Dholavira ( gu, ધોળાવીરા) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

at Khadirbet in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of

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 ...

western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of its western part. The Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative division includes the states of Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra along with the Union ...

, which has taken its name from a modern-day village south of it. This village is from

Radhanpur Radhanpur is a town and a municipality in Patan district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Origin of name According to the tradition, the city is named after Radhan Khan, a descendant of Fateh Khan Baloch. Fateh Khan Baloch received a freedom fro ...

. Also known locally as ''Kotada timba'', the site contains ruins of a city of the ancient Indus Valley civilization. Earthquakes have repeatedly affected Dholavira, including a particularly severe one around 2600 BC. Dholavira's location is on the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted tow ...

. It is one of the five largest Harappan sites and the most prominent of archaeological sites in India belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. It is also considered as having been the grandest of cities of its time. It is located on ''Khadir bet'' island in the Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary in the

Great Rann of Kutch The Great Rann of Kutch (or Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh) is a salt marsh in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It is about 7500 km2 (2900 sq miles) in area and is reputed to be one of the largest salt de ...

. The quadrangular city lay between two seasonal streams, the Mansar in the north and Manhar in the south. The site was thought to be occupied from c.2650 BCE, declining slowly after about 2100 BCE, and to have been briefly abandoned then reoccupied until c.1450 BCE; however, recent research suggests the beginning of occupation around 3500 BCE (pre-Harappan) and continuity until around 1800 BCE (early part of Late Harappan period). The site was initially discovered by a resident of Dholavira village, Shambhudan Gadhvi, in early 1960s who made efforts to bring government attention to the location. The site was "officially" discovered in 1967-68 by J. P. Joshi, of 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 ...

(ASI), and is the fifth largest of eight major Harappan sites. It has been under excavation since 1990 by the ASI, which opined that "Dholavira has indeed added new dimensions to personality of Indus Valley Civilisation." The other major Harappan sites discovered so far are Harappa,

Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';Ganeriwala, Rakhigarhi, Kalibangan,

Rupnagar Rupnagar (; formerly known as Ropar is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab comprising Rupnagar, Mohali, and its adjoining dist ...

and

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 ...

. It was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name ''Dholavira: a Harappan City'' on 27 July 2021.

Chronology of Dholavira

Ravindra Singh Bisht, the director of the Dholavira excavations, has defined the following seven stages of occupation at the site: Recent C14 datings and stylistic comparisons with Amri II-B period pottery shows the first two phases should be termed Pre-Harappan Dholaviran Culture and re-dated as follows: Stage I (c. 3500-3200 BCE), and Stage II (c. 3200-2600 BCE).

Excavations

Excavation was initiated in 1989 by the ASI under the direction of Bisht, and there were 13 field excavations between 1990 and 2005. The excavation brought to light the urban planning and architecture, and unearthed large numbers of antiquities such as, animal bones, gold, silver, terracotta ornaments, pottery and bronze vessels. Archaeologists believe that Dholavira was an important centre of trade between settlements in south

, Sindh and

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

and Western Asia.

Architecture and material culture

Estimated to be older than the port-city of

, the city of Dholavira has a rectangular shape and organization, and is spread over . The area measures in length, and in width. Unlike Harappa and

Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';citadel, the middle town, and the lower town. The acropolis and the middle town had been furnished with their own defence-work, gateways, built-up areas, street system, wells, and large open spaces. The acropolis is the most thoroughly fortified and complex area in the city, of which it appropriates the major portion of the southwestern zone. The towering "castle" stands is defended by double ramparts. Next to this stands a place called the 'bailey' where important officials lived. The city within the general fortifications accounts for . There are extensive structure-bearing areas which are outside yet integral to the fortified settlement. Beyond the walls, another settlement has been found. The most striking feature of the city is that all of its buildings, at least in their present state of preservation, are built of stone, whereas most other Harappan sites, including Harappa itself and Mohenjo-daro, are almost exclusively built of brick. Dholavira is flanked by two storm water channels; the Mansar in the north, and the Manhar in the south. In the town square, there is a area high above the ground, called the "Citadel''.

Reservoirs

Bisht, who retired as the Joint Director-General of the ASI, said, "The kind of efficient system of Harappans of Dholavira, developed for conservation, harvesting and storage of water speaks eloquently about their advanced hydraulic engineering, given the state of technology in the third millennium BCE." One of the unique features of Dholavira is the sophisticated water conservation system of channels and reservoirs, the earliest found anywhere in the world, built completely of stone. The city had massive reservoirs, three of which are exposed. They were used for storing fresh water brought by rains or to store water diverted from two nearby rivulets. This clearly came in response to the desert climate and conditions of Kutch, where several years may pass without rainfall. A seasonal stream which runs in a north–south direction near the site was dammed at several points to collect water. In 1998, another reservoir was discovered in the site. The inhabitants of Dholavira created sixteen or more reservoirs of varying size during Stage III. Some of these took advantage of the slope of the ground within the large settlement, a drop of from northeast to northwest. Other reservoirs were excavated, some into living rock. Recent work has revealed two large reservoirs, one to the east of the castle and one to its south, near the Annexe. The reservoirs are cut through stone vertically, and are about deep and long. They skirt the city, while the citadel and bath are centrally located on raised ground. There is also a large well with a stone-cut trough connecting it to a drain meant for conducting water to a storage tank. The bathing tank had steps descending inwards. In October 2014, excavation began on a rectangular

stepwell Stepwells (also known as vavs or baori) are wells or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from 7th to 19th century. So ...

which measured long, wide, and deep, making it three times bigger than the Great Bath of Mohenjedaro. Well at ancient Harappan city of Dholavira

Seal making

Some of the seals found at Dholavira, belonging to Stage III, contained animal only figures, without any type of script. It is suggested that these type of seals represent early conventions of Indus seal making.

