All you need to know about Dholavira, UNESCO’s new World Heritage site

Dholavira city in Gujarat, which got inscribed as the UNESCO  World Heritage Site on Tuesday, is a Harrapan-period prime city spread over 100 hectares on Khadir, one of the islands in the white Rann of Kutch. (Kutch desert)

 Dholavira, which is counted among the five best cities of one of the most civilized era known, is located about 250 km from Bhuj. It has two seasonal streams, Mansar and Manhar, and the journey to the site takes one through the wildlife-rich desert plains of Rann of Kutch.

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The property just like many other Harrapan sites comprises two parts, a walled city and a cemetery to its west, a government release said.

According to the release, the city of Dholaivira flourished for over 1500 years. 

Archeological Survey of India on Dholavira

According to an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted excavations, the site has seen the rise and fall of the Indus Valley Civilisation. This has been identified by the seven cultural stages observed at the site.

 The city, as per ASI note, is also remarkable for its planning and architecture. Among the marvels in Dholavira are the remains of two open-air stadiums and a water harvesting system.

Indus Valley civilisation is considered one of the most developed and upgraded civilisations by historians.

“The salient components of the full-grown cityscape consisted of a bipartite ‘citadel’, a ‘middle town’ and a ‘lower town’, two ‘stadia’, an ‘annexe’, a series of reservoirs all set within an enormous fortification running on all four sides,” said the ASI note.

UNESCO on Dholavira

“One of the most remarkable and well-preserved urban settlements in South Asia dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE,’ said a press release from UNESCO.

When was Dholavira discovered

According to UNESCO, Dholavira was discovered in the year 1968 by archeologist JP Joshi. He said Dholavira was the fifth largest city of the Harrapan valley.

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What is so special about Dholavira?

What sets Dholavira apart is its commendable water management system, multi-layered defensive mechanisms, extensive use of stone in construction, and special burial structures, as per UNESCO.

The art associated with Dholavira is also a focus point for historians and visitors. During the excavations, artefacts made of copper, stone, jewellery of terracotta, gold and ivory have been found.

The ASI said that initial stages of the civilisation show the inhabitants’ preference for colourful clay for plastering buildings, but this came to an “abrupt end…as if under a royal decree or by a resolute public consensus”.