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By Dhruv Saxena: “Drive three hours to travel 6,000 years back in time” – a statement by Balram Kumar, an archaeologist closely associated with the excavation at Rakhigarhi perfectly encapsulates the idea behind our journey visiting excavation sites spread across Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. We had thousands of kilometres of driving ahead of us over smooth highways, difficult terrain and even off-road trails, given the location of these sites. Hence, we needed a comfortable car with great touring ability and one that gave us the confidence to venture off the road as well. The new Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara fit the bill perfectly with its plush ride quality, generous ground clearance and its capable all-wheel drive system, the Suzuki AllGrip Select.
Charles Masson of the British East India Company is credited with the first modern day accounts of the remnants of this civilization having travelled to Harappa in the Punjab province of British India (modern day Punjab, Pakistan). This was years before it was formally identified as the civilization’s type site, which is where the Harappan Civilization name comes from, as is tradition in archaeology. The civilization extended from Balochistan, Pakistan in the west to Uttar Pradesh, India in the east and from north-eastern Afghanistan in the north to Gujarat, India in the south flourishing across the Indus River plains and along the Ghaggar-Hakra river, pictured on the opening pages.
Strapped into the exciting new Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, we set off towards north-western Rajasthan buoyed by the prospect of learning more about the origins of civilization as we know it today, and getting an insight into what archaeologists have been able to unearth, quite literally. Broken roads soon gave way to off-road trails across challenging terrain as we made our way to these excavation sites. Loose gravel, fesh-fesh, slush, this terrain demanded serious off-road prowess. Unfazed by it all, the Grand Vitara’s capable all-wheel-drive system got us through without breaking into a sweat.
To truly appreciate the historical significance of these sites, one has to look past what meets the eye and delve deep into published accounts of their excavation. For instance, the excavations at Bhirrana or Bhirdana in Haryana revealed layers that predate Indus Valley Civilization times, going as far back as 7500-6000 BCE. Kalibangan, four hours west of Bhirrana, and Baror, another couple of hours ahead quite close to the Indo-Pak border, presented similar visuals with mounds that were excavated and refilled once the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team gathered relevant information and artefacts for research.
It isn’t uncommon to find fragments of 5,000-6,000 thousand year old pottery or even fully intact Mustikas, which were a more efficient alternative to bio-fuels to keep food and water warm, scattered across these sites. Complementing the excavation mounds at Kalibangan is an ASI-run museum that showcases objects and artefacts that were unearthed during excavation, offering travellers a glimpse into the ways of life of the Harappan populace. Throughout the journey, from the bustling metropolitan that is New Delhi, to the farthest corner of Rajasthan, the Grand Vitara grabbed eyeballs drawing admiration for its bold looks and premium, feature-rich interiors. Long days behind the wheel never got tiring, a testament to the high levels of comfort offered by this SUV.
Rakhigarhi in Haryana, roughly six hours from Kalibangan and a three-hour drive from Delhi, is where we headed next guided by Google Maps displaying directions on the screen wirelessly via Android Auto. Although over a thousand Harappan sites have been reported and hundreds excavated, there are five major urban centres and Rakhigarhi is one of them.
The village has been frequently in the news in recent times in the Indus Valley Civilization context and has been declared by the ASI as the largest archaeological site pertaining to the Harappan culture, bigger even than Mohenjo-daro. This is where we had the good fortune of meeting the man who made the story-defining statement this write-up starts with. First identified as a Harappan site in the 1960s, there are seven mounds spread across an area of 550ha spanning early Harappa to mature Harappa phases. Each mound has its own personality and features as described by Balram Kumar. Mound 1, for instance, has been identified as a centre for industrial activity owing to evidence of cloth dyeing chambers and pottery kilns.
Excavations carried out by Deccan College, Pune from 2012 to 2016 have brought to light significant information regarding the lineage of the Harappan populace. As shared by Balram Kumar, DNA testing carried out on skeletons unearthed from mound 7 revealed a complete lack of genetic marker R1a1 or the ‘Aryan gene’, a discovery that challenges the theory of the ‘Aryan invasion’. “Facial reconstruction carried out by the team revealed features similar to the current inhabitants of Haryana to the tune of 90 per cent”, adds Balram Kumar. Contentious DNA results aside, the findings also showcase similarities between those who inhabited these areas 6,000 years ago and its current occupants in terms of their utensils and even the layout of the streets of the present-day village is reminiscent of that of the Harappan era.
