48-599: Rakhigarhi or Rakhi Garhi is a village and an archaeological site in the Hisar District of the northern Indian state of Haryana , situated about 150 km northwest of Delhi . It is located in the Ghaggar River plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river, and belonged to the Indus Valley civilisation , being part of the pre-Harappan (7000-3300 BCE), early Harappan (3300-2600 BCE), and
96-494: A Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and that will contain both locational information and a combination of various information. This tool is very helpful to archaeologists who want to explore in a different area and want to see if anyone else has done research. They can use this tool to see what has already been discovered. With this information available, archaeologists can expand their research and add more to what has already been found. Traditionally, sites are distinguished by
144-645: A few are removed from each other." The mounds are numbered following the naming convention of "RGR-x" e.g. RGR-1 to RGR-11. Until 2014, seven mounds were known. The 2014 excavation discovered two more mounds, RGR-8 and RGR-9, situated east and west of the main site, and largely destroyed for cultivation. According to Vasant Shinde each mound has a size of 25 hectares, taking the total site size to 350 hectares (3.5 km), and thus making Rakhigarhi largest Indus Valley Civilisation site by overtaking Mohenjodaro (300 hectares) by 50 hectares. The 2016 excavation claimed to have found two more mounds, RGR-10 and RGR-11, making
192-433: A gold armlet has been found. In addition semi precious stones have been found lying near the head, suggesting that they were part of some sort of necklace. A granary belonging to mature Harappan phase (2600 BCE to 2000 BCE) has been found here. Granary is made up of mud-bricks with a floor of ramped earth plastered with mud. It has 7 rectangular or square chambers. Significant traces of lime & decomposed grass are found on
240-658: A paper published in Cell Magazine in 2019, show that the DNA did not include any traces of steppe ancestry, which is in line with the Aryan migration theory , which says that Indo-Aryans migrated to India from the steppes after the Harappan civilisation had started to disintegrate. A total of 61 skeletons were found till 2016. As the skeletons were excavated scientifically without any contamination, archaeologists think that with
288-600: A prevalence of toy culture. Signs of flourishing trade can be seen by the excavation of stamps, jewellery and 'chert' weights. Weights found here are similar to weights found at many other IVC sites confirming presence of standardised weight systems. Fire altars and apsidal structures were revealed in Rakhigarhi. Cotton cloth traces preserved on silver or bronze objects were known from Rakhigarhi, Chanhudaro and Harappa . An impressive number of stamps seals were also found at this site. A cemetery of Mature Harappan period
336-683: A sequence of natural geological or organic deposition, in the absence of human activity, to constitute a site worthy of study. Archaeological sites usually form through human-related processes but can be subject to natural, post-depositional factors. Cultural remnants which have been buried by sediments are, in many environments, more likely to be preserved than exposed cultural remnants. Natural actions resulting in sediment being deposited include alluvial (water-related) or aeolian (wind-related) natural processes. In jungles and other areas of lush plant growth, decomposed vegetative sediment can result in layers of soil deposited over remains. Colluviation ,
384-412: A site as well. Development-led archaeology undertaken as cultural resources management has the disadvantage (or the benefit) of having its sites defined by the limits of the intended development. Even in this case, however, in describing and interpreting the site, the archaeologist will have to look outside the boundaries of the building site. According to Jess Beck in "How Do Archaeologists Find Sites?"
