Excavation Sites in Gujarat - Archaeological Survey of India

7/27/2019 Excavation Sites in Gujarat - Archaeological Survey of India

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Excavation Sites in Gujarat - Archaeological Survey of India

Lothal (2231'; 7215'), Dt Ahmadabad, Gujarat

A mound in village Saragwala sandwiched between the Sabarmati and the Bhogavo, 10 km up th

Gulf of Cambay, though the distance might have been shorter in ancient times. The compa

mound rising about 6 m was discovered by S.R. Rao in 1954 and excavated by him on behalf of thASI from 1954 -55 to 1962-63

The 7 m thick occupational debris has been divided by the excavator into two Periods, A and B, th

first belonging to the mature Harappa culture and the second to a decadent stage thereof. Th

lower town provided accommodation for craftsmen-coppersmiths, goldsmiths, shell-workers an

bead-makers, their shops and working-places marked by the remains of their craft. Thus, tw

coppersmiths had a brick-lined

furnace, a cubical stone anvil, terracotta crucibles and copper implements; a bead factory hahundreds of carnelian beads in different stages of manufacture including finished ones and

circular kiln for the heating of the raw material. The technological skill of the people is attested b

bronze drills of the auger type with twisted grooves, besides flanged ones, needles etc.

The acropolis was trapezoid on plan, 117 m e.-w., 136 m on the n. and 111 m on the s. The mai

residence, of which no trace is left, stood on a 3.5 m high podium, 126 x 30 m, with three street

and three lanes, and had a brick-lined well and elaborate drainage system attached to the bath

Lothal had two other notable features distinguishing it from earilier Indus cities-a dock and

warehouse. The former, a trapezoid baked-brick enclosure measuring on an average 214 x 36

and flanking and running along practically the whole length of the e. city-wall, has been taken to b

a dock to berth ships sailing into it at high tide through a 12 m wide gap in the e. flank; in the

wall at the opposite end was a spill.way for excess water to escape and to lock water whe

necessary by a (wooden) shutter in the vertical grooves provided in the flanking walls.

The top of the city-wall flanking its e., wider here than elsewhere, has been taken to be a wharf o

loading-platform standing on a 4 m high platform with floor-area of 1930 sq m, originally with 6

cubical mud-brick blocks, each 3.6 m square on plan and 1 m high, separated from each other by1 m wide passage. As many as 65 terracotta sealings recovered from the warehouse bor

impressions of Indus seals on th obverse and of packing material such as bamboo matting, ree

woven cloth and cord on the reverse. substantial part of the warehouse was destroyed in P,III an

was never rebuilt. All this elaborate infrastructure for external trade amply reflected in other find

from Lothal. A circular steatite seal of the class known as Persian Gulf seal (Bibby, 1958, pp. 243

4; Wheeler, 1958, p. 246; Rao 1963, p. 37), found aqundantly at Failaka and Rasal Qaila (Bahrain

on the Persian Gillf, is a surface find at Lothal, evidently the Persain Gulf sites were inter mediar

in the Indus trade with Mesopotamia. Conversely some of the Indus-like seals found


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esopo am a may ave een mpor s rom o a . un-s ape copper ngo , we g ng 1.43

follows the shape, size and weight of Susa ingots, with which tht Lothal specimen shares the lack o

arsenic in its composition. In addition to the Indus stone cubes of standard weights. Lothal ha

another series of weights conforming to the Heavy Assyrian standard for international trade.

Lothal might also have been the intermediary station for the import to the Indus valley of gol

from Kolar (Mysore) gold-fields, some semiprecious stones from the Deccan plateau and shell from

the w. coast and in turn might have depended on the Indus valley of such items as copper anchert, their sources being nearer the Indus then Lothal.

The cemetery of Lothal lay t,o the n.-w. of the lower city beyond the peripheral wall. Twent

graves-each a rectangular n.-s. pit-were identified. The bodies were kept in an extended position

except three which hild the bodies lying on the side. One of the graves contained two bodies, but i

view of the difference among anthropologists whether one was a male and other a emale, thes

graves being illustrative of the practice of an would remain an open question. One of the skulls a

trephined, "either shortly before death or post ortem. The graves were poorly furnished wit

pottery. One of them had bones of goat besides human remains and another a bovine jaw-bon

The graves belonged to Phase III, the earlier cemeteries remaining identified and the later on

being washed away by floods. Considering the limited number of burials it would appear that othe

methods of the disposal of the dead might have been in vogue. The excavator's date for the matur

Harappa culture, Period I, of Lothal is from 2450 to 1900 B.C., and for the decadent phase, Perio

II, 1900 to 1600 B.C.

Malwan (21 71'; 7242'), Dt Surat, Gujarat

On the lower estuary of the Tapti, e. of Dumas, and the site stands on a bank some 2 m in height.

