4,500-year-old Harappan settlement excavated in Kutch

[Choppers]

4,500-year-old Harappan settlement excavated in Kutch​

Ahmedabad, Mar 7 (PTI)

A vast settlement surrounded by a fortified structure believed to be about 4,500 years old and belonging to the Harappan civilisation has been excavated at Shikarpur village in Kutch district.

The team which has been excavating the site in Bhachau taluka of Kutch since last three years, is headed by Kuldeep Bhan and P Ajithprasad of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History of the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara.

"A huge fortified structure made out of unbaked mud bricks has been excavated by our team. The ratio of height, width and length of the bricks is 1:2:4 which is what we call Harappan ratio," Ajithprasad told PTI.

"The fortification is spread over nearly one hectare area, with 10 m thick walls," he said.

"Though the exact period when this structure could have been constructed is yet to be ascertained, primarily it appears to be roughly 4500-years-old, built between 2500 BC and 2200 BC and is part of the Harappan civilisation," Ajithprasad said.

"The purpose of building such thick walls could be protection from natural calamities, external enemy or to impress upon other settlements," he added.
According to the professor, the fortification has an open space in the centre with small structures surrounding it.

"The site is one quarter the size of the biggest Harappan site in the state located in Dholavira, Kutch and four times the size of another site of the same era in Bagasra," Ajithprasad said. Situated on a mound locally known as Valmio Timbo (mound) measuring about 3.4 hectares, it is located 4.5 km south of Shikarpur village at the edge of the narrow creek extending eastward from the Gulf of Kutch. It is close to National Highway-15 connecting Kutch district with other parts of the state.

"The site was earlier excavated from 1987 to 1989 by the Gujarat State Archaeology Department but details about it were not published and whatever little was published was inconclusive," Ajithprasad said.

Therefore, the site was taken up for re-excavation due to its strategic location and establish the cultural sequence as well as the settlement features in terms of economic activities, he added.

During the three years of excavation, the site has revealed Harappan artifacts, especially ceramics and triangular terracotta cakes, spread rather evenly on the surface. In addition to the classical Harappan pottery, the surface assemblage included small amounts of regional pottery. Other sites of Harappan civilisation excavated in Gujarat include Kanmer in Kutch, Gola Dhoro (Bagasara), Nageshwar, Nagwada, Kuntasi in northern Saurashtra and Juni Kuran in northern Kutch.

4,500-year-old Harappan settlement excavated in Kutch

 

[Comet]

Can you provide satellite image of the site? or the area on map where it is located?

 

[Moe]

Any pictures>????

 

[Omar1984]

The Harappan archaeological site in Pakistan is located in Punjab province of Pakistan. Far away from the site indians claim to have excavated.



The Indus Valley Civilization (also known as Harappan culture) has its earliest roots in cultures such as that of Mehrgarh, approximately 6000 BC. The two greatest cities, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, emerged circa 2600 BC along the Indus River valley in Punjab and Sindh.[3] The civilization, with a writing system, urban centers, and diversified social and economic system, was rediscovered in the 1920s after excavations at Mohenjo-daro (which means "mound of the dead") in Sindh near Sukkur, and Harappa, in west Punjab south of Lahore. A number of other sites stretching from the Himalayan foothills in east Punjab, India in the north, to Gujarat in the south and east, and to Balochistan in the west have also been discovered and studied. Although the archaeological site at Harappa was partially damaged in 1857[citation needed] when engineers constructing the Lahore-Multan railroad (as part of the Sind and Punjab Railway), used brick from the Harappa ruins for track ballast, an abundance of artifacts has nevertheless been found.[4]

Remains from the final phase of the Harappa occupation: A large well and bathing platforms


Harappa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Comet]

^ that is why I asked for map and satellite pictures. I wanted to make sure if there is really a link to Harappa or not.

 

[Omar1984]

^ that is why I asked for map and satellite pictures. I wanted to make sure if there is really a link to Harappa or not.

Kutch district, India is no where near Harappa, Pakistan.

Kutch, India:

Harappa, Pakistan:

 

[jagjitnatt]

Kutch district, India is no where near Harappa, Pakistan.

Kutch, India:

Harappa, Pakistan:

Sure, its nowhere near the city Harappa, but its the part of the same civilization, dating back to the same time.

Harappan civilization is not all about Harappa city, but a huge area where the tribe had its influence and where they started cities. Half of lies in Pakistan and half in India.

 

[Omar1984]

Sure, its nowhere near the city Harappa, but its the part of the same civilization, dating back to the same time.

Harappan civilization is not all about Harappa city, but a huge area where the tribe had its influence and where they started cities. Half of lies in Pakistan and half in India.

I would say 95% lies in present day Pakistan and 5% lies in present day India, as you see from the map above, the Indus Valley Civilization never covered most of present day India, while it covered all of present day Pakistan.

Indus Valley Civilization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harappa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[jagjitnatt]

I would say 95% lies in present day Pakistan and 5% lies in present day India, as you see from the map above, the Indus Valley Civilization never covered most of present day India, while it covered all of present day Pakistan.

Indus Valley Civilization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harappa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So? You want to say, India has nothing to do with Harrapa Civilization?

 

[RobbieS]

I would say 95% lies in present day Pakistan and 5% lies in present day India, as you see from the map above, the Indus Valley Civilization never covered most of present day India, while it covered all of present day Pakistan.

Indus Valley Civilization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harappa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Its tough to make a percentage assessment as not all of it has been excavated. Its true that most of the sites have been located in Pakistan in the Indus basin as that was where the center of the earliest Harappan civilization was. However that doesn't mean one can discount all other sites that aren't located at the centre. For eg. Lothal a major Harappan sea port is located in Gujarat, probably in the same Kutch region as this new site. Similarly Harappan sites have been excavated in Kalibangan in Rajasthan and Ropar in East Punjab as well.