432-453: A site worthy of study. Different archaeologists may see an ancient town, and its nearby cemetery as being two different sites, or as being part of the same wider site. The precepts of landscape archaeology attempt to see each discrete unit of human activity in the context of the wider environment, further distorting the concept of the site as a demarcated area. Furthermore, geoarchaeologists or environmental archaeologists would also consider
480-523: A well planned city with 1.92 m wide roads, a bit wider than in Kalibangan . The pottery is similar to Kalibangan and Banawali . Pits surrounded by walls have been found, which are thought to be for sacrificial or some religious ceremonies. There are brick lined drains to handle sewage from the houses. Terracotta statues, weights, bronze artefacts, comb, copper fish hooks, needles and terracotta seals have also been found. A bronze vessel has been found which
528-500: Is a branch of survey becoming more and more popular in archaeology, because it uses different types of instruments to investigate features below the ground surface. It is not as reliable because although they can see what is under the surface of the ground, it does not produce the best picture. Archaeologists still have to dig up the area in order to uncover the truth. There are also two most common types of geophysical survey, which is, magnetometer and ground penetrating radar. Magnetometry
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#1732801504474576-500: Is a burial site where human skeletons were found. ASI has carbon dated mound labelled RGR-1, RGR-2, RGR-6 and RGR-7. The RGR-6 has two layers of Preharappan Phase dating to 5,640 years before present (BP) and 5,440 (BP). The RGR-1 has Early Harappan Phase dating to 5,200 and 4,570 years BP. The RGR-2 also has Early Harappan Phase dated to 5,200 and 4,570 years as well as two additional samples belonging to Mature Harappan Phase dating to 4,040 and 3,900 years BP. RGR-7, which
624-861: Is a cemetery or a burial site from Mature Harappan Phase , dates back to 4600 BP. In 2014 six radiocarbon datings from excavations at Rakhigarhi between 1997 and 2000 were published by archaeologist Amarendra Nath, corresponding to the Pre-formative, Early Harappan, and Mature Harappan phases. Mound RGR-6 revealed a Pre-formative stage designated as Sothi Phase with the following two datings: 6420 ± 110 {\displaystyle 6420\pm 110} and 6230 ± 320 {\displaystyle 6230\pm 320} years before present, converted to 4470 ± 110 {\displaystyle 4470\pm 110} B.C.E. and 4280 ± 320 {\displaystyle 4280\pm 320} B.C.E. Rakhigarhi, being
672-412: Is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record . Sites may range from those with few or no remains visible above ground, to buildings and other structures still in use. Beyond this,
720-417: Is a tributary of Ghaggar river. Most scholars, including Gregory Possehl , Jonathan Mark Kenoyer , Raymond Allchin and Rita P. Wright believe Rakhigari to have been between 80 hectares and 100+ hectares in size. According to Nath et al. (2015), "[a]rchaeological remains at Rakhigari extend over a radius of [300 hectares (3.0 km)] encompassing a set of seven mounds of which 1 to 5 are integrated while
768-443: Is decorated with gold and silver. A gold foundry with about 3000 unpolished semi-precious stones has been found. Many tools used for polishing these stones and a furnace were found there. A burial site has been found with 11 skeletons, with their heads in the north direction. Near the heads of these skeletons, utensils for everyday use were kept. The three female skeletons have shell bangles on their left wrists. Near one female skeleton,
816-474: Is discovered at Rakhigarhi, with eight graves found. Often brick covered grave pits had wooden coffin in one case. Different type of grave pits were undercut to form an earthen overhang and body was placed below this; and then top of grave was filled with bricks to form a roof structure over the grave. So far 53 burial sites with 46 skeletons have been discovered. Anthropological examination done on 37 skeletons revealed 17 to be of adults, 8 to be of subadults while
864-412: Is located inside Firoz Shah Palace Complex and maintained by Archaeological Survey of India . To develop Rakhigarhi as the global heritage, two johad (water bodies) across the road to museum are developed as lakes. The lake has been deepened by digging and traditional ghats with burji on the banks of lake have been constructed. A park is developed the spare land of the lake. A walking track around
912-629: Is the technique of measuring and mapping patterns of magnetism in the soil. It uses an instrument called a magnetometer, which is required to measure and map traces of soil magnetism. The ground penetrating radar is a method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures. There are many other tools that can be used to find artifacts, but along with finding artifacts, archaeologists have to make maps. They do so by taking data from surveys, or archival research and plugging it into
960-516: Is thickly populated by establishment of Rakhishahpur village and is not available for excavations. RGR-1 to RGR-3, RGR6 to RGR9 and some part of RGR-4 are available for excavations. In 1963, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) began excavations at this site, and, though little has been published about the excavations. In 1969, Kurukshetra University 's team studied and documented the site led by its Dean of Indic studies Dr. Suraj Bhan . In 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000, ASI team began to excavate
1008-411: The 1960s, followed by further excavations in the late 1990s, however more sustained excavations have taken place in the past decade. though much of the area is yet to be excavated and published. DNA-tests by Shinde et al. (2019) on a single skeleton show that the DNA did not include any traces of steppe ancestry, in line with the Aryan migration theory , which says that Indo-Aryans migrated to India from
