Harrapan ruins found in Dholavira...

Back to roots with my aching back ... Just like shifting sands the ache has shifted right to left... Waiting for it to shift out completely...

Anyways Back to history of 5000 yrs.ago... Which was covered by me in 2 hrs. flat with my quite knowledgeable guide ... 

This is the first view of this majestic structure... Built in the shape of a pyramid... It was destroyed 7 times every 900 yrs or so due to climate mostly  and every time it was re built with slight modifications and the canal systems are amazing ... I was told wells were dug by the archeological team upto 45 feet down with sofisticated tools and haven't still reached ground level to where the water would reach outside the fortified place...and (they also were ultra stylish and super smart is my impression of them) they dug with basic tools...

Below are my pix from the Harrapan site in Dholavira...

Huge water tank just outside the site...

When water gets over in the Big Tank... it gets collected in the small pool by some underground canals

Remains of a big pot

Perfect grooves for a rock door (male/female)

This was the script that was found intact but as of now no one in the world has been able to decipher it.

There are 10 symbols that were found outside one of the gates to the king's palace.

Can be some cooking area since pestle was found there... Perfect circles...

Drainage

Canal...one can climb down but have to crouch towards the end

This the area where the 10 symbols were found on a rock cut entrance

The rocks used to build this place came from the sea side... See the fossils embedded within

This is a water bowl for their domesticated animals... 

This was the shower area ...the le that you see is connected to the well in the background to the left from where water would come gushing out.

Another well planned idea for a water resovoir with a slope from where animals could probably be loaded with water sacks and maybe drink water too.

Due to paucity of water there are many such water collection tanks in this complex...with perfectly symmetrical steps...their perfect symmetry is astonishing... I cant even draw a straight 10 inch line on paper or for that matter even a perfect circle not possible for me.

The article below was shared with me...

Do read it till the end... It was very intersting to know of their way of life 5000 yrs.ago...

DHOLAVIRA  - AN INDUS VALLEY (HARAPPAN) CIVILISATION SITE

Dholavira is an archaeological site at Khadir bet (island) in Bhachau Taluka in Kutch , Gujarat . It  contains ruins of an ancient Indus Valley Civilisation  (Harappan) city. In  2021 it was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site .The archaeological site is situated on a hillock near present day Dholavira village  from which it gets its name. It is locally known as Kotda Timba . Kotda means "Fort ". 

Hillock was mostly uninhabited & was used  mainly for animal grazing or farming . During one of tilling sessions in 1966, pottery remains were uncovered. Archaeologist Jagat Pati Joshi, who was working in a nearby site, was informed. This led to a detailed inspection . After radiocarbon dating, it was found that  remains belonged to Harappan civilisation. Since nearest village to the site was Dholavira, it became Dholavira Harappan Site.  Systematic excavations began in 1990 & continued till 2005 under Ravindra Singh Bisht, an acclaimed archaeologist. It revealed many new facets to Harappan civilisation. It uncovered a city which was a manufacturing & commercial hub before 1500 BC for hundreds of years. Several broken & worn out artefacts such as beads, terracotta pottery, gold ornaments, animal figurines, copper tools, urns were found .This finds contribute significantly to existing knowledge of Harappan Civilization as a whole. While declaring it as World Heritage Site, it was observed by the  UNESCO that excavated remains at Dholavira, to a large extent, illustrate attributes associated with industrial activities & are indicative of sophisticated life & exploitation of natural resources for nearly 1,500 years as also of trade, inter regional relations & exchanges,  physical manifestations of which are largely found on site . It further observed that excavated remains also bear testimony to style of construction, contextual evidence for architectural elements & layout of a bead manufacturing workshop . Evidence of  configuration of the city has been well documented & preserved during excavation works. This bears testimony of extensive planning, understanding of ratios  proportions & principles, alignment of entire city in relation to cardinal directions, harvesting of water , storm water drains, craftsmanship. These features are preserved extensively due to construction in stone masonry with mud brick cores, & architectural features which  are in a good state of conservation.

