A METROPOLIS OF 2650 B.C.-DHOLAVIRA

THE OLDEST SIGNBOARD WAS WRITTEN IN GYPSUM

My fascination for historical places and  ruins of ancient civilisations has taken me to different places in India and abroad too. I had always wanted to see Mohenjodaro and Harappa which are now in Pakistan, and when I was told that getting a visa to go there could be problematic,  I was quite disappointed.  As soon as I came to know that the ruins of Dholavira in Gujarat belonged to the Indus Valley Civilisation and probably was  a city which was as big as Mohenjodaro,  I planned a trip to this lovely island right in the middle of the Rann of Kutch. Dholavira sounds like the name of an exotic story, could be romantic, heroic or the name of some famous person of some folklore. Turned out that the village closest to the ruins discovered in 1967 and excavated in 1990, was named Dholavira. 

SALT VISTA

Dholavira is situated in the middle of nowhere. Oh yes, correction - it is situated on the Tropic of Cancer. The nearest inhabited place is a small town called Rapar, which is about 93 Kms away. The nearest airport is at Bhuj which is about 210 kms away. The road from Bhuj is good, except for a small stretch and as you reach Dholavira, on both sides of the road one sees vast expansive stretches of salt vista where nothing grows.  Along the way from Bhuj onwards, we saw a lot of local tribal people in their traditional dresses, walking along the road or towards some local temple. To my eyes used to the uninteresting- almost drab clothes of the city folk, it was a lovely scene to be captured. Their dresses and their jewellery were quite unique, some shell bangles were almost like the ones worn by women 4,500 years ago.

COLOUR, BEAUTY, GRACE

Dholavira is located between the Mansar stream in the north and Manhar stream in the south, in the island of Khadir and is locally called "Kotada”(large fort). Ruins have shown that thousands of years ago this city was  well planned, had monumental structures and  had an excellent water management system.  From the excavations one can observe that there were seven stages of this civilisation from development to maturity to decay. After the peak of civilisation in 2650 B.C. to 2100 B.C. when the city was abandoned either due to a massive earthquake or floods,  to the 1900 B.C. when people returned with a de-urbanised culture and perhaps chose a more simple way of life. In 1400 B.C. the place was abandoned again, once and for all.

This excavated city of Dholavira is spread in about 120 acres and was  quadrangular, it measured 771 metres x 616 metres width and had a fortification wall all around it. There was a  Citadel in the east and Bailey in the west. The Middle town was within the general fortification. There was a granary towards the west and about sixteen  reservoirs towards the south of the fortification, of which six can be seen.

This city was most probably built after Mohenjodaro and Harappa as the city was constructed according to a geometrical plan. The Citadel/Acropolis and the Middle town as well as the Bailey where important people lived had its own wall and gateways.   Beyond the gateway is the Lower town where people of lesser stature lived, they may have been the artisans. Most of the structures and buildings are made of stone as against Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Lothal where most structures were made of bricks. Saving the town from floods led them to build their town at a much higher level, for which they built walls and a platform over which they built their city. 

THE FIRST RESERVOIR THAT I SAW

As one enters the excavated space from the East side, one can see a huge reservoir. There are steps which lead into the reservoir. As one goes further up one can see a huge upright wall made of stone. The base is wider and narrows as it goes up. As our guide told us, " this was built like a pyramid", what he meant was that the base was broad and narrowed as it went up to be the raised platform. On top of this raised platform was situated the Citadel or Acropolis which had good  built up area, a uniform street system, wells, large open spaces and was well fortified. Roads were broad, houses were in straight rows, there were big houses with rooms, halls, kitchen and best of all en suite or attached bathrooms. Drainage system was in place and the city looked quite well planned. The Citadel and Bailey where the richer people and their officers stayed had double ramparts and a better defence system. People of the lower town were not so well protected as they were beyond the walls. 

There were three gates for entry into the City, the North, East and West gate. On the south side no gate has been found so far.  The North gate was the most impressive gate as perhaps it was the main entrance. As you entered through this gate there were two elevated chambers flanking the sunken passageway which was connected with a L shaped   staircase coming down from the Citadel.  

