The world’s oldest dockyard, Lothal, is all set to get a heritage complex. The National Maritime Heritage Complex commenced in March 2022 and is being developed at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore.

Harappan civilization, also called as Indus valley civilization is the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent. It extended from Balochistan in the west to India’s western Uttar Pradesh in the east, from northeastern Afghanistan in the north to India’s Gujarat state in the south.

Cotton was first cultivated as a fabric in the Indus River Valley

Sir John Marshall gave it the name of the Indus Valley Civilization

1. Harrapa: excavation supervised by Daya Ram Sahni. Also called the City of Granary; Harappa is the only place where traces of coffin burial were found

2.Mohenjo Daro, or “Mound of the Dead”; right bank of river Indus; R.D Banerjee; Great Bath; The Assembly Hall; A bearded man in steatite and bronze were found from Mohenjodaro. A dancing girl in bronze was also found in Mohenjodaro. A piece of woven cotton clothes has been discovered in Mohenjodaro.

3.Dholvira–  Kachch district of Gujarat; discovered in 1967-8 by J.P. Joshi. Dholvira is the latest and one of the two largest Harappan settlements in India. has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

4.Lothal– Located in the state of Gujarat: It was excavated by S.R Rao in 1957. Rice husks were found in Lothal. The famous dockyard was the major discovery. Another notable finding was the beadmaker’s shop. It was only in lothal that the Harappan houses opened to the main street. Evidence of couple burial was found in Lothal. Fire pits were also found in Lothal.Dockyard

5.Kalibangan– The word ‘Kalibangan’ means ‘black bangles’. It lay in northern Rajasthan on the banks of river Ghaghar Hakra. Evidence of bangles was found in Kalibangan. It was discovered by A.Ghosh in 1953 and B.K Thapaer and B.B. Lal in 1961. Ornamental bricks were used in Kalibangan.

6.Chanhudaro– It was the only Harappan city without a citadel. Some remarkable findings at Chanhu-daro include bronze figures of bullock carts and ekkas; a small pot suggesting an inkwell, footprints of an elephant, and a dog chasing a cat.

7. Alamgirpur: It was situated 17 miles west of Merut on the banks of river Hindon. No seals have been found in this place. • Amri: The site is located south of Mohenjodaro.

 8.Banwali: Situated in the Hissar district of Haryana. Remains of barley, sesamum, and mustard were found here

9. Suktagendor-This town was situated in Baluchistan. It was first brought to light by Sir Aurel Stein in 1927. A number of ports have been discovered from Suktagendor.

10. Ropar-Buildings at Ropar were made mainly of stone and soil. Important findings at the site include pottery, ornaments, copper axes, chert blades, terracotta blades, one inscribed steatite seal with typical Indus pictographs, several burials interred in oval pits, and a rectangular mud-brick chamber. There is also evidence of burying a dog below the human burial. Ropar is situated in Panjab. It is on the banks of river Sutlej. It was first discovered by Y.D Sharmain 1950.

Their scripts were pictographic not yet deciphered.

Rakhigarhi is the largest site of the Indus Valley Civilization in India. It is located in the Indian state of Haryana.

Mother Goddess was the principal divinity of the Harappan people. In one figurine, a plant is shown growing out of the embryo of a woman. The image probably represents the goddess of the earth.

 The male deity is represented on a seal. This God has three horned heads and is represented in a yogic posture. The God is surrounded by an elephant, a rhinoceros, and a tiger, and below his throne, there is a buffalo and at his feet two deer. It is identified as Pasupati Siva according to John Marshall