Time Uncensored: LOTHAL - HARAPPAN SITE

LOTHAL:-

The discovery of Lothal as Harappan settlement is one of the most remarkable and fascinating events in Indian archaeology. It's one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilization located in the Bhal region, along the Bhogava river, a tributary of Sabarmati river, Gulf of Khambat, Gujarat. Lothal's dock is the world's earliest known dock. Lothal was excavated on a large scale for 6 seasons from 1955 to 1962 by S. R . Rao of ASI. A full report has been published in 2 volumes. Stratigraphically the site has been divided into 5 levels, each separated from the other by flood deposits. 1st four levels numbered as 1-4 from bottom to top and designated as lothal A. Here ceramics and small finds of mature or urban Harappan characters are found. While the 5 th level is designated as Lothal B and can be termed as late or post-urban Harappan (Possehl 1977). Radiocarbon dates of Lothal A can be dated in between 2100- 1850 BC while of Lothal B end 100 to 150 years later. The entire site is about 300*250m .

TOWN PLANNING:-

Lothal is a planned settlement with quardrangular layout. Lothal has been divided into 3 architectural areas : Citadel or Acropolis, The Lower Town and The Dockyard.
Citadel was the political and commercial heart. The area was artificially raised above the remainder of the settlement, on a mud brick platform. This area occupies the south-east quadrant of the site. Total area is 48.5*42.5 m in size. Streets are at right angles to one another, which separates blocks of mud and brick structures, whose functions are still unknown. Streets are like plastered. One of these blocks have been identified as a warehouse. Another large structure near the warehouse, has been suggested as a merchants house. Little further there's a row of 12 bathrooms with elaborate drains. The citadel had paved baths, underground and surface drains. All the lothal drainage channels met at right angles, engineered with several steps to separate solid and liquid wastes, which the river sabarmati carried to the sea.

The Lower town is also divided into blocks separated by streets (6-8m wide) at right angles, oriented to the cardinal directions. Only 6 of these blocks were excavated . The Lower town appears to have been the location of domestic quarter's. A bead factory was present with several rooms of small size surrounding a central courtyard, a special furnace was also found.

The most controversial feature at Lothal is the structure identified as Dockyard. It's located on the eastern side of the site. It was constructed of backed brick and nearly rectangular in shape. The dimension is 219*37 m in size. The dockyard is surrounded by an embankment which was designed to withstand the repeated tidal flood. There's a brick wall of sunken enclosure. According to Leshmik , the brick lined enclosure might have been used as a tank for the storage of irrigation of water. There's no stairs or other means to access the interior of the enclosure. There's a well on the loading platform between this structure and the citadel.

OTHER FINDS:-

Lothal yielded 213 seals. Lothal artists introduced a new form of realistic painting.Lothals copper were found pure, devoid of arsenic. Beads made of carnelian, Crystal, Kaspersky, opal, steatite, paste were manufactured in large scale. A thick ring-like shell object found with four slits, each in 2 margin served as a compass to measure angles of plane surface or of the horizon, in multiple degrees. Stone anvil, bronze, drills, crucible,slag, conch shell, elephant tasks were the other finds relating to specialized crafts.