo, Dipak Kumar Hendique said that “The antiques were dug out during the excavation of the pond by the job card holders of Naharpukhuri Panchayat, which is one of the beneficiaries of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).”

Deputy Commissioner of Charaideo, Dipak Kumar Hendique added that the administration only recovered 16 coins and “Most of the coins were already taken away by the workers and there were barely 16 coins left for the administration.”

According to some reports, the workers also found an urn that was full of octagonal coins that belonged to the Mughal and Ahom Dynasties. The urn has been sent to the local archaeological department for some examinations.

The Ahom Dynasty ruled the kingdom of Ahom in Assam from 1228 to 1826, that is around 600 years. The Ahom Dynasty was started by Sukaphaa, who was a Shan prince of Mong Mao, Sukaphaa camse to Assam after he crossed the mountains of Patkai. The Ahom Dynasty was ended after the invasion of the Burmese happened in Assam and the annexation by the BEIC (British East India Company) after the Yandabo Treaty that happened in 1826.

The Ahom Dynasty did withstand the invasions by the Mughal Empire and Bengal Sultanate, the king was forced to pay tribute and Aurangzeb, that’s why they issued coins in Assam. But after some time, the Ahom Dynasty was defeated by the Burmese armies in the year 1821 and 1822. During that period, the British stepped in and made Assam as their protectorate in the year 1825.

The earliest coins from the Ahom Dynasty can be tracked as early as the 15th century. In the beginning, all the coins in the dynasty were round, but when the 16th century came, all the coins were made in an octagonal shape, this move was done because the Yogini Tantra mentioned that a Kamarupa is 8 sided. The octagonal shapes of the coins make them really attractive and are popular amongst the coin collectors.