Dholavira: A Harappan City

Dholavira: A Harappan City
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Dholavira is an archaeological site that contains ruins of an ancient Indus Valley Civilization/Harappan city.

The fortified city flourished between 3000 and 1800 BCE. It had an efficient water conservation system. Unlike Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, the city was constructed to a pre-existing geometrical plan consisting of three divisions – the citadel, the middle town, and the lower town.

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Site Info

Full Name
Dholavira: A Harappan City
Unesco ID
1645
Country
India
Inscribed
2021
Type
Cultural
Criteria
3 4
Categories
Archaeological site - South (East) Asian
Link
By ID

Site History

2021 Inscribed

2014 Revision

Revised nomination of Dholavira: a Harappan City, Gujarat, Disstt, Kachchh (1998)

Site Links

Unesco Website
Dholavira: A Harappan City
Official Website

Gujarat Tourism website

Locations

The site has 1 locations

Dholavira: A Harappan City

Connections

The site has

Architecture
Cenotaph: The site includes a large cemetery with cenotaphs of six types testifying to the Harappan’s unique view of death. (official description)
Constructions
Cemeteries: The archaeological remains of the city of Dholavira include fortifications, gateways, water reservoirs, ceremonial ground, residential units, workshop areas, and cemetery complex (AB ev)
Stepwells: Bead-workshop, water tanks, a step well, and houses of various stages are found in the Castle (AB ev)
Granaries: and in the southeast part is located a large granary (AB ev)
History
Indus Valley Civilisation: the southern centre of the Harappan Civilization (official description)
Human Activity
Writing systems: Indus Valley script
Stone Quarries: A sandstone quarry from where sandstone was excavated, converted into huge architectural members and even exported to sites such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, several hundred kilometres away
Irrigation and drainage: A sophisticated water management system demonstrates the ingenuity of the Dholavira people (official description)
Erotic art: In India, the earliest such surviving imagery dates from the Harappan times, such as the phallic statues of Dholavira. - “A soft sandstone sculpture of a male with phallus erectus but head and feet below ankle truncated was found in the passageway of the eastern gate.” (it’s unclear whether phallic sculptures still can be seen on site today)
Timeline
Built in the 3rd Millennium BC: dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE (AB ev)

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