Gujarat

Although today the coast of South Asia extends southeast from Las Bela, in Harappan times the Indus River debouched into what is now the Ranns of Kutch, and its delta was far less developed; at the same time sealevels were higher, with the result that the coast in Harappan times ran east from around Karachi before turning south around what is now the mouth of the Luni River. The Ranns of Kutch were open water, probably at least 4 meters deep, and Kutch was an island. Saurashtra was attached to the mainland by a far narrower neck of land than today, and this was probably flooded for part or all of the year. The Gulf of Khambat was wider than today and ran farther inland.

In Harappan times, therefore, Gujarat had an extensive coastline. Many coastal settlements in Gujarat, such as Pabumath, were anchorages for fishing vessels and probably for seagoing trading ships. As in more recent times, port settlements, such as Kuntasi, were often located at the mouths of rivers or slightly inland along them. The best-known is Lothal, near the Sabarmati River. In the third millennium, a river channel, now dry, flowed along the west side of the settlement and was navigable to the Gulf of Khambat; since Harappan times, however, the estuary of the Sabarmati and the associated coast have been extended by heavy silt deposition, and today Lothal is 12 miles from the sea.

Though a small town, Lothal was a major industrial center, with two bead workshops, a copper smithy, shell and ivory workshops, and kilns. Some workshops produced goods of local materials for distribution to other parts of the Indus realms, while other products may have been for overseas trade. As discussed earlier, Lothal was a gateway settlement through which goods and

Materials from neighboring hunter-gatherer and farming groups were channeled into the Harappan internal trade network, in exchange for Harappan manufactured goods.

A large brick basin was constructed along the eastern side of the town, This was thought by its excavator, S. R. Rao, to have been a dock into which boats, up to 20 meters long and 6 meters wide, could have come to unload. The basin is around 22 by 37 meters and 4-4.5 meters deep, revetted with a thick wall built of baked brick, four bricks thick. The basin's sides are vertical, and there are no steps giving access to the basin. A channel entering the north of the basin through a wide gap linked it to the river estuary at high tide, and in the basin's south was another channel that Rao interpreted as an outlet or spillway: Grooves show that this was originally fitted with sluice gates. There was also a broad shallow gap in the southern end of the east side; this might have been an additional spillway, although it is also possible that it resulted from later brick robbing given that the edges are irregular. Rao interpreted the gap as a later entrance into the basin, although this is problematic. Postholes along the side of the basin may once have held mooring posts.

A view of the basin at Lothal, commonly known as the dock. It undoubtedly held water, probably seawater given that marine shells have been found in it; it had an inlet channel linking it with the river flowing past the settlement and an outlet channel with a sluice gate. Little else can be said about it with certainty and its purpose has yet to be convincingly established. (Namit Arora)

Serious objections have been raised to the interpretation of this basin as a dock; for example, the approach channel, which turns twice through 90 degrees, seems excessively awkward, and the positioning of the dock on the opposite side of the town from the river also seems to create needless access difficulties. Several scholars have suggested that the basin could have been a reservoir for drinking water or for irrigation, and others have countered this with the valid objections that its water would have been contaminated by the town's drains, one of which flowed into the basin, and that the local water supplies were perfectly adequate for agriculture, without a special reservoir. Marine shells have been found in the basin, indicating that it was filled with seawater. The purpose of the basin therefore remains a mystery. Modern practices in the region suggest that docks were probably unnecessary: Vessels could be drawn up on beaches or could anchor in shallow water at high tide over mudflats, from which they could be unloaded when the tide went out. Boats unloading at inland ports could be drawn up by the riverbank with basic moorings or at most a simple quay: For instance, a sloping quay was used at the port of Kuntasi. Large vessels could be moored offshore and their cargos conveyed to land in smaller boats.

A possible alternative function suggested itself to me when reading about the problems of beaching ships to repair them (Ray 2003). It is perhaps possible that the Lothal basin was a dry dock. It was located on the opposite side of the town from the river and was therefore protected from tidal surges, and it had inlet and outlet sluices that would have enabled users to control the flow of water into and out of the basin. A ship could have been floated into the basin, the water drained, the repairs made, and water allowed back in to refloat the vessel. This is a preliminary hypothesis at present as I have not yet had the opportunity to investigate its feasibility.

