One of the southernmost
outposts of the Indus civilisation, and certainly
one of the most interesting example of Harrapan
townplanning, Lothal is around 80 kms from Ahmedabad.
The unique lockgated dockyard is perhaps the
greatest example of maritime architecture from
the ancient world, and to the Sabarmati river
just before its meeting with the sea in Gulf
of Cambay.
The citadel
is obviously divided into two parts an acropolis,
with its own paved baths, and a lower town more
humble residential quarters, coppersmithing workshops,
sheds and bead factories. The whole is marked
by an excellent of sanitary drainage.
MAP
OF LOTHAL
THe museum is stocked with archaelogical finds
that offer an insight into the Indus Valley period.
Lothal was a hub centre for the Indus valley civilisation
when it moved down from Sindh to the Saurashtra coast
to establish trading zones. Rangpur and Lothal, both
around 75 kms south from Ahmedabad, were among the first
two places where the Indus valley civilisation was discovered
in India.
THE
SITE
The map in the archaelogical survey of India office,
shows scores of Indus Valley sites scattered across
the whole of Gujarat, most of them occupying positions
near deltas, on the banks of rivers or near the sea
coast.Around a dozen of them were sited along the Gulf
of Cambay, and there is evidence that agate was mined
here during the period. While this proves that the Harrapans
had maritime tendencies, depended on water sources for
their survival and navigated rivers and sea water for
trade and communication, none of these ancient cities
became a major scientific port like Lothal. For tourists
interested in archaelogy and ancient civilisations,
Lothal is a perfect place to get an insight into the
Indus Valley civilisation
LOWER
TOWN
Not only is it one of the southernmost outposts
of the sub-continent's oldest civilisation but
it saw all the phases of the Harrapan culture
including the most mature period when the civilisation
had all but disappeared from present day Pakistan.
Originally Lothal was the site of the Red Ware
culture, named for its micaceous pottery, until
2400 BC when the Harrapans arrived here from the
Indus Valley in search of more fertile lands and
potential ports. Gradually they colonised many
areas along the Gulf of Cambay, forming citadels
that include the southernmost outpost of the Indus
Valley civlisation, which spanned an area larger
than those of the Nile Valley civilisation in
Egypt and Euphrates-Tigris river civilisation
in Sumeria.
Lothal developed as the most important port and a
centre of the bead industry until 1900 BC when the
great flood resulted in 300 years of decline. However,
the civilisation survived here in the 1600s and 1500s,
after it disappeared from the northern provinces,
and the result is a high maturity in town planning
and a fine insight provided by less derelict ruins.
The vitality of the civilisation at Lothal can be
judged by the 3 floods that resulted in large scale
destruction, but did not dampen the ambitions of the
inhabitants. Instead they breached the gaps and rebuilt
the important structures on higher platforms. On the
contrary, after the 2200 BC floods, the northwest
section beyond the bazaar was enlarged further and
additions were made to the ruler's palace and the
merchant houses.
A long wharf connected the dockyard to the main warehouse,
which was located on a plinth some 3.5 meters above
the ground. The first concern of the Harrapan engineers
would have been to ensure against floods and tides which
had been their undoing in Mohan Jo Daro and Harrappa.
The whole town was situated on a patch of high ground,
rising up from the flat alluvial plains of Bhal, a wall
was erected to encircle the town and a platform was
built for the warehouse where goods were checked and
stored.
The warehouse was divided into 64 rooms of around
3 1/2 sq meters each, onnected by 1.2 meter wide passages,
and 12 of these cubical blocks are visible even today.
Seals were used to lable the imports and exports from
the dock, and some of these lables have been found
during digs. Klin fired bricks, which the Harrapans
had learnt from experience were unaffected by tidal
waters, were used in making passages to protect the
cargo. Beside the warehouse, and also on a high plinth,
is the upper town or acropolis, spanning 128x61 meters.
The rulers home is no longer a grand palace, but the
foundations show signs of it having been a 2 or 3
storeyed mansion. The rooms of the upper town were
obviously built for ruling classes, as they had private
paved baths, and a remarkable network of drains and
cess pools. The proximity of the seat of power to
the warehouse, ensured that the ruler and his entourage
could inspect stocks easily. An ivory workshop at
the acropolis suggests that elephants may have been
domesticated for the purpose.
