Introduction:
Lothal was a part of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. It is located at Saragwala Village, Dholka Taluka of Ahmedabad district. The ancient city was situated to the South East of the Harappan region.
The site was excavated by SR Rao from the Archaeological Survey of India in the 1950s. It is roughly estimated that the Harappans arrived on the site during 2400 BC. At the time, the region was already occupied by the indigenous people who engaged with few distinctive types of ceramics.
An Approximate Extent of the Indus Valley Civilization
The entire river valley civilization followed similar planning principles. So most of the Harappan cities exhibited common, salient features. However, the purpose of each town within the civilization differed based on its geographical location and its ecological features.
Urban Layout and Features
Lothal - City Layout
The city layout is roughly rectangular with a grid planning system. It is spatially situated in between two (ancient) rivers. It was oriented based on cardinal directions. The site extent was about 7-10 hectares, and was bound by an extensively wide mud brick wall. This wall parallelly served as a platform for multiple activities - including for handling cargo from the dockyard, located on the eastern edge of the city. The warehouse lies within this proximity.
The township included an entrance from the South Wall. The layout was divided into two parts: The storage area and the town. The two zones were confluenced by a slightly raised citadel. All the zones were interconnected by an efficient, concealed drainage system. The water system was constructed using kiln-fired bricks.
The Citadel
One of the traditional features common to the Harappan towns is the presence of an elevated zone. This quadrant is built on a 7 m high podium, which forms the citadel. The citadel includes a few large brick structures.
The Brick Structures
The brick structures also included a few smaller cubicles whose purpose is assumed as ritualistic or religious. Some other structures include fire kiln brick paved bathrooms.
Reservoir/ Dockyard
One of the features culturally unique to this city was the large, slightly trapezoidal reservoir. This was an unusually early and sophisticated port installation in Western Asia. It was constructed of baked bricks, with a spillover channel to its south. It is assumed that this was a dockyard where small seafaring boats anchored. Considering its geographical location and the dockyard feature, Lothal may have also been involved in naval trade.
Lower Town
This part of the town includes the residences and workshops. These units were laid as blocks and were aligned with one another through networks of streets and lanes. Overall, the widest street was about 12 m and the narrowest was 3.6 m
The workshops included those of faience and stone bead manufacturers, copper smiths, shell cutters and potters. The town contributed extensively towards craft & manufacturing.
Urban Life & Culture as a Port & Trade City
Settlement Hierarchy:
It is observed that despite its proximity to water resources, the town layout does not include space for agriculture. This is because smaller towns and villages at the hinterlands of Lothal ensured agricultural production and raw material supply for production including metal ore, semi precious stones, timber, firewood, and cotton weaving. These smaller settlements contributed immensely to the survival of Lothal as a trade-based town.
Spaces for Production & Exchange:
Since the town was specifically based on the manufacture and possibly, the export of craft products, the town layout included accommodation for the factory workers. This is substantiated by the yield of remains such as fire - alters, crucibles and other raw materials.
Remnants of Workshops - Fire Alter (L) and a Pot Furnace (R)
One of the main streets were characterized by shops on both sides. This street was identified as the 'Bazaar Street'. The main streets were also aligned towards the warehouse, which possibly made the transfer of the craft goods easier.
Social Hierarchy & Urban Features:
The urban layout easily concludes a democratic society. Most of the residential blocks have been planned compact and uniformly and mostly of similar areas.
A typical depiction of urban life in a Harappan City
During the phase of economic prosperity at Lothal, the new residential blocks were planned with a bigger area. Some houses had 4-6 rooms, bathrooms, a large courtyard, and verandah. The streets were paved with mud-brick, with layer of gravel on top.
Crafts:
Cotton Textiles - Lothal produced cotton. So it was involved in the manufacture and exports of textiles.
Pottery was another craft practiced. Its design was unique to civilization and within each region that it produced. This depended on the ecology and food customs of each region.
Pots unearthed at Lothal
Shell Works - Situated close to the coast, there were many crafts based with shells. This includes bangle and equipment making, such as ladles.
Shell Ladle
Jewellery Work - This included jewellery made of carnelian beads; lapis lazuli beads and copper, terracotta, shell work and stone ware bangles.
Lothal's Significance in the Indus Valley Civilization
Location:
Lothal had a strategic location - for inland transport and was also connected to the mainland coast through the river systems. This was the only main Harappan City located at proximity to the coast equipped with a dockyard. This suggests that Lothal was a trading point for not just itself, but contributed as one of the coastal trade points for the entire civilization.
Communication & Relations within the Civilization:
The Harappan Civilization covered an enormous area within which there was great ecological variety - alluvial plains, mountains, plateaus and sea coasts. Hence, local trade and exchange of raw materials took place through localized routes.
Common local features included town planning, trade practices, systems of weights & measures, currency, art & crafts, culture and belief systems.
Global Trade Exchange:
Ancient civilizations mainly emerged along river valleys. The ancient trade routes connected these cities. The trade route expanse included (from West to East) the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and the Indus Valley Civilizations and many other cities in between, that are now archaeological sites. Carnelian Beads, Lapis Lazuli, Textiles & Chlorite Vessels were some of the major goods exchanged.
Jewellery Exports
Many of these were branded with Indus Inscriptions. These inscriptions were unique to the civilization and lost as they were undeciphered. Lothal bead makers had developed advanced methods to work with carnelian. Lothal was also a major trade point within the ancient route, for the civilization. Although, there are also instances of other coastal cities in the civilization contributing as well.
Lothal - A Speculative Representation
The above map finally speculates an imaginative representation of the port city based on SR Rao's excavation and exploration and narratives related to the Indus Valley Civilizations
Complementary Literature & Resources:
Danino, M. (2010). The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati. Penguin India.
Gates, C. (2011). Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Limited, D. K., Staff, D. K. P., Dorling Kindersley (Firme)., & Snow, P. (2018). History of the World Map by Map. Dorling Kindersley Limited.
McKintosh, J. (2008). The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives. ABC-CLIO, California.
Habib, I. & Aligarh Historians Society. (2002). The Indus Civilization. Tulika Books, New Delhi.
*Photos have been sourced through self and above listed books.