Dholavira

The Harappan civilization is also called the Indus valley civilization. It is best known for its structured planning built on the grid system. It was a bronze age civilization. It has its roots in present-day’s northeast Afghanistan Pakistan and northwest India. This civilization existed in the river valleys of the Indus and the Ghaggar-Hakra rivers.

Interesting Facts About Dholavira

• Dholavira took its name from a present-day village, which is 1 km south of it. This village is at a distance of 165 km from Radhanpur. 
• It is locally called Kotada timba (large fort).
• Dholavira consists of ruins from an ancient Indus valley civilization or Harappan city. 
• It is located on the Tropic of Cancer. It is situated on Khadir bet island in the Kachchh desert wildlife sanctuary, which is in the Great Rann of Kachchh, Gujarat in western India. The site was discovered by J.P. Joshi of ASI, in 1967-68. It has been excavated by the R S Bisht team of ASI. The 120 acres of the quadrangular city lie between two seasonal rivers, the Mansar in the north and Manhar in the south.
• It is the fifth largest of eight major Harappan sites and it is the most important archaeological site in India, that belongs to the Indus valley civilization. 
• The area was occupied from c.2650 BCE. It slowly declined after 2100 BCE.  It was stranded for a short period of time. It is reoccupied until c.1450 BCE.
• The Dholavira town had three citadels. These three citadels were improved than Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. They had an inner closure as well.

Three Divisions of Dholavira

Dholavira town is divided into three parts.

The Citadel

• Raj Mahal of the Raja, which is at height was built here. It was enclosed by strong defenses collectively. There were four gates in this fort. A series of nine reservoirs were built to the east and south of the Citadel. The Citadel was in the walled city.  A ramp that runs for 30-40 feet turns left into the citadel. To the right side of the ramp, there is a large region of open area, which has been recognized as a stadium. On each side of the stadium, there are remnants of the audience stands.
• Through the sacred gates of the Citadel, we can find raised platforms on each side and a rectangular hall on the right. There is a flat area of land on which several houses were built. There was a courtyard for the children to play in. Two pillars were embedded in the ground on the far left. There were wells from which the water was drawn. There were big water bags to draw water from the well, and the people used bulls to pull the ropes. These implementations have been passed on to the next generations.
• There were reservoirs, which were built partially on stone beds, and partially mason-made. The tanks were fed by water pipes which were used to collect water from different parts of the city. These reservoirs were of two levels. The higher level stored the clean water, and the lower level, which was a step-down, was used to allow deposition, in which the dust would settle at the bottom of the reservoir. The Middletown and Lowertown were located on the east side of the site.

The Middletown

It was the habitat of other officers. It also had a defense wall and two to five rooms. The Middle town is comprised of a central street running down a slope with houses or shops on each side. There were well-laid drainage systems. Earthen pots were found submerged in the ground and also covered in rust.

The Lowertown

The brick-built houses of ordinary town residents were built here. Working class people used to stay in the Lower town. There were remains of many houses.

FAQs on Harappan Civilisation

Question 1: Who discovered Harappa?

Answer:

Harappa was discovered by archaeologist Daya Ram Sahni. He controlled the excavation at Harappa in 1921 and 1922.

Question 2: How was Harappan city destroyed?

Answer:

Experts believe that the collapse of the Indus valley civilization was due to climate change. Some others believe that the drying of the Saraswati river was the major reason for climate change. Others say that a great flood struck the area.

Question 3: What is the highest part of Harappa?

Answer:

The Harappan city was divided into the upper town(highest part) and the lower town. The highest part is called the Citadel.

Question 4: How old is Harappan civilization?

Answer:

The recent research by a team of researchers from IIT Kharagpur, Institute of Archaeology, Deccan College Pune, Physical Research Laboratory, and Archaeological Survey of India shows that the civilization was much older than we thought. They concluded it was at least 8,000 years old.

Question 5: How many Harappan sites are there?

Answer:

About 1400 Harappan sites were discovered. Out of 1400, 925 sites are in India and 475 sites are in Pakistan. Some sites in Afghanistan are believed to be colonies used for trading.