However, there is no doubt that, even without a dock, Lothal was engaged in trade. A substantial warehouse was found in the citadel area of the town immediately adjacent to the "dock." This consisted of a podium with a checkerboard originally of sixty-four square mud brick blocks (of which twelve remain), separated by narrow aisles, probably originally with a roof of perishable material. This building was destroyed by fire at some point in its career, preserving some of the contents. Around seventy burned clay tags were found in this building, with the imprint of cloth, cords (including knots), or matting on their backs, evidence of the packages to which they had originally been fastened. A seal had been impressed on the front of these tags; twelve bore the impression of the same seal, and the majority bore the unicorn device, suggesting official control of the materials stored there. None of the seals found in Lothal had been used on these sealings, which implies that the packages had been sealed elsewhere before being brought to Lothal. The twelve impressions of the same seal suggest either a very substantial shipment from a single source or a regular consignment of goods from a single source over a period of time.

One substantial house in the settlement was identified by Rao as perhaps belonging to a merchant. It contained two seals, eight gold pendants, and some sherds of Reserved Slip ware.

Kuntasi (Bibi-no-Timbo), a smaller settlement on the opposite side of Saurashtra from Lothal, has also been identified as a port. It is situated in an area of poor agricultural potential and limited freshwater, indicating that its location was dictated by other criteria. In the Harappan period, it was on a tidal creek and accessible from the sea at high tide. Anchorstones were found on the surface of the site before excavation and others within the settlement. A rectangular stone platform was identified as a jetty. Beside this was an industrial complex, including copper-working furnaces and kilns for firing beads and pottery. Beyond lay rooms that may have been used for storage, some with clay bins. The settlement had a strong stone fortification wall with a substantial gateway and a watchtower overlooking the river. A number of large houses with courtyards were excavated inside the settlement, and there was probably other housing outside the walls. Among the finds from Kuntasi were Harappan weights, implying commercial activity. An uninscribed stamp seal bearing a geometric pattern was found in the storage area of the industrial complex. This unusual seal was apparently similar to one known from an early context at Harappa. The unusual quantity of beads of lapis lazuli found in this settlement probably reflects its role in overseas trade given that lapis lazuli was a material not much used by the Harappans themselves but an important

A number of these circular stones with a central perforation were found in or beside the “dock” at Lothal and are often interpreted as anchors. This is possible, although similar stones were used as architectural elements in Harappan cities. (Namit Arora)

Harappan export to Mesopotamia. It has also been suggested that Kuntasi was a trading center for materials collected by local hunter-gatherers. Kuntasi was therefore similar to Lothal in many ways, though on a smaller scale. The excavator, Dhavalikar, would date the beginning of Kuntasi's role as a port and industrial center to the period 2200-2000 BCE. A land route may have connected Kuntasi with Lothal via Rangpur.

A number of the settlements in Gujarat were heavily fortified. In part this may reflect the local use of stone in architecture; however, as in the case of the coastal sites in Makran, it may also reflect the position of the region at the interface between the Harappan polity and the outside world, necessitating at least security and at worst defensibility. A stone warehouse was reported at Prabhas Patan, a coastal settlement at the mouth of the Hiran River in Saurashtra. Desalpur, a small settlement in Kutch, had a stone and rubble wall and may have been a port. Surkotada, also on Kutch and inland from Pabumath, was a small settlement raised on an earthen platform, surrounded by a substantial mud and mud brick wall with rubble facing, bastions, and an elaborate gateway. Both Desalpur and Surkotada appeared to lack most of the aspects of a town and are more likely to have been settlements designed mainly as strongholds.

Many of the other sites in Kutch were also fortified. The most impressive is the city of Dholavira, situated on Khadir Island in what is now the Ranns of Kutch. This grew from a small town with a substantial brick and stone wall into a city of at least 60 hectares, which was a center for craft production, including metal working and the manufacture of beads, pottery, and shell artifacts. The meager local water sources were inadequate to supply the residents so huge rockcut water tanks were constructed. Its unfavourable location for water and for agriculture suggests that the economic justification for its location lay elsewhere: it was probably related to trade, internal communications, and industry since it was well placed to control overseas trade, communications between Gujarat and the rest of the Harappan realm, and the channelling of gemstones and beads, shells and shell products, ivory and other produce of Gujarat into the internal distribution network.