Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India

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ARCHAEOLOGY

Harappan in Period B, the former datable

2350 B.C. to 1900 B.C. and the latter 1900

B.C. to 1600 B.C. Three are four structural

phases in Period A and one in Period B

with subphases in both. Before the Har-

appans arrived Lothal was a small port

without a dock. Its bead-making industry

attracted the Harappans from Sind. The

Harappans must have had a blueprint be-

fore dividing the town into industrial, com-

mercial, and residential sectors of the

Lower Town which was separated from

the Acropolis on the one hand and the

dockyard on the other. The cemetery was

located outside the town beyond the pe-

ripheral protective wall which served as

the first line of defence against recurring

floods. Among the 8 major blocks into

which the town was divided it was desig-

nated Block A through Block H. For con-

venience Block A in the North formed the Bazaar, and Block B the

Acropolis in the South where the ruler and his entourage lived. The

warehouse, on a 4m high platform was built in a strategic position

close to the dock and ruler’s mansion.

The Dock

: At Lothal, the dock is 210m X 35m with a brick wharf

for handling cargo. The prosperity of the Lothal port and its indus-

tries depended on the dock in the construction of which the engi-

neers took greatest care after studying the effect of tides, waves

and currents on such a structure. The ships were sluiced into the

basin at high tide through a 12m wide inlet channel built in the

northern embankment. The river and the tidal range being 10m or

more 4000 years ago, the vessels could safely sail up the river

Bhogavo and get berthed in the Lothal dock which is larger than the

modern dock at Visakhapatnam port on the East Coast of India.

Automatic desilting of the basin of the dock was ensured by pro-

viding an outlet in the spillway which had a lock-gate system in the

southern embankment. The maximum draft in the enclosed brick-

walled basin was 4m at high tide and the minimum 2m at low tide

when the gate was closed. This device ensured manoevurability of

ships. N.K. Panikkar and T.M. Srinivasan observe, “The Lothal

dock being purely a tidal one, the Lothal engineers must have

possessed an adequate knowledge of the tidal effect, the ampli-

tude, erosion and thrust. From this knowledge they developed

competence at Lothal for receiving ships. This is perhaps the

earliest example of the knowledge of tidal phenomenon being put to

a highly practical purpose both in the selection of the site having the

highest tidal amplitude and in adopting a method of operation for

entry and exits of ships". O.H. Oza, Director of Ports of Gujarat

State, has noted that “at Lothal the walls are suitable as dock

walls. An artificial enclosure was constructed for shipping for com-

fortable working of cargo and safety of boats”. The scientists of

the National Institute of Oceanography have found the presence of

the micro organism

Foraminifera

in the samples collected from the

floor of the basin of the dock. This organism as well as gypsum

present in the sediment suggest that the sea water used

to enter the basin. Hence the possibility of the structure

having served as a tank for storing potable water should

be ruled out.

Acropolis

The Acropolis in Block B where the ruler lived was the

seat of power. He enjoyed all the civic amenities which

were extended to the people living in the Lower Town

also. For example the main underground sewers connect-

ing the private bathrooms through runnels carried the

waste to the basin of the dock wherefrom it was washed

away at high tide into the river which discharged into the

Gulf of Cambay. There were manholes, to clean the

underground drains and the wooden screens at the mouth

of the sewers to hold back solid waste, if any, from enter-

ing the cesspool connected to the dock. The high civic

sense of the citizens and the efficient administration of

the town together helped in keeping the town perfectly

clean.