INDIA, September 11, 2024 (Arkeonews): Since the discovery of Harappan sites at Lothal, located about 18.6 miles inland from the coast of the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat, India, in the 1950s, archaeologists have been divided on whether a dockyard existed at that location during the Indus Valley Civilization. This may now change as a new study by the Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar (IITGn) has found evidence that can confirm the dockyard’s existence. This pioneering research reveals fresh insights into how the region’s hydrography shaped ancient trade and cultural interactions. Harappan civilization, also known as the Indus Valley Civilization or Indus civilization, is the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent. The dates of the Civilization appear to be about 2500–1700 BCE, though the southern sites may have lasted later into the 2nd millennium BCE. Among the world’s three earliest civilizations—the other two are those of Mesopotamia and Egypt—the Indus Civilization was the most extensive.

As an anomaly in the overall pattern of Harappan settlements, Lothal is situated in the southernmost part of this civilization. Around 2500 BCE, it is thought that indigenous groups of craftsmen and traders with strong ties to the Sindh and Kachchh regions started to occupy Lothal. The Harappans occupied Lothal over the course of the following two or three centuries, building a planned settlement with new industries and increased trade. Owing to its closeness to valuable resources like amazonite, steatite, carnelian, copper, and shells, Lothal played a significant role as a trading hub for the vast Indo-Saraswati plains. The evidence of Harappan pottery, seals, weights, and decorated carnelian beads in Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf coast, and Elam suggests that its trade connections were not restricted to the Indus region. Approximately 728 feet long, 121 feet wide, and 13 feet deep, a sizable trapezoidal basin of baked bricks is found in Lothal’s eastern region. The existence of an inlet and outlet channel, a 787-foot-wide mudbrick platform on the western edge to facilitate cargo handling, and the presence of a “warehouse” close to this structure are some of the features that lend credence to the dockyard theory.

More on the study at source.
https://arkeonews.net/new-studies-confirm-that-there-was-indeed-a-shipyard-at-lothal-the-commercial-center-of-the-harappan-civilization-and-worlds-oldest-port/

Post Views: 369