Indus valley civilization important sites
Answers
Lothal, Gujarat
Lothal, meaning ‘Mound of the Dead’ is around 85 km from today’s main Ahmedabad city. Once upon a time, Lothal used to be one of the important cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to around 3700 BCE. Among several prominent feature of Lothal, one was the dock, which is considered the oldest in the world. It connected the Arabian Sea via the Sabarmati River in the region. Owing to this, the city served as prime trade centre back then. Visit here to get an insight into the lives of people during the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Kalibangan, Rajasthan
Kalibangan is around 210 km from Bikaner, and just 30 km from Hanumangarh town in Rajasthan. The place was built on the banks of the River Ghaggar, which is believed to be a remnant of the ancient Sarasvati River. The town flourished from 3500 BC to 1750 BC, and was discovered first sometime in 1900s. The major discoveries that were made here were the world’s first ploughed field and the ritualistic fire altars. You can visit the nearby Kalibangan Museum to see pottery objects and other things that were found here during the excavation.
Dholavira, Gujarat
Dholavira is nearly 350 km from Ahmedabad, and 250 km from Bhuj, on an island named Khadir Bet in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. It was among the largest cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. This city was there from about 2650 BC to 1450 BC, and was first discovered in the year 1967, but excavation here began in 1989. Among prime discoveries made here were various reservoirs which bear testimony to the advanced water-management system back then. Much later in the year 2014, archaeologists discovered a step-well here, which is almost three times bigger than the famous Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro.
Rakhigarhi, Haryana
You can find this site in Haryana around 150 km from Delhi. It is among the largest settlements of the Indus Valley that was discovered here. The site existed from 2600 BC to 1900 BC, and the excavation work here began only in the year 1963. During the excavation, it was found that Rakhigarhi was an extremely well-planned city having great roads and quite urbanised sewage system. A number of terracotta statues, bronze toys, and other artefacts were unearthed during the excavation.
Alamgirpur, Uttar Pradesh
Alamgirpur is another prominent archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district. Also known as Parasaram-ka-khera, this settlement along the Yamuna River existed from 3300 BC to 1300 BC from the Harappan-Bara period. Among major discoveries made here during the excavation were several ceramic items like roof tiles, cups, vases, beads and carts, among others. Also a humped bull and broken copper blade were unearthed at this site.
Besides above mentioned sites, Balu and Farmana in Haryana, Baror in Rajasthan, and Bet Dwarka and Bhagatrav in Gujarat can also be visited, as they are also some of the major Indus Valley Civilisation sites in India.
Answer:
Surkotada, Lothal, and Dholavira are the important port towns in the Indus valley. Harappa, Mohanjodaro, Banawali and Dholavira are considered as the four main Harappan Sites.