Haryana finds its first Harappan city

Friday March 17 2006 00:00 IST

IANS

CHANDIGARH: A 32-acre area that was under cultivation until recently
is being touted as the first discovery of a sprawling Harappan city in
Haryana that might take months or even years to unravel.

Archaeologists exploring the ruins - found under three metres of a mud
hillock in the Meham area of Rohtak district - said that an ancient
city dating back to the 5,000-year-old Harappan civilisation was being
traced.

It could be of the Rig Veda era, one official said.

Further exploration at the site - referred to as Daksh Khera and
located about 100 km from New Delhi - is on. Said state archaeology
department director S.N. Roy: "The new site would be fully protected."

So far only towns and villages - namely Banawali, Bhirdana, Rakhigarhi
and Kunal - dating back to the Harappan civilisation had been found in
Haryana. No ancient city had been discovered.

Archaeologists made the discovery following a media report that a very
old skeleton had been found near Farmana Khas village, 12 km from
Meham town.

An archaeology department official said the nature of the settlements
and richness of the antiques found indicate that the site dates back
to the Harappan civilisation.

Experts say it could take months and years to dig up a substantial
portion of the ancient city.

The city seemed to have been on the banks of the Yamuna river when it
used to flow from these areas. The river changed course centuries ago.

Kurukshetra University professor Suraj Bhan said the Yamuna used to
flow through these areas during ancient times.

The first remnants of the Harappan civilisation were discovered in
1921-22 at two sites - Harappa and Mohenjodaro - now in Pakistan. This
showed that Indian history was over 5,000 years old. The era was also
referred to as the Indus Valley civilisation since important towns
were on the banks of the Indus river.

Subsequent excavations in northern Indian states of Punjab, Uttar
Pradesh and Haryana revealed that the Indus Valley civilisation was
not confined to the river basin alone.

Out of the nearly 1,500 spots of the Harappan period found so far, 500
were along the Indus and Jhelum, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and Chenab rivers
while over 900 spots were along the mythical Saraswati and Drishdati
river comprising areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.