Dholavira Harappan Site in Gujarat: UNESCO World Heritage Site

When Dholavira Harappan site in Gujarat was declared UNESCO World Heritage site on July 2021 I had this secret desire to leave my footprints in this prehistoric site as well. Been in Ahmadabad twice on tourism purpose and seen bits of the city. It was ‘a dream comes true’ moment when I got call from Gujarat Tourism board to be a part of Bloggers’ team to visit and write about Dholavira Archaeological Site of Indus Valley Civilization.

With this prologue I present to you the highlights about my walk through the prehistoric ruins of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) in Dholavira Gujarat. This archaeological site is the larger of the two Harappan-era city in India.

History of Dholavira Excavations

Harappan ruins existed at this site since 3000BCE (Before Common Era). This particular hillock was hardly inhabited and few patches here and there were used for farming and grazing for animals. It was during one of those tilling of grounds here that threw up pottery remains and the like. Archaeologist Jagat Pati Joshi was working in nearby site Ropar. He was informed of these findings by the farmers. After inspection and radiocarbon dating on the findings, he confirmed they belonged to Harappan times.

JP Joshi is credited as the discoverer of this ancient Harappan site in 1968. It took some more years for the excitement to build up around this discovery and some more tests and carbon dating on the finds after which serious excavations started here. The nearest village to this was the village Dholavira and thus the site took over the name Dholavira Harappan Site.

Systematic excavations started here in 1990 and went on till 2004. They found broken worn out artefacts like terracotta pottery, beads, gold ornaments, seals, fish hooks, animal figurines, copper tools and urns. During my walk there, I too spotted broken bits of perforated jars, terracotta pots and parts of skeletons.

Several vessels and artefacts collected here indicate a different style hinting at trade connections with countries and civilizations far away like that of Mesopotamia.

10 large stone inscriptions, probably some letters of Harappan script were found near the Ceremonial Ground. They are not yet deciphered yet, but are assumed to be some kind of signboard.

Timeline of Harappan Race in Dholavira

Dholavira has long span of being inhabited by humans. It is categorized in to seven stages from the rise to maturity and finally the fall of the civilization. Stages I to III belong to early Harappan (3000 – 2600 BCE). Stages IV and V stretched from 2600 to 1900 BCE. Stage VI is the late Harappan period from 1900 to 1600 BCE. Stage VII belongs to post urban Harappan from 1600 to 1500 BCE. After which the place was completely abandoned. It is believed a long 150 years of drought period completely finished the human race here.

In Dholavira, the city shrunk to one third its original size in the sixth stage and habitation was restricted to Middle Town. By seventh stage the populated area shrunk to Castle and Bailey. People lived in circular houses which are similar to traditional Bhunga houses of Kutch region that can be seen today.

Circular houses in Dholavira Harappan Site Gujarat

Ruins in Dholavira Harappan Site in Gujarat

Highlights of Dholavira Harappan Site

Walk through the site shows an imposing citadel in the center, with a middle and lower town. Mind you there are no standing structures only plans and foundations remain. It is amazing to note that the structures recovered were made with pleasingly smooth structures of stone masonry. Most Harappan sites discovered have structures made of stone chiseled to brick shape as there was lack of water and abundance of stones. I actually ran my palm across the smooth surface of the displayed stone there, to feel it, as if only seeing wasn’t convincing enough.

Bi-concave Pillars

As the guide explained further I was amazed at the incredible town planning that existed in those days. Well laid out lanes crisscrossed the parts of the town systematically from the citadel. The houses were made round shaped to prevent damage from earthquakes. And this was only the topmost layer. Underneath our feet lay four more layers.

Harappan civilization progressed from to maturity to decline. Evidences of these stages are found in the different layers they excavated. Many parts that were dug up for studies have been refilled and left underneath. This is to protect them from further damage and erosion, also due to lack of funds for maintenance and upkeep of the sites.

A well-constructed underground drainage system for sanitation is a mute proof of the engineering skill that existed then. It has dimensions of height six feet. Till date Dholavira holds the record of having the world’s earliest water conservation systems ever excavated. Our guide who is a native of this site said that in his childhood days he and his friends would walk through these tunnels without realizing the significance of it.

