March 18, 2014

Lothal- Last Post of Indus Valley Civilization

Situated 85 kms from Ahmedabad,India,Lothal, dated 2400 BCE,is one of the most important relics of Indus Valley Civilization.It was discovered in 1954. Excavation by Archaeological society of India started from 1955 and went on till 1962.







Lothal was a port, on the banks of Sabarmati river, connecting, Saurashtra with Harappan cities in Sindh. Remains of dock exist today as a proof of the thriving trade which must have developed between cities, thanks to this river route.



 It is believed that this dockyard could hold 30 ships of 60 tons each. Making it comparable to many modern day ports!



          
              Photos of the dock, as it stands today, at Lothal.

       Lothal means "Mounds of the dead" in Gujarati. Co-incidently, Mohenj-daro in Sindhi also means the same. 



               "Mound of the dead" -Lothal , Gujarat



              Relics of the past at Lothal, Gujarat

   Town of Lothal was situated on the mound as a protection    against frequent floods in the region.




Town was divided into parts. Upper part had residences of the ruler,rich merchants as well as the storage for keeping the goods which were traded by sea route. While lower town had commercial establishments as well as residences. 



One can see well planned out network of drainage system.



                Remains of ancient well at Lothal.






                    Lower Town - Lothal

 Lothal was famous for its bead jewellery and jwellery made out of Gold and Ivory. Major export of these items was done via sea route. Lothal was quite prosperous town thanks to its industrious and artistic people.  



Today Lothal is facing a grave crisis due to salinity issue and effects of weather on the structures. Archaeology department has established a museum which contains variety of objects found during the excavation. 


Information for visitors:



Can be accessed from Ahmedabad. Situated around 85 kms from Ahmedabad, hiring a taxi is the ideal way to reach the destination. Roads are wonderful throughout. One can also combine this visit with Velavadar Blackbuck sanctuary.which is around 70 kms away.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothal



7 comments:

  1. Thank you Sonali-di for this informative look into the Indus peoples. It is a shame that the majority of the world has no idea that the Indus Valley civilizations are older than the oldest stories in the history books, especially in the western world, and that there are many advances that have been accredited to others, like the plumbing systems shown in your photos.
    As for Mr. Finnell, your "fiction" has no place in the real world.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Michael

    It is a fascinating place. Please check out wikipedia link which I have just added.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful Didi... :-):-):-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 04, 2014

    Hi Sonali,

    I represent manfrotto's social media and community development program
    in India and would want to showcase your work on our global community
    forum. Please let me know how can I connect with you further.

    Kindly revert, should you find this interesting, we will love to take
    this forward from here


    Looking forward to your revert

    Thanks and regards,

    Lubhawna Soni
    Manager- Social Media and Community
    dotConverse Social Media & Online Marketing
    12, Level 3, Varun Towers (Opp Thomson Press)
    Mathura Road, Faridabad-121001, Delhi NCR

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Incredible Capture Image ....

    ReplyDelete