Explore Gujarat
The largest excavated Harappan (or Indus Valley) site is at Lothal, close to the mouth of the River Sabarmati, 100km south of Ahmedabad, and an easy journey by bus (change at Dholka) or train (3hr). Foundations, platforms, crumbling walls and paved floors are all that remain of the prosperous sea-trading community that dwelt here between 2400 and 1900 BC, when a flood all but destroyed the settlement. A walk around the central mound reveals the old roads that ran past ministers’ houses and through the acropolis. The lower town comprised a bazaar, workshops and residential quarters. Evidence has been found here of an even older culture, perhaps dating from the fourth millennium BC, known as the Red Ware Culture. You can see remains from this period and from the Indus Valley Civilization in the illuminating museum.
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The Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization
Before the Mauryan Empire took hold in the fourth century BC, India’s greatest empire was the Indus Valley Civilization. Sophisticated settlements dating back to 2500 BC were first discovered in 1924 on the banks of the River Indus in present-day Sind (in Pakistan), at Mohenjo Daro. Further excavations in 1946 in Punjab revealed the city of Harappa, from the same era. In its prime, this great society spread from the present borders of Iran and Afghanistan to Kashmir, Delhi and southern Gujarat. It lasted until 1900 BC, when it was destroyed by heavy floods.
A prosperous and literate society, importing raw materials from regions as far west as Egypt and trading ornaments, jewellery and cotton, it also had a remarkable, centrally controlled political system. Each town was almost identical, with complex drainage systems. Lothal, close to the Gulf of Cambay in southern Gujarat, was a major port. Although much about this complex society remains unknown, similarities exist between the Indus Valley Civilization and present-day India. For example, like Hindus, there was a strong custom of worshipping a mother goddess, and there is evidence of phallic worship, still popular among Shaivites.
