29 Jul Dholavira became the UNESCO heritage site

Dholavira became the UNESCO heritage site

Context

Dholavira, the archaeological site of a Harappan-era city, received the UNESCO world heritage site tag on Tuesday. While Dholavira became the fourth site from Gujarat and 40th from India to make the list, it is the first site of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) in India to get the tag.

About:

Dholavira sites:

• The IVC acropolis is located on a hillock near present-day Dholavira village in Kutch district, from which it gets its name. It was discovered in 1968 by archaeologist Jagat Pati Joshi.
• The site’s excavation between 1990 and 2005 under the supervision of archaeologist Ravindra Singh Bisht uncovered the ancient city, which was a commercial and manufacturing hub for about 1,500 years before its decline and eventual ruin in 1500 BC.

Distinct features of Dholavira:

• After Mohen-jo-Daro, Ganweriwala and Harappa in Pakistan and Rakhigarhi in Haryana of India, Dholavira is the fifth largest metropolis of IVC.
• The site has a fortified citadel, a middle town and a lower town with walls made of sandstone or limestone instead of mud bricks in many other Harappan sites.
• Archaeologist Bisht cites a cascading series of water reservoirs, outer fortification, two multi-purpose grounds — one of which was used for festivities and as a marketplace — nine gates with unique designs, and funerary architecture featuring tumulus — hemispherical structures like the Buddhist Stupas— as some of the unique features of the Dholavira site.
• In dholavira we found the origin of the Buddhist Stupas in memorials in Dholavira.
• Unlike graves at other IVC sites, no mortal remains of humans have been discovered at Dholavira. Accoding to Archaeologist Bisht, memorials contain no bones or ashes but offerings of precious stones, etc. add a new dimension to the personality of the Harappans.

Download Yojna IAS Daily Current Affairs of 29th July 2021

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Yojna IAS Current Affairs Team