Other structures and objects

A huge circular structure on the site is believed to be a grave or memorial, although it contained no skeletons or other human remains. The structure consists of ten radial mud-brick walls built in the shape of a spoked wheel. A soft sandstone sculpture of a male with phallus erectus but head and feet below ankle truncated was found in the passageway of the eastern gate. Many funerary structures have been found (although all but one were devoid of skeletons), as well as pottery pieces, terra cotta seals, bangles, rings, beads, and intaglio engravings.

Hemispherical constructions

Seven hemispherical constructions were found at Dholavira, of which two were excavated in detail, which were constructed over large rock cut chambers. Having a circular plan, these were big hemispherical elevated mud brick constructions. One of the excavated structures was designed in the form of a spoked wheel. The other was also designed in same fashion, but as a wheel without spokes. Although they contained burial goods of pottery, no skeletons were found except for one grave, where a skeleton and a copper mirror were found. A necklace of steatite beads strung to a copper wire with hooks at both ends, a gold bangle, gold and other beads were also found in one of the hemispherical structures. The Archaeological Survey of India, which conducted the excavation, opines that these “hemispherical structures remind one of early Buddhist stupas.” and that "the kind of design that is of spoked wheel and unspoked wheel also remind one of the Sararata-chakra-citi and sapradhi-rata-chakra-citi mentioned in the

Satapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana ( sa, शतपथब्राह्मणम् , Śatapatha Brāhmaṇam, meaning 'Brāhmaṇa of one hundred paths', abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Śukla (white) Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic ...

and Sulba-sutras". Cicular houses Dholavira

Findings

Painted Indus black-on-red-ware pottery, square stamp seals, seals without Indus script, a huge signboard measuring about in length, containing ten letters of Indus script. One poorly preserved seated male figure made of stone has also been found, comparable to high quality two stone sculptures found at Harappa. Large black-slipped jars with pointed base were also found at this site. A giant bronze hammer, a big chisel, a bronze hand-held mirror, a gold wire, gold ear stud, gold globules with holes, copper celts and bangles, shell bangles, phallus-like symbols of stone, square seals with Indus inscription and signs, a circular seal, humped animals, pottery with painted motifs, goblets, dish-on-stand, perforated jars, Terracotta tumblers in good shape, architectural members made of ballast stones, grinding stones, mortars, etc., were also found at this site. Stone weights of different measures were also found.

Coastal route

It is suggested that a coastal route existed linking

and Dholavira to Sutkagan Dor on the Makran coast.

Language and script

The Harappans spoke an unknown language and their script has not yet been deciphered. It is believed to have had about 400 basic signs, with many variations.Parpola, Asko (2005
''Study of the Indus Script''
50th ICES Tokyo Session. The signs may have stood both for words and for syllables. The direction of the writing was generally from right-to-left. Most of the inscriptions are found on seals (mostly made out of stone) and sealings (pieces of clay on which the seal was pressed down to leave its impression). Some inscriptions are also found on copper tablets, bronze implements, and small objects made of terracotta, stone and

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major a ...

. The seals may have been used in trade and also for official administrative work. A lot of inscribed material was found at

Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men'; The most significant discoveries at Dholavira was made in one of the side rooms of the northern gateway of the city, and is generally known as the Dholavira Signboard. The Harappans had arranged and set pieces of the mineral gypsum to form ten large symbols or letters on a big wooden board. At some point, the board fell flat on its face. The wood decayed, but the arrangement of the letters survived. The letters of the signboard are comparable to large bricks that were used in nearby walls. Each sign is about high and the board on which letters were inscribed was about long. Possehl, Gregory. (2004). ''The Indus Civilization: A contemporary perspective'', New Delhi: Vistaar Publications, , p.70. The inscription is one of the longest in the Indus script, with one of the symbols appearing four times, and this and its large size and public nature make it a key piece of evidence cited by scholars arguing that the Indus script represents full literacy. A four sign inscription with large letters on sandstone is also found at this site, considered first of such inscription on sandstone at any of Harappan sites.

References

External links

Excavations at Dholavira
in Archaeological Survey of India website
Dholavira Pictures
by Archaeological Survey of India website
Jurassic Park: Forest officials stumble upon priceless discovery near Dholavira
Express news service; 8 Jan 2007; Indian Express Newspaper
ASI's effort to put Dholavira on World Heritage map hits the roadblock
by Hitarth Pandya; 13 Feb 2009; Indian Express Newspaper
ASI to take up excavation in Kutch's Khirasara
by Prashant Rupera, TNN; 2 November 2009; Times of India {{World Heritage Sites in India Populated places established in the 3rd millennium BC Populated places disestablished in the 2nd millennium BC Buildings and structures completed in the 29th century BC Buildings and structures demolished in the 15th century BC World Heritage Sites in India 1967 archaeological discoveries Former populated places in India Archaeological sites in Gujarat Tourist attractions in Kutch district History of Kutch Monuments of National Importance in Gujarat Indus Valley civilisation sites