Archaeologists resume excavation at Rakhigarhi

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, January 22

The archaeologists, who resumed excavation at the Harappan site in Rakhigarhi village, said almost 90% of the remains of the ancient civilisation, which was probably the biggest human habitation in ancient times, had been destroyed over the years.

Prof Vasant Shinde, former Vice-Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune, who had led the excavation at this site for three years, said this site belonging to the Indus Valley Civilisation was spread over about 550 hectares in and around Rakhigarhi village. But now, just 40-50 hectare area was intact while the rest of the area had got destroyed due to activities like agriculture and construction.

“This site is almost double in area than Mohenjo-daro. It had been divided into seven mounds earlier. Now, two more mounds were discovered, which also belong to the same ancient city. But mound No. 8 has been completely destroyed, while around half of the area of mound No. 9 is preserved,” he stated.

He said the carbon dating of the site had revealed that it belonged from early Harappan (5500 BC) to late Harappan times (1500 BC) and indicated that this city located in the Saraswati basin had existed from 7,500 to 3,500 years ago.

As the ASI resumed the excavation, Joint Director-General Dr Sanjay Manjul said they had collected samples from the two skeletons recovered from a cemetery at the site last May. “The scientists are trying to extract the DNA samples from these skeletons for detailed examination and analysis. Besides, we have got some evidence of the early Harappan era and we will try to analyse and understand the cultural relations and lifestyle between earlier Harappan and late Harappan people,” he stated.

In a previous excavation, the ASI had recovered nearly 7000-year-old two skeletons belonging to women at the burial site of mound No. 7. Rakhigarhi’s burial site has so far popped up 56 skeletons during the excavations by the archaeologists at the start of excavation in 1998.

ASI declared portions of site protected in 1998

• Rakhigarhi belonged to 3500-7500 year-old Harappan civilisation, also known as Indus Valley Civilisation
• Traces of pre-Harappan and mature Harappan are spread across 550 hectares of land
• Rakhigarhi’s burial site has so far popped up 56 skeletons during the excavations by the archaeologists at the start of excavation in 1998