Lothal

After Partition at Independence in 1947, India found that both of the, then known, great sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC – I am using the phrase to cover all of the periods across which the relevant sites developed/declined), whose very existence had only been established as recently as 1924 i.e. Moenjodaro and Harappa, had finished up in Pakistan! There is much academic (and “nationalistic”) debate about the contribution of the IVC to later “Indian culture” but a combination of myth and reality means that India sees it much as Egypt and Greece regard their respective “founding civilizations” - except that India had been “cut off” from its “foundation” sites! To rectify this, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) set about trying to discover further IVC sites within its new boundaries. Efforts were concentrated in the area of Gujarat, south east of the Indus valley. In 1954, a significant success was recorded with the discovery of a “city” which could be shown to have “belonged” to the IVC. This became known as “Lothal” ( = “Mound of the Dead” after the burials found there. Was it merely a "coincidence" that "Moenjodaro" means the same???).

Subsequently, a number of other sites associated with the IVC were discovered within India - the most important being Dholavira in 1967 (situated some 350kms NW of Lothal very close to the Pakistan frontier). India placed both these sites on its T List in 2014 - separately!! Meanwhile Pakistan had actually gained …

Visited in May 2015.

Some practical information:

It is possible to visit Lothal on a day trip from Ahmedabad using public transportation but it is really a very tiring trip, you have to take at least two buses (to Bodgara and then the local bus to Anrej) to and walk the remaining 4 kilometers under the sun. A taxi for the whole trip (return) will cost you around 25 euros.

The entrance fee is only 5 rupiees.

Take plenty of water - no shops around.

You should use a lot of imagination to see the Harappian port town in what's remaining...

Spend some time in the little museum where you can get some info about Indus Valley civilization... Bad thing is that you cannot take pictures inside and they do not sell any books about the site. Ask for a leaflet in English 'cos no official guides who can show you around...

In general - the trip is worth and rewarding if you keep in mind that the ruins used to be the only port serving the whole Indus civilization.

And the seals and perforated jars - are something really stunning.