List of Indus Valley Civilisation sites

The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Harappan Civilisation, was a major early civilisation, existing from 3300–1300 BCE. It covered much of modern-day Pakistan and northwest India, as well as possessing at least one trading colony in northeast Afghanistan.[1] Over 1400 Indus Valley civilisation sites have been discovered,[2] of which 925 sites are in India and 475 in Pakistan.[3][4] Only 40 sites on the Indus valley had been discovered in the pre-Partition era[5] by archaeologists.

The most widely known Indus Valley sites are Mohenjo-daro and Harappa; Mohenjo-daro is located in modern-day Sindh, while Harappa is in Pakistani Punjab.[6] in British India, around 1,100 (80%) sites are located on the plains between the rivers Ganges and Indus.[3] The oldest-known site of the Indus Valley Civilization, Bhirrana,[7] and the largest site, Rakhigarhi,[8] are located in the Indian state of Haryana. More than 90% of the inscribed objects and seals that were discovered were found at ancient urban centres along the Indus river in Pakistan, mainly in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.[9][10] More than 50 IVC burial sites have been found, including at Rakhigarhi (first site with genetic testing), Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Farmana, Kalibangan, Lothal, Dholavira, Mehrgarh, Banawali, Alamgirpur and Chanhudaro .[11]

List of Indus Valley sites

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Indus Valley Civilisation discoveries
Year Site District Province/state Country Image Excavations/findings
Alamgirpur Meerut District Uttar Pradesh India Impression of cloth on trough
Allahdino Karachi district Sindh Pakistan Floor tiles of a house have been discovered at this site[12]
Amri, Sindh Dadu District Sindh Pakistan Remains of rhinoceros
Babar Kot Saurashtra, Rajula Gujarat India A stone fortification wall,[13] plant remains of millets and gram.[13][14]
Balu, Haryana Kaithal Haryana India Earliest evidence of garlic.[15] Several plant remains were found here include various types of barley, wheat, rice, horse gram, green gram, various types of a pea, sesamum, melon, watermelon, grapes, dates, garlic, etc. (Saraswat and Pokharia - 2001-2)[13] which is comparable to a nearby IVC site Kunal, Haryana revealed remains of rice (probably wild).
1974[16] Banawali Fatehabad District Haryana India Excavated in 1973 by RS Bisht.

Located alongside the Saraswati River. This area contains evidence of both pre-Harappan and Harappan culture as well as high-quality barley. Barley, terracotta figure of plough

Bargaon Saharanpur District[17] Uttar Pradesh India
Baror Sri Ganganagar district Rajasthan India Human skeleton, ornaments, five-meter-long and three-meter clay oven, a pitcher filled with 8,000 pearls[18]
Bet Dwarka Devbhoomi Dwarka district Gujarat India Late Harappan seal, inscribed jar, the mould of coppersmith, a copper fishhook[19][20]
Bhagatrav Bharuch District Gujarat India
Bhirrana Fatehabad District Haryana India Graffiti of a dancing girl on pottery, which resembles a dancing girl statue found at Mohenjo-Daro
1931[21] Chanhudaro Nawabshah District Sindh Pakistan 1931; excavated by NG Majumdar

Located in Sindh, Pakistan, on the banks of the Indus River. With no citadel, it is merely an Indus site. Excavated items include bronze statues of bullock carts and ekkas as well as a small jar that appears to be a kink well. Bead making factory, use of lipstick,[22] only Indus site without a citadel

Chapuwala Cholistan Punjab Pakistan unexcavated 9.6 hectares[23]
Daimabad Ahmadnagar District Maharashtra India bronze sculpture A sculpture of a bronze chariot, 45 cm long and 16 cm wide, yoked to two oxen, driven by a man 16 cm high standing in it; and three other bronze sculptures.[24] Southernmost IVC site in India, Late Harappan Phase
Desalpur in Nakhtrana Taluka, Kutch District Gujarat India Massive stone fortification, Harappan pottery, three script bearing seals; one of steatite, one of copper and one of terracotta.[25]
1985[16] Dholavira Kutch District Gujarat India Water reservoir, Dholavira Excavated in 1967–1968 by JP Joshi.

