 |
||
|
||
| Advertise with us! |
|
|
The turbulent saga of a whole Harappan city that survived in this
Kutch region for 1,400 years has finally been pieced together by
the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
After digging intensively for six years, archaeologists have sewn
up the story of a fortified city ruled by fiercely protective men
from 2900 BC to 1500 BC.
"Dhola Veera is unique because it has told us the whole story of a
civilisation," says the project director, Mr R.S. Bisht. "Of its
humble beginnings, the rise to glory, the golden period and,
finally, the degeneration and collapse when the sophisticatedly
planned city turned into a cluster of huts."
The magnificent ruins lie here on a remote stretch, surrounded by
the formidable Rann of Kutch, 250 km from Bhuj. The Harappan
settlement here is one of the five significant sites unearthed so
far. Mohenjodaro and Harappa lie in Pakistan; while the other two
are in Rajasthan and Hissar, in Haryana.
The Harappans here, archaeologists conclude, were a prosperous lot,
with their merchants trading In copper, semi-precious stones,
spices and artefacts with favourable markets, including
Mesopotamia.
The site stretches over 50 hectares of semiarid land. Built atop a
mound is a heavily fortified citadel; followed by a middle town and
a lower town. The division of the city could indicate a social
hierarchy.
The most amazing construction, the citadel, is built with elaborate
gates, one of which has a unique 10-letter inscription in the
Harappan script. This was probably the living quarters of the
ruling family. Attached to this is a bailey where, perhaps, the
castle staff lived.
"The heavy fortification and the fact that such a remote, almost
insulated, site was chosen for the settlement means that the rulers
were a very protective lot," says Mr Bisht.
Outside the settlement is a burial ground, with some unique
sepulchral constructions.
The ASI team digging here has even unearthed a vast open space,
possibly a stadium, with steps surrounding it in the style of the
Greek amphitheatres.
The story starts with the first batch of the Harappans, already
adept at the skills typical of the civilisation, trickling into
this semi-arid land either by land routes or sea. Archaeologists
are still undecided whether this terrain was any different then,
but Mr Bisht believes that there is a chance that the sea lay where
the Rann is now.
The early Harappan man in Kutch built a fortification and raised
mud houses. Later, the settlement extended northwards and the third
stage of Dhola Veera's rise saw the city growing in size, with well
laid-out residential blocks flanking the main street. The citadel
was developed in this phase.
"A heavy earthquake seems to have then hit the city but the
Harappans reconstructed their city with even better planning. This
was the golden period of the city's history, when the art of making
pottery, seals, and jewellery became refined," says Mr Bisht.
There is then an intriguing period when the Harappans deserted the
site for reasons that have yet to be traced. They returned, but
the settlement shrank back towards the citadel again. After 100
years, the city was again deserted.
Excavations from this last stage reveal that the urbane and
sophisticated characteristics of the city had disappeared. Hutments
were built with no formal planning, some located even in the middle
of the streets.
"It is hard to say what the reasons of Dhola Veera's collapse were:
perhaps another quake, perhaps the area just dried up. But Dhola
Veera collapsed at the same .time as the other civilisations across
the world," says Mr Bisht.
|
||
|
||
| Advertise with us! |
|
|