.R. Allchin and J.P. Joshi discovered the site in 1967 while exploring the estuaries of the Gujara

coastal plain to define the s. limits of the Harappa culture. The site is greatly eroded and a larg

part of the ancient habitation has disappeared. Excavation was jointly conducted in 1970 b

J.P.Joshi and his assistants in the ASI and Cyrus Guzder of the Univ. of Cambridge. (IAR 1969-7

p. 7).

Two Periods of cultural activities were met within a deposit of 1.3 m in an area of 15 x 30 mPeriod I represented an essentially late Harappa to post-Harappa Chalcolithic occupation an

Period II consisted of a group of late historical pits and hearths of some temporary occupation.

The principal structural remains of Period I are a ditch, first identified during the exploratio

which are in an e.-w. direction and has been traced to a length of 18.30 m. It has an average dept

of 1.10 m and width of 1.50 m cut into the natural soil. Its sides are inclined at an angle of 30.

The other objects are dimunitive blades made on tiny cores of jasper, agate, chalcedony an


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bloodstone with an unexpectedly high ratio of cores to flakes or blades and an almost total absenc

of retouched specimens. A number of small objects of copper or bronze have been recovere

notably a bangle and a small rod.

The animals represented are the cattle, sheep and goat, dog, horse, hog, pig, barasingha and fish

also found.

Rangpur (22026'; 71055'), dt. Sundranagar, Gujarat

An extensive site on the Bhadar, where trial diggings were undertaken in 1935 by M.S. Vats (AS

AR 1934-5). He declared that it was a site of the late period of Harappa culture. Later on Ghury

(1939), Dikshit ( 1947), and S. R. Rao ( 1953-56) excavated the site. Rao has classified th

occupational deposit in four Periods with three Sub-Periods in the Harappa culture, Period II wit

an earlier, Period I, Microlithic, and even a Middle Palaeolithic stage, the last encountered in th

river section, with points, scrapers and blades of jasper. The sequential datings as given by him aras follows: Period I: Microlithic unassociated with pottery, 3000B.C.; Period II A: Harappa 2000

1500 B.C.; Period II B: late Harappa,1500-1100 B.C.; Period III C: transition phase of th

Harappa, 1100-1000 B.C.; and Period Ill: Lustrous Red Ware 1000- 800 B.C.

As number of C-14 dates are available the dating of the Period of C Rangpur is based on a numbe

of considerations, viz.thickness of deposits, changes in ceramic traditions and comparision wit

other sites both typologically and on the basis of 14C dates for Lothal, Navdatoli. Rao no doub

admits the arrival of new elements in Periods II C and ill but at the same time feels that they wer

due to contact. According to him the equipments of Period II C are an evolution from the Harappculture. Defining the importance of Rangpur Rao says: 'The penetration of the Harappaculture int

the Kathiawadpeninsula, its survival up to the end of the 2nd millennium B.C. in a decadent form

subsequently transforming itself into the Lustrous Red Ware culture, and the establishment of

continuous cultural sequence from 2 to 800 B.C. are important contributions made by th

excavation at Rangpur. But it may be difficult to regard the new elements of Periods II C and I

particularly the Lustrous Red Ware, as evolved from the Harappa and as such a continuity of th

Harappa sequence till 800 B.C., which itself may be too Iowa date for Period III, is open

question.

Surkotada (230 7'; 700 50'), Dt Kutch, Gujarat

Brought to light by J.P.Joshi in the course of the exploration of n. Kutch between 1964 and 196

along with 17 other Harappa sites, indicating the expansion of the Harappa culture from Sind t

Gujarat by land routes. The site was excavated by them in 1970-2 (IAR 1970-1, p. 13; 1971-2, p

13), bringing to light a threefold cultural sequence and the settlement pattern of the Harappans.


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In Period I A, datable toc. 2300 B.C., the Harappans came to Surkotada and built a fortified citad

and residential annexe, made of mud brick, mud lumps and rubble, containing houses with bath

rooms and drains. A new element in the population along with the already extant Harappa is see

in c. 1900 B.C. The newcomers used a coarse red pottery. During this Period, IB, a revetment wa

added to the fortification of the citadel. Besides house walls the important finds are a heavy coppe

celt and a chisel and the usual Harappa beads, chert blades, etc.Finally, in Period I C, with th

Harappa still living here,another people using the black-and-red ware and a very coarse pottercame to the site.

The available 14C dates are 2O58+95 B.C. for the earliest level of Period I A and 1970+95 B.C fo

the latest level thereof. Another date of 1805+90 B.P. of a mixed sample is to be discarded. Th

emergent picture after an evaluation of the relative and absolute chronology shows that the entir

culture range at Surkotada is well within c. 2300 to 1750 B.C.

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Excavation Sites in Gujarat - Archaeological Survey of India

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