Located in the Gujarati district of Kachchh on the banks of the Luni River. Here are traces of a stadium, a special water management system, and the Harappan inscription. Figure of chariot tied to a pair of bullocks and driven by a nude human, Water harvesting and number of reservoirs, use of rocks for constructions, wooden "signboard" with Indus characters found in a gatehouse

Farmana Rohtak District Haryana India Largest burial site of IVC, with 65 burials, found in India
Ganweriwala Punjab Pakistan Equidistant from both Harappa and Mohenjodaro, it is near a dry bed of the former Ghaggar River. It is a site of almost the same size as Mahenjo-daro. It may have been the third major center in the IVC as it is near to the copper-rich mines in Rajasthan.
Gola Dhoro kutch district Gujarat India Production of shell bangles, semi-precious beads, etc.
1921[16] Harappa Sahiwal District Punjab Pakistan Miniature votive images or toy models from Harappa, ca. 2500. Hand-modeled terra-cotta figurines with polychromy 1921–1923, Daya Ram Sahni conducted the excavation.

Located in Punjab's Montgomery district on the banks of the Ravi River (Pakistan).[21] Excavations have been done at Cemetry-37 and Stone Dancing Natraja. The first town to be thoroughly excavated and examined is a major Indus Valley Civilisation settlement with granaries, coffin burials, and a plethora of artefacts.

Hisar mound inside Firoz Shah Palace Hisar District Haryana India Unexcavated site
Hulas Saharanpur District Uttar Pradesh India
Juni Kuran Kutch District Gujarat India fortified citadel, lower town, public gathering area[26]
Jognakhera Kurukshetra Haryana India Copper smelting furnaces with copper slag and pot shards[27]
Kaj Gir Somnath District Gujarat India Ceramic artifacts, including bowls. Ancient port.[28][29]
Kanjetar Gir Somnath District Gujarat India Single phase Harapppan site.[28][29]
1953[16] Kalibangan Hanumangarh District Rajasthan India 1961 saw the excavation by BB Lal.

Located alongside the Ghaggar River There has been evidence of a ploughed field, a wooden furrow, seven fire altars, camel bones, and two different kinds of burials (rectangular and circular graves). Baked/burnt bangles, fire altars,[citation needed] small circular pits containing large urns and accompanied by pottery, bones of camel

Karanpura near Bhadra city Hanumangarh district Rajasthan India Wesern mound called citadel Skeleton of child, terracotta like pottery, bangles, seals similar to other Harappan sites [30]
Khirasara Kutch district Gujarat India Ware House, Industrial area, gold, copper, semi-precious stone, shell objects, and weight hoards
Kerala-no-dhoro or Padri Saurashtra Gujarat India Salt production centre, by evaporating sea water[31]
Kot Bala (also, Balakot) Lasbela District Balochistan Pakistan Earliest evidence of furnace, seaport
Kot Diji Khairpur District Sindh Pakistan
Kotada Bhadli Kutch District Gujarat India Fortification bastion few houses foundations[32]
Kunal, Haryana Fatehabad District Haryana India Earliest pre-Harappan site, Copper smelting.[33]
Kuntasi Rajkot District Gujarat India Small port
Lakhan-jo-daro Sukkur District Sindh Pakistan major unexcavated site (greater than 300 hectares)
1922[16] Larkana Larkana District Sindh Pakistan
Loteshwar Patan District Gujarat India Ancient archaeological site[34]
1953[16] Lothal Ahmedabad District Gujarat India 1931; excavated by NG Majumdar.

Located in Sindh, Pakistan, on the banks of the Indus River. With no citadel, it is merely an Indus site. Excavated items include bronze statues of bullock carts and ekkas as well as a small jar that appears to be a kink well. Bead making factory, dockyard, button seal, fire altars, painted jar, earliest cultivation of rice (1800 BC)

Manda, Jammu Jammu District Jammu & Kashmir India Northernmost Harappan site in Himalayan foothills[35]
Malwan Surat District Gujarat India Southernmost Harappan site in India[36]
Mandi Muzaffarnagar district Uttar Pradesh India
Mehrgarh Kachi District Balochistan Pakistan Earliest agricultural community (7000-5000 BC)
Mitathal Bhiwani District Haryana India
1922[21] Mohenjo-Daro Larkana District Sindh Pakistan 1922; excavated by RD Bannerji

Located in Sindh's Larkana district on the banks of the Indus River (Pakistan). The site's unique features are the Assembly Hall, Collegiate Building, and Great Bath. An excavated artifact includes a piece of woven cotton and the seal of Pashupati Mahadeva, or proto-Shiva. Great Bath (the biggest bath ghat), Great granary, Bronze dancing girl, Bearded man, terracotta toys, Bull seal, Pashupati seal, three cylindrical seals of the Mesopotamian type, a piece of woven cloth

