Lothal

Before the emergence of Harappan culture in the XXIII century BC. e. ^[7] Lothal was a small settlement in which archaeologists discovered copper and ceramic objects, as well as objects made of semiprecious stones and beads. Residents of Lothal traded in beads with residents of western settlements. The latter, attracted by the presence of a protected bay, as well as cotton and rice plantings, infiltrated Lothal and assimilated the local population. ^[eight]

Before the arrival of the settlers from Harappa, Lothal did not have much development. Then there was a sharp increase and the city acquired important port and commercial knowledge. ^[9]

Modern archeology confirms that Lothal was a major trading center, standing by a large river system, on a trade route from Sindh to the Saurashtra region . During excavations, the largest collection of antiquities in the archeology of modern India was found. This is the only object of Indian culture that represents all periods and manifestations of civilization. There are two periods in the development of the city. The first is between 2400-1900 BC. e.

The second is the period of the collapse of Indian civilization, with the formation of two centers - Mohenjo Daro and Harappa . During this period, Lothal continued to flourish. But in the end, the constant tropical storms and floods associated with them caused too serious damage that destabilized the development of the city and led to its decline. Topographic analysis indicates that in the final stretch, before the final extinction, Lothal suffered from drought and a general weakening of monsoon precipitation . Archaeologists conclude that it was climate change that caused the decline.

Remote sensing and topographic studies published by Indian scientists in the Journal of the Union of Indian Geophysicists in 2004 showed an ancient, winding river adjacent to Lothal, 30 kilometers (19 miles) long, from satellite imagery — an ancient extension of the northern tributary of the Bhogavo River. It was a source of fresh water for residents. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

City planning, urban planning

As a result of the flood around 2350 BC. e., which destroyed most of the city buildings, the Harappans redesigned and rebuilt the settlement. ^[13]

The city was divided into a citadel (or acropolis ) and a lower city. In the acropolis, the prominent features of which were public baths, wells, as well as underground and above-ground water channels from burnt bricks, the ruler lived.

The lower city, in turn, was divided into a commercial and residential part. The border was the main street that ran from north to south. In the trading part there were shops of merchants and artisans. The residential part was divided into quarters, each of which was located on a platform with a height of 1-2 meters. The platforms were made of mud bricks, contained 20-30 brick houses and were supposed to protect buildings from flooding.

A canal was dug on the eastern outskirts of the city, with a shipyard and a warehouse installed on a platform 3.5 m high. ^[14] The canal was connected to a river that flowed into the sea. This engineering object is recognized by archaeologists as one of the most difficult, carried out at that time. Its removal from the river flow is due to protection from siltation - during the monsoon climate, floods are seasonal and permanent. The dock also provided access to ships at low tide.

The length of the pier is 220 meters. a ramp from the pier led to the warehouse. In the process of organizing flood protection, the residents of Lothal made a number of engineering inaccuracies that were not taken into account and corrected in time. It also caused subsequent flood problems. Moreover, all structures related to water protection - the dock, pier, warehouse, were made of burnt bricks, lime and sand, and not of sun-dried raw bricks. As a result, even after 4000 years, the bricks remained intact, as they are still bonded to each other with a mortar.

Lothal masons laid brick in the same way as modern bricks: the joint of two bricks fell exactly in the middle of the brick in the next row. However, two meters to each side of the current entrance, this principle was violated, as if someone later added new sections to narrow the clearance.

The unified organization of the city, speaks of the existence of standards to which all residents and builders obeyed. The width of the streets for a long period of time remained constant. In the courtyards of the houses there were special settlers for solid fractions of waste, so that the general sewage would not clog. Periodic spills of rivers washed away the garbage and dirt that were taken out of the cesspools.

Most of the samples, for measuring weight, length, were of the same standard, including trade seals, with images of animals and other motifs. Metal tools also had a single manufacturing standard. ^{[15] [16] [17] [10] [18]}

Economics

Port of Lothal - a thriving trading center of ancient times, the oldest and main port of Indian civilization ^[7] - was located on the shores of the Gulf of Kambey , north of modern Bombay . ^[19] . He connected the city with the ancient course of the Sabarmati River , which was part of the trade route between the cities of the Harappan civilization in Sindh and the Saurashastra Peninsula ( Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa ). At this time, the Kach ( Kuch ) desert surrounding the peninsula today was covered by the waters of the Arabian Sea .

In addition, ships loaded with precious stones and jewelry, etc., that kept their way to the ports of western Asia ( Sumer ) and Africa ( Ancient Egypt ) came out of Lothal. During excavations in Sumer, a piece of fabric with a print of the Harappan seal was found. Trade with Sumer was probably carried out through Bahrain, where things similar to Harappa were also found.

Lothal produced bronze weapons, fishing hooks, spears and jewelry.

The main imports were copper, limestone and semiprecious stones. The export items were jewelry, gems, ivory and shells.