Our fascinating tour of Rakhigarhi continued as we made our way in the Grand Vitara through the narrow village streets, which would have been difficult to navigate without the 360 View Camera. Mound 4’s layers offer a great visualization of the cultural sequence of different eras of the Harappan Civilization. One can clearly observe the use of bricks in interlocking fashion to construct walls, a technique known as English bond, but one that was clearly in use by the Harappans years before the term was coined. Bricks used corresponded to sizes in the 4:2:1 ratio, something that is considered optimal for effective bonding even today. Balram Kumar also shared some insights into traditional burials from that era wherein the body was laid to rest with the head facing north accompanied by pots with food as well as some jewellery indicating a belief in life after death.
The authorities envision Rakhigarhi as a tourist destination giving people a peek into the lives of one the world’s earliest civilizations and have received support from locals as well as individuals like Balram Kumar. There are plans in place to turn parts of the excavated areas into exhibits for all to see and admire. Construction of a museum is also underway not too far from mound 1 and its completion should bode well for Rakhigarhi from a tourism standpoint.
Back on the road, with the Grand Vitara munching miles with consummate ease, we charted a route out of Haryana and into Uttar Pradesh towards another archaeological site that has made headlines in the recent past. Located just 90 minutes from New Delhi, Sanauli or Sinauli or Sinoli, was first excavated back in 2005-06 following a chance discovery of ancient pottery and human skeletons by farmers. Although the discoveries here were initially ascribed to the Harappan Civilization, some believe it be of the post Harappan era. Understanding the chronology has been tricky. Findings from the 2018 excavation of Sanauli have been dated to 2000-1800 BCE, part of the Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) culture/Copper Hoard culture.
Dr Sanjay Manjul, director, ASI, suggests that Sanauli, which happens to be India’s largest burial site close to 4,000 years old, was perhaps contemporaneous with, but different from late Harappan culture. Sanauli’s significance in Indian archaeology is down to the discovery of war chariots, copper decorated shields, antennae swords and decorated coffins. The wheels of these chariots were solid, not spoked, which has led to some contesting the claim, identifying these as carts instead. Dr Manjul has likened these burials to Vedic rituals and there have been suggestions of these burials being linked to the Mahabharata.
These findings have been labelled as ‘path-breaking’ and point towards royal burials. This isn’t the first time coffins have been found at sites linked to the Harappans, as they have been previously excavated in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and Dholavira. But this is the first time copper decorations have been found on them. More excavations will certainly be carried out in Sanauli, especially considering the nature of the finds and their historical implications. The land that was borrowed for excavation has been handed back to their respective owners, who have resumed farming. Local village folk shared that the government has plans to buy their land in order to commence another round of excavation as it could potentially unearth plenty more of significance.
ASI continues to study the findings from Sanauli and future excavations should reveal more about the origins of these royal burials and warriors. For now, the remains of the chariots and weapons retrieved from the site have not been put on display for the public, but plenty that was excavated from Indus Valley Civilization sites across India and Pakistan is on display at the National Museum in New Delhi. There’s a section dedicated to the Harappan Civilization detailing the culture’s history, progression and findings and their significance, including ones from the excavation sites we visited.
The star of the exhibit, arguably, is the Dancing Girl figurine that was excavated in 1926 at Mohenjo-daro. Following India’s partition, the finds from territories which are now part of Pakistan were split equally between the two countries with India staking claim to the Dancing Girl figurine which now resides in the National Museum. British Archaeologist, Mortimer Wheeler, who also served as the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India during the British Rule, described it as that of a young girl about fifteen years old “perfectly confident of herself and the world”. He added, “There’s nothing like her, I think, in the world”. One of the skeletons recovered from a burial site in Rakhgarhi has also found its way to the National Museum as well and, in general, the exhibit is a great showcase of the ways of life of the Harappans, their progression over the years and the advancements that were made along the way and their influence on life as we know it today.
The Harappan Civilization or Indus Valley Civilization is an integral part of our history and research on it will continue for years to come, as will debates surrounding the inference and implications of these findings. Its decline too has been a topic of intense discussion over the years with multiple theories ranging from the Aryan invasion to climate change and drought being cited as the reasons for its demise. Driving to these excavation sites, interacting with experts and locals certainly piqued our interest in the subject. In many ways, the journey was akin to time travel. The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara proved to be a very capable road-trip companion, impressing us with its fuel efficieny, comfort, features and off-road prowess, qualities that help make it such an attractive proposition. Good roads, smooth highways, off-road trails, the Grand Vitara took it all in its stride and made the drive that much more enriching.
Breathtaking locations, intriguing stories, the journey never stops at Auto Today so, stay tuned as we’ll certainly be back with more.
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