Excavations show 7 stages of Harappan civilization from  the development to its peak to decline. Dholavira & Lothal (near  Ahmedabad) are only two sites showing all 7 stages of civilisation from development, maturity to its end . It gives an idea of life in Indus Valley Civilization 5,000 years ago.

Dholavira was a sprawling urban centre in the Harappan civilisation, existing around 3000-1500 BC. It is one of best preserved urban settlements . It flourished for nearly 1,500 years, representing a long continuous habitation. Decline started slowly after about 2100 BC. It was briefly abandoned but later reoccupied until about 1450 BC.  Managed by Archaeological Survey of India, it is the most prominent archaeological site in India belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization.

Configuration of the city of Dholavira, during its heyday, is an outstanding example of a planned city & a stratified society. Residential areas were planned & segregated based on possibly differential occupational activities.  It was, as most  societies are, a class-divided structure with manual workers at lowest segment, rising from supervisors, bureaucrats & executives  bosses at the pinnacle . As evident from excavations, the site  comprises  a walled city & a cemetery to the west of the Citadel & a series of reservoirs are found to east and south of the Citadel. Walled city consists of an imposing fortified castle or a citadel in the center on a higher mound with attached fortified Bailey , middle & lower town also fortified  but each separately signifying living quarters based on social hierarchy . Most  noticeable characteristic is that structures are made of stone, at least in their current level of preservation, whereas most other Harappan sites  like  Harappa & Mohenjo-daro are nearly entirely of brick.

There are evidences of well laid out lanes which lead outward systematically from the citadel, street corners of buildings being indented to prevent damage by bullock drawn vehicles &  well constructed underground drainage system for sanitation. 

There is a  large enclosure & ceremonial ground or stadia.  283 meters in length & 47.5 meters in wdth, stadia has 4 narrow terraces possibly seating arrangement which is believed to be  used for sports & games conducted on a large scale.There is a large cemetery with cenotaphs of 6 types testifying to  Harappan’s unique view of death. A great majority of  burials in cemetery are memorial in nature.

Another notable find is the rain water harvesting mechanism & a sophisticated water management system. Dholavira has one of world’s earliest water conservation systems ever excavated . It demonstrates ingenuity of people of Dholavira in their struggle to survive and thrive in a harsh environment.  Area  was an arid land, drained by 2 seasonal streams, Mansar & Manhar that dried up in summer . Very little rain falls in this arid area, and even that deluges in a short burst and is carried away by seasonal, rushing torrents. They tapped every drop of water . System was very well planned with numerous reservoirs & water channels that stored water or diverted water from nearby rivulets , seasonal streams & also scanty precipitation available on the ground. It was sourced & stored in large stone cut reservoirs which are extant along the eastern and southern fortification.  To further access water, few rock-cut wells (most impressive one being located in the citadel) are evident in different parts of  city which date as one of oldest examples. Wedge-shaped bricks increased storage tanks’ water-tight integrity.  Several check dams  were also built across  streams to divert water into reservoirs.There are small channels from houses joining bigger ones in streets that opened into deeper aqueducts attached to large tanks . Reservoirs had stairs so that cleaning could be done . They were built in 2 levels to allow sedimentation so that clean water remained in upper level . Reservoirs were  accessed by flights of steps . Step wells leading to large public baths have also been discovered.  