Archaeological evidence indicates natural disasters that led to the decline and subsequent serious redevelopment of the city. As a result of a powerful flood, most of the houses were destroyed, platforms and walls were badly damaged. The Acropolis - the center of the city, was essentially abolished between 2000 - 1900 BC. and inhabited by ordinary merchants who settled in simple houses. Also, as a result of the flood, the river changed its course and began to flow elsewhere, this cut off access to ships and access to the open sea. A new but not deep canal was built to connect the river with the dock. This channel was enough for the passage of small vessels, they fell into the pool in front of the dock. Large ships waited in the distance, not passing through the canal.

The restored houses already had a lower quality of construction, the debris from the flood was not completely cleaned, which caused new damage to the walls and foundations. The city refused public sewage, each yard has its own pit for collecting waste. The general decline in administrative resources affected the storage of grain stocks. It was no longer stored in the central barn. They began to store it in wooden buildings and under awnings, which caused accelerated spoilage of products, and the risk of fires increased.

Trade volumes fell, resources declined. There was a folding of small craft workshops. Artisans began to work on several large owners. Hundreds of artisans were already working for a salary and simply received resources for work and instructions from the owner. So, at one of the enterprises more than a hundred people worked, there were 10 living rooms and a large yard for work. Copper production was enlarged, one of the owners had five smelters at the same time, so that work would go faster. ^{[20] [21]}

As a result of the introduction of sea water, during the flood period, the level of salt in the soil increased, which complicated agriculture. As a result of this disaster in 1900 BC, many settlements located in the region of Saurashtra, Sindh , South Gujarat and the upper Indus and Sutlej suffered . The population fled from hunger and problems to inland areas. ^[22]

Later development of Lothal, suggests that the city was not completely abandoned, but was significantly reduced in terms of population and importance. People have lost the city level and become rural residents. Few residents did not repair the city infrastructure, but at the same time maintained and supported the religious rites of the past period, while living in simple houses and reed huts. Partly preserved writing, methods of making ceramics and utensils in general. In the same period, archaeologists record a massive movement of refugees from Punjab and Sindh to Saurashtra and the Sarasvati valley - between 1900 - 1700 BC. Migration data was no longer an urban culture at the level of Indian civilization .

Literacy plummeted, the economy simplified, people were poor. However, the system for measuring weight - 8.573 grams, was not lost. As a result, between 1700 - 1600 BC, trade went up. In Lothal, ceramic products were made from local materials. Instead of flint , chalcedony began to be used. The sophisticated drawing style of the past gave way to simple wavy lines, loops and branches. Bead production has been preserved, mastered and developed in Lothal - when the bead blank was first processed in an oven and then the desired shapes and sizes of beads were cut

Decline Period

After the fading away of key cities of the Harappan civilization , Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, Lothal not only survived, but continued to flourish for some time. Nevertheless, constant tropical storms and floods (for example, in 1900 BC) ^[23] , which caused significant destruction, ultimately led to the destabilization of local culture and to the neglect of the settlement; in the soil salted with sea water the crop ceased to ripen. In addition, due to the rising water level in the river, residents lost the opportunity to use the pier. ^{[24] A} topographic analysis shows that by the time the city was abandoned, it was suffering from drought or a decrease in monsoon rainfall. Thus, the cause of the desolation of the city could be climate change and natural disasters.

Urban Culture

The inhabitants of Lothal created the most ancient realistic portraiture in the form of drawings and sculptures. Local scientists used a compass, divided the horizon into 8-12 parts, studied the motion of stars for navigation.

• SR Rao, Lothal (published by the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India , 1985)
• AS Khadikar, N. Basaviah, TK Gundurao and C. Rajshekhar Paleoenvironments around the Harappan port of Lothal, Gujarat, western India, in Journal of the Indian Geophysicists Union (2004)
• Lawrence S. Leshnik, The Harappan "Port" at Lothal: Another View American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 70, No. 5 (Oct., 1968), pp. 911-922
• Robert Bradnock, Rajasthan and Gujarat Handbook: The Travel Guide ISBN 1-900949-92-X
• SR Rao, Lothal and the Indus Civilization ISBN 0-210-22278-6
• SR Rao, Lothal: A Harappan Port Town (1955-1962) (Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India) ASIN: B0006E4EAC
• Sir John Marshall, Mohenjo-daro and Indus Civilization I — III (1932)
• Dennys Frenez & Maurizio Tosi The Lothal Sealings: Records from an Indus Civilization Town at the Eastern End of the Maritime Trade Circuits across the Arabian Sea , in M. Perna (Ed.), Studi in Onore di Enrica Fiandra. Contributi di archeologia egea e vicinorientale, Naples 2005, pp. 65-103.
• SP Gupta (ed.), The Lost Sarasvati and the Indus Civilization (1995), Kusumanjali Prakashan, Jodhpur
• Jonathan Mark Kenoyer , Ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilization (1998) Oxford University Press , ISBN 0-19-577940-1

• Pictures of Lothal Remains
• Lothal
• A walk through lothal
• Lothal and mohenjodaro
• An invitation to the Indus Civilization (Tokyo Metropolitan Museum)
• Ancient Civilizations Timeline
• The harappan civilization
• Indus artefacts
• Cache of Seal Impressions Discovered in Western India
• Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization (neopr.) . Archived January 1, 2007.
• Collection of images