Morodharo Kutch District Gujarat India Fortified settlement. Mature and late Harappan phases of civilisation found. Harappan jar shards, burial cairns, boundary stones to mark graves found. Closely resembles Dholavira and has evidence of being an ancient seaport.
Nageshwar Kutch District Gujarat India Shell working site[37]
Navinal Kutch district Gujarat India [38]
Nausharo near Dadhar Kachi District Balochistan Pakistan
Ongar Hyderabad Sindh Pakistan
Pabumath Kutch District Gujarat India A large building complex, unicorn seal, shell bangles, beads, copper bangles, needles, antimony rods, steatite micro beads; pottery include large and medium size jars, beaker, dishes, dish-on-stand, perforated jars etc.; fine red pottery with black painted designs etc.[39]
Pathani Damb Makran Balochistan Pakistan At 100 hectares, this has the potential to be another city.[40]
Pir Shah Jurio Karachi Sindh Pakistan
Pirak Sibi Balochistan Pakistan
Rakhigarhi Hisar District Haryana India Terracotta wheels, toys, figurines, pottery. Large site, partially excavated
Rangpur Ahmedabad District Gujarat India Seaport
Rehman Dheri Dera Ismail Khan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan
Rojdi Rajkot District Gujarat India
Rupar Rupnagar District Punjab India
Sanauli[41] Baghpat District Uttar Pradesh India Burial site with 125 burials found, copper antenna sword with a hilt and first time chariots were discovered
Sheri Khan Tarakai Bannu District Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan pottery, lithic artifact
Shikarpur, Gujarat[42] Kutch District Gujarat India Food habit details of Harappans
Shortugai Darqad District Takhar Province Afghanistan
Siswal Hisar (district) Haryana India
Sokhta Koh Makran Balochistan Pakistan Pottery
Sothi near Baraut Bagpat district Uttar Pradesh India
1964[16] Surkotada Kutch District Gujarat India Excavated in 1972 by JP Joshi.

Located between the Sabarmati and Bhogavo rivers. Here, there is proof of a horse burial, an oval grave, and a pit burial. Bones of a horse (only site)

Sutkagan Dor Makran Balochistan Pakistan Bangles of clay, westernmost-known site of IVC[43]
Tigrana Bhiwani district Haryana India Houses, pottery, terracotta, seals with script, semi-precious stones, evidence of crop cultivation and anima; domestication.[44]
Vejalka Botad district Gujarat India pottery

