Indus Valley
Civilization
Lothal
Lothal
is one of the southernmost cities of the
ancient Indus Valley civilization. The ruins of this 4,000 year-old city is located in the Bhal region in Gujarat, India.
It is situated near the village of Saragwala in the Dholka taluka of Ahmedabad
district.
Lothal
(Loth + thal) means “the mound of the dead” in Gujarati. The city of Mohenjo-daro
means the same in Sindhi. Lothal city is built on a mound that was ‘a salt
marsh inundated by tide’.
The
construction of the site was started in 2200 BCE. It was excavated from 1955 to 1960 by ASI. The findings consisted of a mound, a township, a market place
and the dock.
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| Extent and Major Sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation photgraph:Avantiputra 7 commons.wikimedia.org |
The Dockyard
Lothal had
the world’s earliest-known dock. This is proved beyond doubt by the National
Institute of Oceanography, Goa who discovered marine microfossils ,salt and
gypsum crystals in the basin. This is
only possible if sea water had once filled the structure.
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| The Dock |
In 1961, when the archaeologists resumed excavation they found trenches sunk on the northern, eastern and western flanks of the mound. These were inlet channels (ravine or gully) connecting the dock with the river. A stable water level was maintained in the dock through a canal opening which allowed water to flow into the river.
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| Inlet Channels |
Lothal was
selected for making the dock for a specific reason. The city was built near Bhogava River,a
tributary of the Sabarmati River. It is just 30 km from the Gulf
of Khambat (Gulf of Cambay).The marine engineers of Lothal had a great
knowledge of tides. The Gulf of Khambat has the highest tidal strength and the
ships can be sluiced through flow tides in the river tributaries or creeks. The
dockyard is a trapezoidal structure. Its north-south length is approximately
215 metres (705 feet) and its east-west width is 35 metres (115 feet).
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| The Warehouse |
The warehouse
was built close to the acropolis so that the rulers could supervise the
activity on the dock and warehouse simultaneously.
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| Wharf /Quay |
In order to
facilitate cargo, there was also a mud-brick wharf/quay of 220 metres long (720
feet) built on the western arm of the dock with a ramp, leading to the
warehouse.
Lothal
engineers were adept in hydrography and maritime engineering even 4000 years ago.
The walls of the dock and its ancillary
buildings were constructed with burnt bricks because the super intelligent
marine engineers studied the tidal movements and their effect on brick-built
structures.
City Planning
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| Layout of Lothal Photograph:Nizil Shah commons.wikimedia.org |
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| Small Channels |
Small channels suggest the presence of a strong tidal
influence upon the city and there was the problem of water ingress
up to the city and into it. During the entire civilisation, the residents of Lothal had to battle against floods and storms.Therefore, the city planners made adequate
arrangements to protect the city against
floods.Peripheral walls were built to protect the city against natural phenomena.
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| Peripheral Walls |
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| Town Planning |
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| Blocks of Platforms |
V
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| Ancient Structures |
The town was divided into blocks of platforms on which 20-30 houses were built. These blocks were 1-2 metre (3-6 ft.) high. Like Dholavira, Lothal city was divided into the Citadel/Acropolis and a lower town. The king and people of high places lived in the citadel. The lower town had two sections :the commercial area and the residential area.
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| Lower Town |
The
commercial area was located on a north-south, high-capacity urban road which
was flanked by shops of merchants and craftsmen. The residential area was
located on either side of the market place.
Lifestyle
The planning of the city, the uniformity of streets, the absence
of encroachment, existence of a sump to deposit solid waste by the
householders, cleanliness of the city, existence of drains, manholes and
cesspools showed that there was good
governance; the inhabitants were disciplined. Municipal administration, commerce,
day-to-day living was performed according to the strict guidelines laid down by the
government. Weights, measures, seals,
metal tools and other equipment were of uniform standard.
Drainage
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| The Main Well |
An ancient well has been found during excavation. It is built of radial bricks.
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| An Ancient Well and the City Drainage Canals |
The well is 2.4 metres (7.9 feet) in diameter and 6.7 metres
(22 feet) deep. It had a perfect network
of underground drains, silting chambers and cesspools; and inspection chambers
for solid waste. The waste was deposited in the river which was washed out
during high tide.
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| Bathroom-Toilet Structure of the Houses at Lothal |
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| A block of bricks placed in the main drainage canal with 4 holes from which the net to filter out solid waste was installed. |
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| Drains, Manholes and Cesspools |
Metals
Lothal was an important and busy trading centre in ancient
times. The traded articles such as beads, gems and valuable ornaments were sold
to distant places in West Asia and Africa. Lothal, during its heyday ,imported
copper, chert, semi-precious stones from Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Larkana valley,
Bijapur(Karnataka), Dholavira and Bet Dwarka. It exported beads, gemstones, ivory
and shells. Trade network extended to Egypt, Bahrain and Sumer. Lothal copper
is exceptionally pure because it is devoid of arsenic. Lothal was one of the most important production centre of shell-working. Lothal produced
a large quantity of gold ornaments. Ornaments worn by Vedic priests and
gold-wire rings similar to the ones used by modern Hindus for weddings were
unearthed at the archaeological site.
Lothal craftsmen were the pioneers in the techniques and
tools used for bead making and in metallurgy which are still contemporary even
after 4000 years.
Lothal boasts of
micaceous Redware pottery which was not found in contemporary Indus
cultures. Lothal artists were adept in realistic painting; of depicting animals
in their natural surroundings. A scene resembling the story of The Fox and the
Crow (of Panchatantra) is portrayed on a
large vessel, found at the excavation site.
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| A Water Tank made of Burnt Bricks and Lined with Red Clay pottery |
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| Ancient Burnt Bricks bonded with Mortar Bond |
All the construction in Lothal were made of fire-dried bricks,
lime and sand mortar. Hence, they withstood the test of 4000 years and are still
intact; more durable than sun-dried bricks. They are still bonded with each
other with mortar .
Lothal had thrived
for many years, even after the Indus Valley Civilization had decayed in
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. As recently as
1850,boats could sail up to the mound. In 1942, timber was shipped from Broach
(modern Bharuch) to Saragwala via the
mound. A silted creek connecting modern Bholad with Lothal and Saragwala
represents the ancient flow channel of a river or creek.
The city was not a large one. It was abandoned due to natural disasters especially
floods. Scanty rainfall due to climate change was another factor for the
inhabitants to abandon Lothal.
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| Ancient Anchor found at the Site |
Reaching Lothal
The best option of visiting Lothal is from Ahmedabad which is
83 km away. Ahmedabad is connected by rail and air to the rest of India. The
all-weather roads leading to Ahmedabad are good. The driving time to Lothal
from Ahmedabad is 1 hour, 43 minutes.
Modhera which boasts of the 11th century Sun Temple is 140 km from
Lothal and the driving time is 3 hours, 25 minutes.
Patan, which has the glorious 11th century Rani-Ki-Vav/Ranki Vav (Queen's stepwell), is 193 km from
Lothal and the driving time is 4 hours, 1 minute.
We went from Vadodara (Baroda) which is 127.06 km from Lothal and the driving time is about 2 hours, 30 minutes.We enjoyed the trip to Lothal archaeological site in 2009 and I was enchanted with the intelligence,foresight and engineering skills of our ancestors. A very nice and knowledgeable gentleman at the archaeological site acted as our guide.
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| Topography Of Lothal |
