Bhagatrav ( sa, भगत्रव) is a minor archaeological site belonging to the
Indus valley civilization. Excavated by the
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...
led by Dr.
S. R. Rao
Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao ( kn, ಶಿಕಾರಿಪುರ ರಂಗನಾಥ ರಾವ್) (1 July 1922 – 3 January 2013), commonly known as Dr. S. R. Rao, was an Indian archaeologist who led teams credited with discoveries of a number of ...
, Bhagatrav is located in
Hansot
’Hansanagari’ but well known as Hansot is a village in Bharuch district, Southern Gujarat, India. It is about southwest of the city of Bharuch, and south of the Narmada River. The village and its surrounding ''taluka'' were acquired by th ...
(51 km away from
Surat) taluka of
Bharuch district
Bharuch (formerly commonly known as Broach) in India, is a district in the southern part of the Kathiawar peninsula on the west coast of state of Gujarat with a size and population comparable to that of Greater Boston. Bharuch derives its name f ...
in south
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
, near the coastline with the
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
, and gives access to the
agate
Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Anci ...
-bearing mines and forested hills of the valleys of the rivers
Narmada and
Tapti
The Tapti River (or Tapi) is a river in central India located to the south of the Narmada river that flows westwards before draining into the Arabian Sea. The river has a length of around and flows through the states of Maharashtra, Guja ...
.
Port
Bhagatrav seems to have been an important port, as
Lothal
Lothal () was one of the southernmost sites of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt. Construction of the city is believed to have begun around 2200 BCE.
Archaeological Survey of ...
.
However, backwaters of sea and floods from Kim river has washed out the site to a large extent and only peripheral area is left for exploration and for eight months in a year, the site is surrounded by water.
[
The number of lead pieces, many earth samples with rich iron contents, stone beads, evidences of production of glazed ware (pottery) are found. It may have been a trading port contemporary to Lothal.]
Significance
It is observed that flood was one of the reasons for decline/destruction of some Harappan settlements such as Bhagatrav, Lothal
Lothal () was one of the southernmost sites of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt. Construction of the city is believed to have begun around 2200 BCE.
Archaeological Survey of ...
, Rangpur, Desalpur, Chanhu-daro etc.[
This is one of southernmost Harappan settlements and the distance between Manda, Jammu (one of northernmost Harappan settlement located in Jammu and Kashmir) and Bhagatrav is about 1350 km.][
]
See also
* List of Indus Valley Civilization sites
Over 1400 Indus Valley civilisation sites have been discovered, of which 925 sites are in India and 475 sites in Pakistan, while some sites in Afghanistan are believed to be trading colonies. Only 40 sites on the Indus valley were discovere ...
References
External links
IVC sites Map
Indus Valley civilisation sites
Archaeological sites in Gujarat
Geography of Gujarat
Tourist attractions in Gujarat
{{Asia-archaeology-stub