NOTCH FOR BOLTING THE DOOR

Near this sunken passage we find two stone slabs with notches cut in them which was used for bolting the gate. Outside of the North gate was the Stadium which was a long stretch of clear ground. 

THE STADIUM

I wonder what the stadium was used for, could be for running races like the Olympic stadium or cart/chariot races as in the Roman Forum.  There are places on both sides of the gate which could be used by the important people for sitting and watching what went on at the Stadium.

NORTH GATE OVER WHICH WAS THE SIGNBOARD

On top of this North gate was found the most ancient sign board of the world. This sign board had ten characters made of gypsum fixed on a wooden plank.  Although the wooden plank has frayed, the signboard has stood the ravages of time. It has been taken down and stored very carefully by the archeologists. A replica of the same has been kept on top of the carefully preserved original. It is amazing to look at the alphabets/characters, as one goes back to some unknown times and unknown people who wrote that sign board. What did it indicate will be known once the script is deciphered. The characters are 37 cms high and the board on which it was fixed is 3 meters long.

POLISHED BASE

As we walk in further away from the gate, we see  the base of two pillars on both sides. The base of the pillars are made of highly polished stone and are square in shape. Above this square base is another highly polished base which is circular and most probably housed the pillar which may have gone up to the ceiling.    

PILLAR BASE

 As we walk up the stairs we enter the citadel area and  come across residential quarters.   

WELL WITH MARKS OF ROPE

A BATHING ROOM WITH INLET

Further on we come across a large well with a stone-cut trough which has grooves/markings of the rope with which the water may have been hauled up in a receptacle and then conducted to a storage tank. Wood fire was lit under the tank to heat the water which  was then supplied to the  bathroom meant for the women of the house through an inlet for running hot water.

Nearby is the bathing room, which has steps descending inwards.  

A 1900 B.C. CIRCULAR HOUSE

As we walked further on, we came across the ruins belonging to some later period of time. These are  circular houses,  which were made perhaps by the people who came back in 1900 B.C. These later day residents had lost the sophistication of the earlier civilisation with planned houses and straight streets. The urban nature of a planned city was lost and de-urbanisation had set in.  We can see similar round houses in the present day villages of this area which are called "Bhunga".  The igloo,  and similar round huts are also found in some parts of Africa.

A STOOL AND A MORTAR

Water, the lifeline of mankind, was treated with the deference that it deserves. The  efficient system  for conservation, harvesting and storage of water speaks eloquently about their advanced hydraulic engineering. It is  indeed amazing to see the system that they adopted. 

CONNECTED RESERVOIRS

We saw 6 reservoirs inter connected at the south side of the town. These  reservoirs are unique and are the earliest water conservation system of channels built by stone masonry. There was a natural incline in the landscape, which was used to their advantage by the people of those times. While most reservoirs were lined with stone, in some places natural rock wall has also been retained. These reservoirs are about 7 meters  deep and 79 metres long and  are cut through stone vertically. The reservoirs were made at different levels and water inlet and outlet drains were placed in such a way that the sediments would settle at the bottom of the reservoir and the clear water would go forth to the next reservoir. Thus the water would pass through five more reservoirs and the sediments would keep settling at the bottom of each reservoir. There was therefore filtration of the water. 

The museum at Dholavira houses a lot of material that has been found here. Jewellery made of agate, jasper, steatite, shell, gold and silver were found. Beads, earrings and bangles made of gold have also been found.

Carnelian beads were very popular, agate was heated to change the colour to red or deep orange and then drilled with a stone drill and then the beads were etched to make patterns. A small pot containing beads made of semi precious stones and other material was found in a drain at Dholavira during excavation. Some of the beads found were 1mm to 3 mm. in length and 1mm diameter with perforation.

Shell was found in abundance here as it was close to the coast and  was used extensively for making bangles, inlays, beads, ladles, vessels, pins and also for engraving. They used a bow of copper wire and circular saw of bronze for cutting and making grooves.

The museum houses pottery, seals and weights made of stone with rounded edges. Terracotta pots, tumblers, grinding stones and mortars were also found in a very large number. Terracotta drain, tiles too have been found.

DRAIN & TILE

Observing the ruins of an immensely advanced civilisation left me feeling very thoughtful. 

Over a period of time the urban features of the city changed into a de-urban pattern. 

