Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

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.