Lothal

Why in news?

• The Prime Minister has reviewed the construction of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) site at Lothal,Gujarat.

About Lothal:

• Lothal was one of the southernmost sites of the Indus Valley civilization located in the Bh?l region of what is now the state of Gujarat.
• The port city is believed to have been built in 2,200 BC.
• Lothal was a thriving trade center in ancient times with its trade of beads, gems and ornaments reaching West Asia and Africa.
• The meaning of Lothal (a combination of Loth and (s) thal) in Gujarati is “the mound of the dead”.

Features:

• Lothal had the world’s earliest known dock, connecting the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati River.
• National Institute of Oceanography in Goa discovered marine microfossils and salt, gypsum crystals at the site indicating that seawater once filled the structure, and it was definitely a dockyard.
• In later excavations, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) unearthed a mound, a township, a marketplace and a dock.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Lothal, one of the sites of the Indus Valley civilization, was a thriving trade center in ancient times with its trade of beads, gems and ornaments. It was located in the state of:

(a) Rajasthan

(b) Punjab

(c) Haryana

(d) Gujarat

Answer