Lothal – One of Harappan sites in India

A big tank in Lothal

Lothal is an ancient port city in the Indus valley civilization which is situated in the modern state of Gujarat. This city was build between 2500 – 1900 BCE , means it was build 4500 years ago . It was excavated in between 1956 – 1963 by ASI. It has a dock , warehouse , Lower town , upper town , well and cemetery in this excavated complex . The buildings were made of burned clay brick . In ancient times this port has been connected to the river sabarmati which goes into gulf of cambey . From here this indus people trade with egypt , Mesopotamia and western Asia people with ships.

In Gujarat there is mainly two Harappa civilization spot one in Lothal and another in Dolavira , kutch . For building this city they used 5 different types of brick which are used in different structure. They are very disciplined in town planning. They have dedicated pavements , underground and open drains , paved bath , potable well , commercial centre (there is shops of rich and ordinary merchants and craftsman ) and also the residential area .

How to reach Lothal :

It is situated in a village near the Ahmedabad – Bhabnagar road .Lothal is 80 km from Ahmedabad and 98 km from Bhavnagar city . You have to board this route buses and get down at ‘Gundi Phatak’ bus stop then take auto to reach Lothal. This Bhavnagar buses are very frequent to reach here . There is also 2-3 daily buses from Ahmedabad bus station direct to lothal , For timing you have to contact bus station .

For train route you have to get down at ‘Lothal burkhi ‘ railway station . These are mostly unreserved trains from Ahmedabad and take more than 3 hours. It is heard that these trains were currently not running because of Covid restriction . For details, you have to contact the rail counter in Ahmedabad station .

The nearest airport to this place is the Ahmedabad international airport which is 11 km from the Ahmedabad city centre and 2nd nearest airport is the Bhabnagar Airport .

You can take, obviously private cab or taxi to reach here from Ahmedabad or Bhabnagar city .

What to see ?

There is mainly two spots to see which are Archiological remains and the Museum .

Near to Lothal there is some another big city ”Dholera ‘ is going to build . This will be modern port city .

Archiological remains :

This port city has been built between 2500 – 1900 BCE . It means it is more than 4500 years old city . At that time It has direct water connection with a river, which meets to Gulf of Cambay. In older days when there is high tide, then ships enter and exit from this port. This reduces silt deposit in the canal which connects to the river . This will enhance the longevity of this port . Some major buildings in this city are

Port :

There is a very big pond like structure situated just in the right side of the main walkway. It is completely made of Burned brick . The port has been in a rectangular shape , where there is inlet to enter the fresh water into it . In older days it has direct connectivity with the river which flows to gulf of cambay . At that time it is one of the face to connect to the outward world of this Harappa civilization . Many coins and seals of outer world are proof , that it has trade connection with the outer world .

Citadel or upper town :

This has been built upon a raised platform , here mainly the upper class and city administrator people lived . There is places for meeting with/of the city administrators . This you can say , the residential place for upper class and also the administrator centre .

Lower Town :

Lower town has been the resendial house for city dweller and the merchants . It is also the market place for the merchants . In this structure have proper drainage system , small streets and some big garbage storage which are still visible . There mainly labour people lived .

cemetry:

There is a cemetery where people are buried after death . The city is expected to have 15000 inhabitants but very few graveyards found in this place which indicates there may be other modes, to decompose dead body . People predict that crematorium may be the major method for after death process .

Potable water well :

There is two potable water well inside the complex to facilitate drinking water . As in this place water is below drinkable condition . This well are made of Burned clay brick .

How this advanced civilization vanished ?

Historians expected by different evidence that repetitive flood have caused immense damage to this civilization . They are forced to scattered around different area nearby. The major problem of this city, It is situated in very low lying area . In the monsoon times, it floods repetitively. This damaged residential houses, humans and livestock. They can’t find any solution for this repetitive flood . That is the major reason , this civilization has been lost

Ticket Price :

For entering the archaeological remains there is no ticket price but to enter the museum there is a ticket price of 10 INR .

Accomodation & Food :

The area is in a village area . Here few population live and have some limited accommodation. For touring this place you have to stay either in Ahmedabad or in Bhavnagar city . In my opinion best to stay in Ahmedabad . As from the city by bus it will not taken more than 2 hour . Here you can get any type of accommodation from a budget Hostel to Luxarious Hotels . For hostels they will charge around 250 – 500 INR and Hotel is according to your budget from 400 – as you wish .

In Ahmedabad and Bhabnagar city , where you stay , can get all types of Indian food like Dhokla , tepla , bhujia , Barapao, paobhaji , jalebi, kachori , sandwich and dosa . For special cousin food you have to search for a specialised restaurant .

Conclusion:

This city has been one of the oldest in the Indus valley civilization . It has been a major port which trade with far distant countries like Egypt , West asian countries , Iran and other African countries by boat . This city have been well planned and city building , port and citadel. But this city was incapable to the destruction to the tropical cyclone and flood . Repetative flood year on year basis caused them to move around . This leads the city inhabitant to move other place than Lothal . This is the story of lothal which is now a museum and collection of some old remains of tho,se time building .

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