Archaeological Studies at Dholavira Using GPR

Abstract

A new area at an existing archaeological site of Harappan civilization at Dholavira, Gujarat, India has been studied using ground penetrating radar (GPR). An area of 12,276 m 2 was surveyed using 200 MHz antenna at grid spacing of 2-3 m. The soil strata was found to extend mainly up to 3.5-4 m. The survey was conducted during the dry season to collect good signals. Post-processing was carried out to map the bedrock as well as archaeological features. A number of linear features were observed from the 3D image of the subsurface created from the acquired GPR profiles. Unlike residential structures, the large dimensions of these features indicate the likely existence of a series of water structures that may have partly collapsed due to floods at some point. There were some areas full of rubble next to the damaged walls that appeared to be orthogonal to the direction of possible flood from Manhar River.

Global KM-A Congruence and the Indus Collapse

“…At Dholavira in Gujarat, the region that receives 309 mm annual precipitation, the ISM flooding of two streams that bounded the city north and south collected in large artificial reservoirs (Agrawal et al 2018). In spite of low resolution archaeological dating, the synchronous reduced ISM strength at 4.2 -3.9 ka BP could account for the city's abandonment (Sengupta et al 2020…”

Hydrology and water resources management in ancient India

“…The Dholavira city was located between the ephemeral nullahs (streams) Mansar in the north and Manhar in the south (Fig. 4) and was equipped with a series of small check dams, stone drains for diverting water, and bunds to reduce the water velocity and thus to reduce siltation in the main reservoirs (eastern and western reservoirs) (Nigam et al, 2016;Agrawal et al, 2018). The Gabarbands were also in use in the Harappan civilization.…”