Context of IVC sites and cultures

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Wider context of the IVC includes the following:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Henri-Paul Francfort, Fouilles de Shortughai, Recherches sur L'Asie Centrale Protohistorique, Paris, pl. 75, no. 7
  2. ^ McIntosh 2008, p. 39.
  3. ^ a b Malik, Malti Dr (2016). History of India. New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd. p. 12. ISBN 978-81-7335-498-4.
  4. ^ Malik, Malti Dr (2016). History of India. New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd. p. 12. ISBN 978-81-7335-498-4. About 1400 sites associated with this civilisation have come into light till date. Of these about 925 sites are in India and rest of them are in Pakistan.
  5. ^ Malik, Dr Malti. History of India. New Saraswati House India Pvt. ISBN 978-81-7335-498-4.
  6. ^ "Indus River Valley civilizations (Article)".
  7. ^ "Excavation Bhirrana". Excavation Branch-I Nagpur. Archaeological Survey of India.
  8. ^ Subramanian, T. S. (27 March 2014). "Rakhigarhi, the biggest Harappan site". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. ^ Iravatham Mahadevan, 1977, The Indus Script: Text, Concordance and Tables, pp. 6-7
  10. ^ Upinder Singh, 2008, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, p. 169
  11. ^ Astha Dibyopama, Yong Jun Kim, Chang Seok Oh, Dong Hoon Shin, Vasant Shinde, 2015,[1], Korean Journal of Physical Anthropology, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 1-9.
  12. ^ Indian History. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. 1930. ISBN 978-1-259-06323-7. kalibangan tiles.
  13. ^ a b c Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: from the Stone Age to the 12th century. New Delhi: Pearson Education. p. 222. ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0.
  14. ^ Agnihotri, V.K., ed. (1981). Indian History. Mumbai: Allied Publishers. pp. A–82. ISBN 978-81-8424-568-4.
  15. ^ Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: from the Stone Age to the 12th century. New Delhi: Pearson Education. pp. 137, 157. ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Indus Valley Civilization - Major Sites years".
  17. ^ Archaeological Survey of India Publication:Indian Archaeology 1963-64 A Review [2]
  18. ^ "Baror near Ramsinghpur". Rajasthan patrika newspaper. 19 June 2006.
  19. ^ Rao, S. R.; Gaur, A. S. (July 1992). "Excavations at Bet Dwarka" (PDF). Marine Archaeology. 3. Marine Archaeological Centre, Goa: 42–. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  20. ^ Gaur, A. S. (25 February 2004). "A unique Late Bronze Age copper fish-hook from Bet Dwarka Island, Gujarat, west coast of India: Evidence on the advance fishing technology in ancient India" (PDF). Current Science. 86 (4). IISc: 512–514. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  21. ^ a b c "List of Archaeological Sites of Indus Valley Civilisation".
  22. ^ "Indus Valley Civilization". Archived from the original on 20 June 2012.
  23. ^ "Hidden agenda testing models of the social and political organisation of the Indus Valley tradition" (PDF).
  24. ^ Dhavalikar, M.K. (1993). "35. Daimabad Bronzes" (PDF). In Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.). Harappan civilization: a recent perspective. American Institute of Indian Studies and Oxford & IBH Publishing Company. hdl:2027/heb.03098.0001.001. ISBN 978-81-204-0779-4 – via rhinoresourcecenter.com.
  25. ^ Ghosh, A., ed. (1967). "Explorations, and excavations: Gujarat: 19. Excavation at Desalpur (Gunthli), District Kutch" (PDF). Indian Archaeology 1963-64, A Review. Indian Archaeology (1963–64): 10–12. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  26. ^ Gaur, A. S.; K. H. Vora; Sundaresh; R. Manimurali; S. Jayakumar (2013). "Was the Rann of Kachchh navigable during the Harappan times (Mid-Holocene)? An archaeological perspective" – via ResearchGate.
  27. ^ Sabharwal, Vijay (11 July 2010). "Indus Valley site ravaged by floods". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011.
  28. ^ a b Farooqui, Anjum; Gaur, A.S.; Prasad, Vandana (2013). "Climate, vegetation and ecology during Harappan period: excavations at Kanjetar and Kaj, mid-Saurashtra coast, Gujarat". Journal of Archaeological Science. 40 (6). Elsevier BV: 2631–2647. Bibcode:2013JArSc..40.2631F. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.02.005. ISSN 0305-4403.
  29. ^ a b Gaur, A.S.; Sundaresh; Abhayan, G.S.; Joglekar, P.P. "Excavations at Kanjetar and Kaj on the Saurashtra Coast, Gujarat". AGRIS: International Information System for the Agricultural Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  30. ^ "seals found at Karanpura". dainik bhaskar Hindi newspaper. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  31. ^ McIntosh 2008, p. 221.
  32. ^ SHIRVALKAR, PRABODH (2012). "A Preliminary Report of Excavations at Kotada Bhadli, Gujarat: 2010-11". Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute. 72/73: 55–68. JSTOR 43610688.
  33. ^ McIntosh 2008, p. 68,80,82,105,113.
  34. ^ McIntosh 2008, p. 62,74,412.
  35. ^ India Archaeology 1976-77, A Review. Archaeological Survey of India.Page 19.
  36. ^ Singh, Upinder (2008). A history of ancient and early medieval India: from the Stone Age to the 12th century. New Delhi: Pearson Education. p. 137. ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0.
  37. ^ "Nageswara: a Mature Harappan Shell Working Site on the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat". harappa.com. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  38. ^ Joglekar, Pramod; Gopan, Aswathy; Chase, Brad; Ajithprasad, P; Patel, Ambika; Rawat, Yadubirsingh; Gadekar, Charusmita; Sharma, Bhanu; Kumar, Ajit; Uesugi, Akinori; Gs, Abhayan; Sukumaran, Prabhin; Rajesh, S.V. (2016). "Fish Otoliths from Navinal, Kachchh, Gujarat: Identification of Taxa and Its Implications". Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology. 4: 218–227 – via ResearchGate.
  39. ^ Mittra, Debala, ed. (1983). "Indian Archaeology 1980-81 A Review" (PDF). Indian Archaeology 1980-81 a Review. Calcutta: Government of India, Archaeological Survey of India: 14.
  40. ^ "What have been the most interesting findings about the Harappan Civilization during the last two decades?". harappa.com. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  41. ^ "Archaeological Survey of India". Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  42. ^ Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Maharaja Sayyajirao University, Baroda. Excavations at Shikarpur, Gujarat 2008-2009."Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  43. ^ Possehl, Gregory L. (2003). The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary perspective ([3rd printing]. ed.). New Delhi: Vistaar Publications. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-81-7829-291-5.
  44. ^ भिवानी में मिले हड़प्पा काल के साक्ष्य, तिगड़ाना में होती थी खेती, शोध में हुए कई खुलासे, देखें तस्वीरें, Dainik Jargan, 29 September 2021.

Bibliography

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