DHOLAVIRA KUTCH GUJRAT

Dholavira, Gujarat, India  ▒

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The remains of Dholavira, a major city of the Harappan civilization, were discovered in 1967-68 by J. Joshi. Though hundreds of Harappan sites have been identified in Gujarat, Dholavira is among the five biggest known to us in the Indian subcontinent. "The excavation at Dholavira brought to light a remarkable city of exquisite planning, monumental structures, aesthetic architecture and amazing water management system." Indeed, to the casual visitor, the most notable feature of this metropolis of the 3rd millennium BCE is its water management acumen. Sixteen reservoirs of various sizes have been identified, of which five have been excavated fairly well. There is extensive water harvesting throughout the site. The ingenuity in handling water is evident in the waterways and channels that crisscross the site. (read more)   [—Apr 06]

Update: Read my article on Dholavira in The Himal Southasian.

The citadel (more)	South-east corner	Eastern walls of the citadel	East entrance
Water tank (1, 2)			Steps down the tank
Water tank (1, 2, 3)			More water tanks (1, 2)
A granary	South entrance to citadel	The Bailey (servant homes)	Top of the citadel
The well			Bathing area (more)
Water tank			Remains of citadel rooms
Shard-studded wall	Corridor inside citadel	Circular rooms (more)	Former royal chamber?
Eastern entryway	Passageway inside citadel	Passageway	Brickwork from two eras
Water harvesting conduit	Water harvesting conduit	A fine pillar base	Tourist bungalow from the citadel
North-eastern corner	Northern wall	Northern wall (1, 2)	Northern wall
North entrance	Writing over the north entrance, "the oldest signboard in the world"	Stadium from north entrance	Stadium from middle town
Middle town ruins	Market street (more)	Market street	Four-way intersection
Side street	Waste receptacle	Fragments of the past	Fragments of the past
Cemetery area (local flora)	The largest water tank (more)	The largest water tank (more)	Women near the ruins
Dholavira signpost	Across the Great Rann of Kutch	Saline mudflats (more)	Great Rann of Kutch (more)
Rabari tribeswoman (more)	Rabari tribeswomen	Local woman	Local woman
Local women	Local women (more)	Local women	Tribal family (more)
Path to the excavated site	Traveling hundreds of miles in summer to this isolated site near the western edge of India, I encounter this sign put up by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Shaking my head in disbelief, I ask: Why? What can possibly be the rationale for prohibiting photography here? ASI ought to be marketing this site, a global cultural heritage, and providing better facilities (e.g., a site museum, a brochure, guides). I recall that the ASI also bars photography at nearly all of its site museums, of works with long expired copyright claims. Why? Nobody ever has a good answer ('orders from above' is the most common). 'Apply for permission in Delhi,' they say. If this isn't the product of a bureaucratic mind I don't know what is. Annoyance again wells up within me. Stupid rules need not be followed, I tell myself, and resolve to flout the injunction, if need be by cajoling or bribing the lone caretaker on site, or sneaking in behind his back.  [BHAVESH]