Lothal, Archaeological site from Indus Valley Civilization in Gujarat, India
Lothal is an archaeological site from the Indus Valley Civilization in Ahmedabad district, Gujarat. The layout shows foundations of brick houses, a rectangular dockyard area, and channels that once diverted water from a nearby river.
The town arose around 2400 BCE at the confluence of two rivers and developed into a trading port. Excavations in the 1950s uncovered seals, weights, and pottery that document connections to distant regions.
The name means "mound of the dead" in Gujarati and refers to the centuries when no one suspected what lay beneath the earth. Today visitors can see remains of workshops where craftsmen polished beads and worked copper.
The terrain is mostly flat and easy to walk when the weather is dry. The adjacent museum displays finds and provides explanations about daily life in the port settlement.
Researchers found remains of rice husks that count among the oldest evidence of rice cultivation in the region. The dockyard used a system of sluices that regulated water level with changing tides.
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