Surkotada

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Location of Gujarats ( Lothal and Surkotada) in the area of ​​the Indus culture

Surkotada is an archaeological excavation site in northwest India in the state of Gujarat . The remains, excavated from 1971 to 1972, are a small settlement of the Indus culture .

The settlement, located on a five to eight meter high hill, was surrounded by a wall of rubble stones with towers at the corners, the wall surrounding two rectangles (with a separating wall in the middle). Gates were in the south. The wall used to be around 7 m wide, but later only around 4 m. The western part was the older, which was later supplemented by the eastern part. Within the walled area, there were remains of residential buildings, which consisted of irregularly laid out, rectangular houses made of adobe bricks. The brick format was standardized at 10 × 20 × 40 cm in all periods of settlement. It was possible to distinguish three different settlement periods (IA, IB, IC), from about 2400 to 1600 BC. To date. The data were supported by C-14 studies .

The finds mainly include typical Indus culture ceramics, including numerous painted ceramics. Stone tools, copper objects, beads made of steatite , faience and other materials as well as numerous bracelets made of shell and clay were also excavated. Compared to places in the interior of the country, shell bracelets are quite common. The raw material mussel was therefore easier to obtain in this area. There were also remains of clay figures depicting chariots with a bull. Spinning whorls prove that weaving took place on site. There were also two decorated and inscribed seals. Indus script characters were also found scratched on various shards. Weights follow the weight standards that are also known from Harappa .

Animal bone finds show that mainly cattle were kept, and goat bones are well documented. Whether there were remains of horse bones is a matter of dispute.

In addition to the settlement, parts of a cemetery could also be excavated. The four body burials were found in simple pits, which mainly contained ceramics as additions.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bridget and Raymiond Allchin: The Rise of the Civilization in India and Pakistan , Cambridge 1982, ISBN 052128550X , page 175
  2. ↑ Pati Joshi: Excavation at Surkotada 1971–1972 , pp. 59–66
  3. ↑ Pati Joshi: Excavation at Surkotada 1971–1972 , pp. 359–363; Allchin: The Rise of the Civilization in India and Pakistan , p. 191
  4. ↑ Pati Joshi: Excavation at Surkotada 1971–1972 , pp. 337–338
  5. ^ Pati Joshi: Excavation at Surkotada 1971-1972 , pp. 372-383
  6. ↑ Pati Joshi: Excavation at Surkotada 1971–1972 , pp. 365–371

literature

  • Jagat Pati Joshi: Excavation at Surkotada 1971–1972 and Exploration in Kutch. New Delhi 1990.

Web link

Coordinates: 23 ° 37 ′ 0 ″  N , 70 ° 50 ′ 0 ″  E