A planned city seemed to have become unplanned. 

What could have happened? 

We go by the general premise that progress goes forward and there is always improvement in facilities but what I saw at Dholavira made me become philosophical-it does not always happen like that.

LO AND BEHOLD - LOTHAL

AS IT MAY HAVE BEEN

One fine day I just decided that I would avail of the opportunity to buy air tickets on the last day of the air ticket sale. My fingers typed and lo and behold the tickets appeared taking me to and fro  Ahmedabad.

For a long-long  time it had been my heart's desire to visit the Harappan sites of Lothal and Dholavira. The Rann of Kutch festival was also still on and so I was delighted with my choice of place.

I quickly  took myself to the Gujarat tourism office which is located on the 3rd floor of a building which once upon a time housed the  Gujarat Emporium on Baba Khadak Singh Marg in Delhi. I got great guidance, route planning and beautiful brochures with which I could plan my trip in greater detail.

After landing at Ahmedabad my first stop had to be Lothal, the 3500 year old dock belonging to the Indus Valley Civilisation. Lothal is only 78 kms away from Ahmedabad by road.

As we drove along the beautiful roads with chana(gram) farms and then cotton crops on both sides of the road, I waited with bated breath to set my eyes on this wonderful place which once thronged with people, who carried on business with people from some other civilisation of that era. That period was the "Bronze Age", iron had not yet been discovered. Did they have bronze nails in the place of iron nails in their boats? 

What was their language, what did they wear, did they have interpreters? How did they carry on their business with people from Mesopotamia? How do I know that they traded with Mesopotamia? Indus seals have been found in what was Mesopotamia and the scribes of Sargon of Akkad (2334 to 2279 BC) kept record of ships that went there. According to those records, trade was carried on between Mesopotamia and Meluhha in gold, copper, beads and jewellery, cotton textiles,  timber and precious woods, ivory, lapis lazuli, and luxury goods such as carnelian and glazed stone beads, in exchange for pearl from the Persian Gulf besides silver, tin, perhaps oil and copper ingots. We understand that  Meluhha, was their name for the Indus Valley civilisation and Lothal was the port of this civilisation.  

 

THE DOCK

With my mind full of questions and a heart full of joy I walked to the dock which was in the middle of land, not on the sea coast. The Lothal dock was built in 2350 B.C. The massive floods of 1900 B.C. destroyed the town and silted up the dock. This dock was lined with kiln fired bricks numbering to about one million, making it the largest brick structure of the Harappans.  The dock was massive, its dimensions were 217 metres x 37 metres with a maximum depth of 4.3 metres. The dock  was connected to the Bhogava river which was a tributary of the Sabarmati river which in turn was connected to the sea. It was located away from the main current of the river to avoid silting. This was a tidal dock and boats could reach Lothal during high tide.  It is thought that a 20 metre  long boat with 75 ton capacity could be manoeuvred in this dock. There are no flights of steps or ramp at this dock.

 

THE WAREHOUSE

On the west of the dock we find the wharf, which was  245 metres x 20 metres and  was built of sun dried bricks. This wharf was used for handling cargo. Further on was a sun dried brick platform which was about 18200 sq feet. This was a warehouse with platforms at different levels with intervening passages, and was used for storage of cargo. The goods were stored and despatched from here after inspection is evident from the fact  that about 65 seals were found in this area. The location of the warehouse and dock near the Citadel which housed the mansions of the rich  indicate that trade was carried out by these people  of the upper town, who could watch and control the activities of the warehouse.

BRICKS

As we walked down the warehouse I found that the bricks  were quite visible and I was quite intrigued to see the size of the bricks as well as the material used for making the brick. The size ratio was 3:2:1.They also had radial bricks with a smaller breadth which were used for constructing circular structures like a well.  These measured 27x14x7 cms. They also made T shaped bricks to close gaps.

 

DRAINAGE

On the right of the warehouse there was a row of rooms with a drain coming out from each room. These drains joined a main drain which went into the dock area. These were the toilet blocks. I was delighted to see  the great thinking and planning of the planners of those times to have so many toilets for the people working in the dock and warehouse. Even today I do not see such facilities for employees in many establishments. Remember, I am talking of an establishment which cared for the basic necessities of its people 3500 years ago!

