The following article is a factual exploration of Lothal, an ancient city of the Harappan Civilization based in what is now India. This information was drawn from an analysis by art historian Rana Safvi in her article “In one of India’s oldest port cities” dated 20th January 2019.
The Layout and Planning of Lothal
Lothal, a term that poetically translates to ‘mound of the dead’, is situated between the Bhogavo and Sabarmati rivers near the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat. This 4,500-year-old city boasts a sophisticated layout, attesting to the mathematical precision with which it was planned. Grid-patterned streets intersect at right angles and are accompanied by comprehensive drainage systems; evidence of the ancient Harappan Civilization’s emphasis on hygiene and sanitation. The city was partitioned into two sections: the upper town and the lower town, both of which feature remnants of brick walls, wide streets, drains, and bathing platforms.
Lothal: A Harappan Hub of Trade
In Lothal, an expansive rectangular basin, or dockyard, has been found. It measures 218 m long and 37 m wide and is surrounded on all sides by baked bricks. Despite the Indus script remaining undeciphered, some believe this basin to be India’s first port. This claim, however, has been received with skepticism among certain historians. Regardless, seals discovered from Lothal have turned up in other ancient cities, indicating its significant role in trade with other early civilisations.
Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC)
The site of Lothal belongs to the broader Indus Valley Civilisation, now more commonly referred to as the Harappan civilisation. Named after Harappa, the first of its sites excavated in the 1920s by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the Harappan civilisation formed on the banks of the river Indus during the latter half of the third millennium BCE. It then expanded across extensive parts of western India.
HTML Table
| Site | Location | Key Discoveries |
|---|---|---|
| Harappa | Pakistan | Granaries, religious symbols, mother goddess figure, agricultural tools, dice, copper scale and mirror |
| Mohenjo-daro | Pakistan | Bronze dancing girl, priest sculpture, bath, granary |
| Dholavira | Gujarat | Water reservoir, water harnessing system, stadium, dams and embankments, large inscriptions |
| Lothal | Gujarat | Dockyard, double burial, rice husk, fire altars, painted jar, chess-like game, terracotta ship figure, angular measurement instruments |
A Widespread Civilization: Harappa
The Harappan civilisation was renowned for its aesthetic creativity, visible in the numerous sculptures, seals, potteries, and jeweleries found at excavation sites. Urban civic planning was a significant feature, reflected by the finely planned roads, houses and drainage systems at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, two of the major sites. The civilization extended across parts of what is now India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, marking its impressive breadth. Over a thousand identified sites stand as a testament to the civilization’s vastness, trade capacity, and interconnectedness.