Dholavira
Dholavira is located on Khadir Beyt, an island in the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat in India. It has been excavated since 1990 by a team lead by R S Bisht of ASI. The city is as large as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. It has some of the best preserved stone architecture.
- A tantalizing signboard with Indus script has also been discovered at Dholavira.
Dholavira appears to have had several large reservoirs, and an elaborate system of drains to collect water from the city walls and house tops to fill these water tanks.
- There are two latest and largest settlements of harappan culture in independent India. One is Dholavira in Gujarat and another is Rakhi Garhi in Haryana.
Evidences:
- Unlike the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro where there are two settlements , in Dholavira 3 citadels or principal divisions have been found which have been duly protected by fortifications. There is an open ground out of the fortifications.
In Dholavira there has been found the inner enclosure of the citadel too which has not been found in any other cities of the Harappan culture.
Dholavira: A Harappan City
The government had submitted ‘Dholavira: A Harappan City’ as one of the nomination dossiers for inclusion in the World Heritage List for 2020.
- Location:
Dholavira is located in Gujarat. It is located in the Khadir Bet Island of the Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary in the Great Rann of Kutch. It is one of the largest Harappan sites. The government had nominated the site for declaration as a world heritage site for the year 2020.
- Findings from Dholavira:
Some of the significant findings from the site includes a stadium, dams, embankments, water harnessing system, water reservoirs, a stepwell three times as big as the Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro etc. It is the only site that is divided into 3 parts as opposed to the usual two part system. Other findings include painted pottery, seals, stone figures, weights, sign board etc.
- Major Harappan Sites:
There are 8 major Harappan sites in the Indian subcontinent: Lothal, Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Rakhigarhi, Kalibangan, Rupnagar, Ganeriwala and Dholavira. Dholavira is the 5th largest of these sites. Rakhigarhi is the largest Harappan site. While Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and Ganeriwala are in Pakistan, the rest are in India.