 

A CLAY POT IN A KITCHEN

As we moved beyond the dock, the wharf and the warehouse, we reached the Citadel where the rich people had houses.The unique characteristic of urban Harappan settlements is in the division of the city into a citadel or ‘Upper Town’ and a ‘Lower Town’. It is assumed that social differentiation existed in Harappan society, and that the ruling or richer class, would have lived in the Upper Town, which had paved bathing spaces, underground drains and a well for potable water. The citadel was on a 3.5 metre high podium of mud bricks. All the construction was made of kiln dried bricks, lime and sand mortar and not by sun dried bricks and these bricks are still intact even after 3500 years. They are still bonded together with the mortar bond. I came across a water pot in the corner of a house which most probably was a kitchen. Some of the houses in the main area were quite large, with four to six rooms, bathrooms, a large courtyard and verandah.

Householders possessed a sump, or collection chamber to deposit solid waste in order to prevent the clogging of city drains. Drains, manholes and cesspools kept the city clean and deposited the waste in the river, which was washed out during high tide. 

THE LOWER TOWN

As we walked further away from the Citadel we reached  the lower town where the general public lived. The houses were in rows and  were set out neatly like a two bedroom, hall, kitchen of modern times. There was excellent drainage system in every house.The streets were paved with mudbrick, with a layer of gravel on top. Houses belonging to artisans such as coppersmiths and beadmakers have been identified from the presence of kilns, raw materials and artefacts.

 

BEADS WERE MADE HERE

Here we saw the ruins of a house where beads were  being  manufactured. Lothal was know for its beads and it seems as though beads were made in every house. They made beads out of shells, Ivory, gold, stone and also clay. Beads were exported by the sea route from Lothal to Mesopotamia and perhaps even Greece.

 

MAGNIFYING GLASS WITH TINY BEADS

Having seen Lothal as it was, we then went to the Museum and I was amazed to see the precision with which some beads were made. They were tiny and very precise. There was a magnifying glass kept in front of very tiny beads so that we could see their  uniformity. How advanced they were in the use of tools was quite an eye opener for me. 

 

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Tools made of stone were displayed in the museum. Weights and measures were standardised. There was an ivory scale used for measuring lengths which has the smallest known decimal divisions. The scale is 6 millimetres thick, 15 mm. broad and the length was 128mm. Stone weights were in different calibrations and had blunt edges.   Clay seals from the Indus Valley  were  used to seal bundles of merchandise, as clay seal impressions with cord or sack marks on the reverse side were  found in the warehouse. A number of these Indus Valley seals have also been found at Ur and other Mesopotamian sites. 

A PERFORATED URN

Displays at the Museum include terracotta ornaments, beads, seal and sealing replicas, shell, ivory, copper and bronze objects, figurines representing animals and humans, gorgeous painted pottery, perforated jars as well as fascinating objects recovered from burials in the cemetery site. One of the most fascinating finds in Lothal during excavation was a burial of two people together in a brick-lined grave, a replica of which has been kept in the museum.

 

WHARF

What exactly happened and how this civilisation disappeared is still being researched into. It was constantly threatened by tropical storms and floods which caused immense destruction. The Lothal planners tried to protect the area from consistent floods by building the town on high platforms made of sun dried bricks.   Perhaps it was the changes in climate and floods which led  people to migrate. Their written script has not yet been deciphered.The writing was from right to left.

It was a delight to talk with the local people of Lothal. The people working at the museum were very proud of their heritage although it is known that the people of the Indus Valley migrated lock stock and barrel, so the people living here would not be descended from them.

After seeing all the places I sat down on a chair meant for an attendant at the Museum. As he came towards me, I asked him, "Is this your chair?" and  started getting up. He said,

" Madam, please keep sitting. It is because of you people who visit this place that we earn our living."

I liked his approach. I have seen many others in other places answering "Yes, this is my chair" and proceeding to sit on it with the authority that resides in the chair!

My trip to Lothal was delightful and left me more awed with the bricks, structures, roads, water flushing toilets and of course the magnificent dock.

I am quite sure the intrigue of the Harappan/Indus Valley Civilisation will continue to hold me in awe until someone deciphers their script and unravels the mystery of this very advanced civilisation which simply vanished.