The tunnel ended here

Castle and Bailey together formed the citadel; our walking tour was mainly through this area, Upper Town, the water channels, reservoirs and North Gate. Beyond the citadel lay the Middle Town and then the Lower Town which has several residential blocks, then the wall and finally the cemetery. The whole site is rectangular in shape and covers an area of 54 acres.

Ceremonial Ground – An area in Middle Town identified as stadium. Partially excavated arena with seating arrangement, a huge stadium with a complex structure is testimony to the fact that sports and games were conducted on a large scale. Parts of it are still not excavated. The empty space was probably used for festive occasions, ceremonial functions or as a market place.

This the edge of Citadel. You can see the ceremonial ground and parts of amphitheater (bricks at a distance).

Check Dams – Many of the ancient civilizations flourished on river banks. In Dholavira there were just two streams which was the main source of water. There are evidences of several check dams across the nullahs (streams) Manhar and Mansar to divert water into the reservoirs.

East Reservoir – There are 16 reservoirs in the site, among them the east reservoir is the largest, grandest and best furnished reservoir. At three corners there are a flight of 30 steps. Excavators found a rock-cut well with steps and stone made enclosure inside the reservoir. They also found evidences of performance of rituals, broken figurines, complete unicorn figurine and thus concluded the reservoir to be of high importance.

Their well developed reservoirs, drainage systems, small baths are a proof of how they conserved water. Without these the settlement would not have thrived in the sparse rainfall of the desert.

East Reservoir in Dholavira Harappan Site Gujarat

Dholavira Indus Valley Civilization Map

Dholavira Map and Signboard

Dholavira Symbols – A 10 lettered signboard was found in the western chamber of North Gate of Castle, (c. 2500-1900 BC). It is not deciphered yet what the symbols exactly meant. The “wheel-form” symbol appears four times in the signboard. Could it be similar to the alphabet ‘E’, the most commonly used alphabet in English?

Map of Dholavira Harappan site

Location of Dholavira Harappan Site in Gujarat

Dholavira village sprawls over 100 hectares of semi-arid land at the north-west corner of Khadir Island of Gujarat the westernmost state of India. This island of Great Rann of Kutch is at a higher elevation than the rest of the desert. So when rest of lower lying area is submerged by the monsoon rains this place is relatively dry. The land here was used for grazing farm animals and farming on a very low scale.

Geographically Dholavira is estimated to lie along a fault line hence destroyed by earthquake. It is close to Tropic of Cancer.

How to Reach Dholavira

The easiest and only way to reach Dholavira is by road. Dholavira is close to Bhuj Airport (216 km) and Ahmadabad (358 km). Bhuj is the closest railway station to Dholavira. There are public transport services at fixed intervals. Alternately you can hire private taxis from both these cities.

We took private taxi from Ahmadabad, travel time is seven hours but we made several halts. The road to Kutch from Ahmadabad is dotted with UNESCO site Rani Ki Vav, Patan silks sari weaving unit, Modhera Sun Temple, Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary and the most amazing Salt lake on the way to Khadimbet Island the final destination.

Best Time to Visit Dholavira

Dholavira in Kutch lies on the Tropic of Cancer has extreme climatic conditions. Avoid visiting in summers at any cost. The best months to visit the Indus Valley Civilization site in Dholavira is from October to March when temperature ranges from 19 degrees minimum to a bearable 36 degrees maximum.

Do give a read: Things to Do in Dholavira when you plan a visit to the UNESCO site.

Nearby sights

• Do include Dholavira Archaeological Museum which has a lot of information along with neatly arranged samples of finds.
• Kutch Fossil Park nearby has good collection of tree fossils.
• Chipper Point Kutch gives amazing views of salt lake all around. It is a good sunrise and sunset point. Do exercise caution as it is precariously located on a naturally made ledge.

Tickets and Timings

Tickets cost 5INR per tourist. The site is open from 9 AM to 6 PM.

Tips to Visit Dholavira Archaeological Site

• Take plenty of water if you intend to tour three hours in a stretch there.
• Use sunscreen and umbrella or hat.
• Study up the place a bit or better still save this post that will help you understand the site better.
• Hire a local guide. There are some who actually worked during the excavation there.
• There are information boards near each excavated point, pause to read them up for better understanding.

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