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Throughout its history, spanning more than four millennia, Gujarat
has attracted immigrants from all over the world. They came to trade,
to plunder, to conquer, to colonise, to seek refuge and to find
their fortune on the west coast of India. Each community brought
with them a distinct style of art and architecture, making Gujarat's
many monuments an interesting blend of internal and international
influences.
Provincial wooden architecture of Gujarat can be seen in haveli's
and Darbargadh fort complexes throughout the states, and unique
blends like the Indo-Saracenic and Mughal styles, both combining
Hindu and Muslim elements, developed within the confines of the
state. Architecture became more eclectic with the coming of the
Europeans, and it is quite possible to see palaces that freely mix
Hindu, Islamic and European architectural styles, without a single
feature seeming out of place in the entire facade.
Gujarat has stone age sites in Rajkot district and eastern Gujarat,
and the red ware culture existed in the state before 2400 BC. But
it was the Harrapans who introduced the concept of urbanisation
in Gujarat. It is believed the Harrapans came to Gujarat from the
Indus valley in search of trading bases, and they did find suitable
ports at Lothal, near the Sabarmati river estuary, Kuntasi near
present day Morvi, and Dhorawira in the Great Rann of Kutch, then
an arm of the Arabian sea.
Gujarat has stone age sites in Rajkot district and eastern Gujarat,
and the red ware culture existed in the state before 2400 BC. But
it was the Harrapans who introduced the concept of urbanisation
in Gujarat. It is believed the Harrapans came to Gujarat from the
Indus valley in search of trading bases, and they did find suitable
ports at Lothal, near the Sabarmati river estuary, Kuntasi near
present day Morvi, and Dhorawira in the Great Rann of Kutch, then
an arm of the Arabian sea.
Lothal has some of the most substantial remains of the Harrapan
civilisation within Indian frontiers. Excavations reveal a town
planned in a grid system with residences, copper smithing workshops,
bead factories and potteries. . The upper town on a plinth has warehouses,
set above the inundation level in this lowr lying area, and residences
with kitchen and private baths that indicate they were an acropolis
for a ruler or aristocrats. The highlight of Harrapan towrn planning
was the system of sanitary drainage, comprising an arterial network
of underground drains that carried wastes to nearby rivers.
The upper town is set beside a large tank, which archaeologists
believe was a dockyard, with an opening that must once have been
a lock gate, withchannels connected to the Sabarmati river estuary,
allowing ships to sluice into the lock gate from the sea, yet keeping
the dock clear of the large tides of the Gulf coast of Cambay. The
capacity of the dock was equal to the present day tonnage of the
shipyard of Vizag, ratifying the maturity of maritime engineering
and hydraulics acheived during the Indus valley civilisation period.
The lower town had simpler residences, copper smithing workshops,
bead factories and potteries. Inscriptions on seals found among
the excavations at Lothal are suggestive of overseas trade during
the Harrapan period. The archaelogists have unearthed painted pottery,
microbeads and copper inscriptions, implements and toys, and it
is obvious that the Harrapans had standardised weights and measures.
The relics have been displayed at the ASI Museum at Lothal.
Dholawira in Kutch is another of the many Indus sites excavated
in Gujarat. A bird's eye view of the excavated area reveals a 120
acre walled citadel, with dwellings made from clay of different
colours at different levels, and reserviors. Among the many Indus
sites excavated in India this is certainly one of the most monumental.
Smoothed blocks, columns, gateways and engraved stone, found among
the ruins, introduce visitors to the architecture of the 2500-1600
BC period. Like Lothal, Dhorawira offers an insight into the towrn
planning, drainage and industrial growth of the Harrapa.
