Balaram | Little Rann of Kutch | Lothal | Modhera | Nal Sarovar | Patan | Pawagarh | Shanku’s Water Park | Taranga

To the west of the arhcaelogical excavations is the site museum, where plans, plaster of paris models and paintings have been made by archaelogists in an attempt to reconstruct what Lothal must have been like 4000 years ago. The glass cases contain mirrors of bronze and copper, and a variety of objects made from stone, chert, shell and bone. The perforated and painted potteries, toy bullock carts, beads and  jewellery are some of the highlights of the museum.

Warehouses

But perhaps the most unique feature of the Indus Valley civilisation ingeneral and Lothal in particular, was the uniformity of weights and measures, despite the vast area under the Harrapan culture. Bricks were in a perfect ratio of 100x50x25, and the decimal system was used even in those times for width. Wieghts were based on units of .05, 0.1, 1.2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500, with each unit weighing approximately 28 gms, similar to the English ounce or Greek uncia, and smaller objects were wieghed in similar ratios with the units of 0.871. The museum also displays imports like seals from Bahrain, terra cotta figures from Sumeria and objects from Egypt. Principal exports were beads, ivory and shells.

One of the greatest controversies raging today between various archaelogical groups is the origin of the Harrapans. While the old school of thought, felt the Indus Valley civilisation was a Dravadian or atlest pre-Aryan culture, forced to vacate for the Aryan invaders, a number of modern archaelogists point to similarities between the lifestyles and scriptures of the Harrapans with those of the Vedic Aryans. Were the small rooms of the Lothal, evidence of the  relatively low stature of the Dravid communities, or the result of the smaller area available for the development of Lothal above the high tide and flood level? And if we are to look at Sanskrit and the Vedic scriptures as a part of Aryan culture, then is it not feasible to assume that they were settled in a township like Lothal and not nomads travelling in search of pastures? The questions rage on and we can but  design our own hypothesis. This is what makes the ancient ruins of Lothal, so flat and unimposing for the normal visitor, interesting for the intellectual traveller. This is not a place to look for exquisite carvings, impressive fortifications and frescoed walls, but a location that transports you back to an era, 4500 years ago, when life was not all that far removed from our own.

With the Archaelogical survey of India planning a museum and tourist complex at Dhoravira in Kutch, an Indus site of considerable importance and magnitute, Gujarat may soon have an Indus valley circuit worth developing.

Balaram | Little Rann of Kutch | Lothal | Modhera | Nal Sarovar | Patan | Pawagarh | Shanku’s Water Park | Taranga

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