A small museum near the site displays some artefacts & photographs but all important finds are housed in  National Museum in Delhi. With extremely rich artefacts, it depicts a vivid picture of a regional centre with its distinct characteristics. Art & craft skills are gauged from excavated remnants of pottery,  glazed earthenware,  limestone pillars, bead processing workshops, artefacts of copper, shell, stone & terracotta, gold & copper ornaments, semi-precious stones and beads. Beads to make jewellery which are as small as mustard seeds with holes so small that only human hair could pass have been found. Also unearthed are everyday objects like fish hooks, tools, urns, animal figurines, pottery, seals ,weights seals, and some imported vessels that indicate trade links with lands as far away as Mesopotamia.  A circular seal, humped animals, painted pottery,  well preserved  terracotta tumblers, goblets, dish on stand, perforated jars are some other important finds.  Architectural components composed of ballast stones, grinding stones, mortars, etc & stone weights of various sizes were also discovered. Other noteworthy finds are black on red ware pottery,  large black slipped jars with pointed bases, square stamp seals, seals lacking Indus lettering, & a 3 m(9.8 ft) long signboard with 10 characters of Indus script. One badly preserved stone sitting man figure, equivalent to Harappa's good grade two stone sculptures, has also been discovered. Also found are massive bronze hammer, a large chisel, a bronze hand held mirror, a gold wire, gold ear studs, gold globules with holes, copper celts & bangles, shell bangles, stone phallus like symbols , square seals with Indus inscriptions & signs. Some seals  discovered at Dholavira, which belonged to Stage III, merely included animal images and no lettering. It is thought that these seals represent early Indus seal-making practices. Most intriguing are 10 large stone inscriptions  carved in Indus Valley script, perhaps world’s earliest signboard.These are among most important discoveries about Indus Valley Civilization, but remain tantalizingly undeciphered. It is believed that much-touted ‘world’s first street sign’ was not written in their script but was inscribed in pictograms like airport . 

Remains of copper smelter found  during excavations shows that they knew metallurgy They are said to have sourced copper ore from present Rajasthan, Oman & UAE and exported completed items. It was also a centre for  production of shell jewellery & semi-precious stones like agate . It exported lumber . Most of the Harappan towns were  located near rivers & perennial sources of water . In contrast, location of export oriented Dholavira in island of Khadir was strategic to harness different mineral & raw material sources like copper,  sea shells  & semi-precious stones polished by sea, agate - carnelian, steatite, lead, banded limestone , clay, firewood & to facilitate internal as well as external trade to Magan (modern Oman peninsula) & Mesopotamian regions . Evidences of inter-regional trade with other Harappan cities as well as with cities in the Mesopotamia region and Oman peninsula have also been discovered.  Trademark seals of Dholavira have been found in Mesopotamia .  Beads relating to the Harappan workmanship were found in  royal graves in Mesopotamia. 

Decline of Dholavira :

Excavations at Dholavira found a decline of  civilization in 5th of 7 stages, after which  signs of a temporary desertion of site are noticed.

-  As stated earlier,  Dholavira was an industrial, export-oriented civilisation.  Due to industrialization its impressive factories, furnaces, foundries & kilns belched smoke across wetlands of the Rann & away from the city. Dholavira’s appetite for wood was also insatiable. Over a period of time, wetland forests were consumed & piles of ash  built up . Fresh water gave way to salinity . 

-  Great Rann of Kutch, which surrounds Khadir island on which Dholavira is located, was formerly navigable, but as  sea retreated, Rann became a mudflat.

- Decline of Dholavira  corresponded  with collapse of Mesopotamia, demonstrating economic interconnectedness . When  Mesopotamia  collapsed,  Harappans, who were maritime people, lost a significant market impacting local  manufacturing, mining,  marketing, and export companies .

- Further,  Dholavira entered a period of extreme aridity as a result of climate change & drying up of rivers such as Saraswati, people began migrating into the Ganges valley, south Gujarat, and farther north in Maharashtra due to a drought-like scenario. 

After the peak of  civilization Dholavirtemporarily abandoned .They returned later with a change in their pottery, influenced by cultures found at sites in Sindh, South Rajasthan and other parts of Gujrat . They did not bring  return of their civilization. It seems that settlers returned with a markedly de-urbanized culture. There are hints that they willingly chose to simplify their lives rather than try to ride collapse of their once glorified civilization.

Here, on ruins,  one has a chance to contemplate what progress & civilization mean . Perhaps last stage of  powerful civilization had become aware of its future, and was preparing itself for a gradual end.Then they abandoned the city & vanished.  Dholavira is a lost & found civilization . A journey to archaeological remains of Dholavira is akin to travelling back in time. 

(Complied on the basis of various articles & reports available on the internet.)