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#17328015044741056-645: The Global Heritage Fund declared Rakhigarhi one of the ten most endangered heritage sites in Asia facing the threat of irreparable loss and destruction due to development pressures, insufficient management and looting. A 2012 study by the Sunday Times found that the site is not being looked after; the iron boundary wall is broken, and villagers sell the artefacts they dig out of the site and parts of site are now being encroached by private houses. Due to
1104-424: The age of 12 skeletons could not be verified. Sex detection of 17 skeletons was successful out of which 7 were male and 10 female skeletons. Most of the burials were typical burials with skeletons in a supine position. Atypical burials had skeletons in a prone position. Some graves are just pits while some are brick lined and contain pottery. Some of them also had votive pots with animal remains symbolising offerings to
1152-583: The area, and if they have the money and time for the site, they can start digging. There are many ways to find sites, one example can be through surveys. Surveys involve walking around analyzing the land and looking for artifacts. It can also involve digging, according to the Archaeological Institute of America, "archaeologists actively search areas that were likely to support human populations, or in places where old documents and records indicate people once lived." This helps archaeologists in
1200-573: The areas with numerous artifacts are good targets for future excavation, while areas with a small number of artifacts are thought to reflect a lack of past human activity. Many areas have been discovered by accident. The most common people who have found artifacts are farmers who are plowing their fields or just cleaning them up, and they often find archaeological artifacts. Many people who are out hiking and even pilots find artifacts, and they usually end up reporting them to archaeologists for further investigation. When they find sites, they have to first record
1248-428: The burial of a site by sediments moved by gravity (called hillwash ) can also happen at sites on slopes. Human activities (both deliberate and incidental) also often bury sites. It is common in many cultures for newer structures to be built atop the remains of older ones. Urban archaeology has developed especially to deal with these sorts of site. Many sites are the subject of ongoing excavation or investigation. Note
1296-487: The burial sites along with human skeletons. Analysis of Human aDNA obtained from human bones as well as analysis of parasite and animal DNA will be done to assert origins of these people. In April 2015, four 4,600-year-old complete human skeletons were excavated from mound RGR-7. These skeletons belonged to two male adults, one female adult (classified as 'I6113') and one child. Pottery with grains of food as well as shell bangles were found around these skeletons. Two of
1344-406: The dead. Bone remains of secondary burials were not charred hence ruling out the possibility of cremation practices. While these burials retained many of the Harappan features, group burials and prone position burials are distinct. Paleo-parasitical studies and DNA analysis to determine the lineage is being undertaken. Parasite eggs which were once existed in the stomach of those buried were found in
1392-428: The definition and geographical extent of a "site" can vary widely, depending on the period studied and the theoretical approach of the archaeologist. It is almost invariably difficult to delimit a site. It is sometimes taken to indicate a settlement of some sort, although the archaeologist must also define the limits of human activity around the settlement. Any episode of deposition, such as a hoard or burial, can form
1440-617: The difference between archaeological sites and archaeological discoveries. Sothi Sotha is a village in Haryana , India. In 2011, it had 334 families with a population of 1716. The neolithic Sothi (archaeology) site is located near Nohar in Rajasthan , about 120 km west-south-west of Sothi. The important archaeological site of Rakhigarhi is located about 30 km south. Within 5 km to 10 km radius of Rakhigarhi are early, mature and late Harappan sites. To
1488-420: The future. In case there is no time or money during the site's discovery, archaeologists can come back and visit the site for further digging to find out the extent of the site. Archaeologist can also sample randomly within a given area of land as another form of conducting surveys. Surveys are very useful, according to Jess Beck, "it can tell you where people were living at different points in the past." Geophysics
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1536-423: The help of latest technology on these skeletons and DNA obtained, it is possible to determine how Harappans looked like 4500 years ago. The average height is estimated to have been 175.8 cm (5 ft 9 in) for men and 166.1 cm (5 ft 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) for women. In 2024, the 'Mound 7' of the excavation site, which encompasses an area of 3.5 sqkms, yielded 56 skeletons. In May 2012,
1584-475: The lack of site protection the site is being destroyed by soil erosion, encroachments, illegal sand lifting, theft of archaeological artefacts for illegal sale. It is a punishable crime to sell or buy artefacts found in the ancient sites. 80% of mound 6 – a residential site of Harappan Era and 7 which is a burial site where 4 human skeletons were recovered in 2015 have been destroyed due to cultivation and soil mining. Parts of mounds R4 and R5 have been encroached by
1632-448: The lake, with shady trees and fruit trees, has been constructed for the tourists. The traditional ghats represent the past scenario when paleo- Drishadvati river use to flow through Rakhigarhi which had ghats for transporting goods for trade, via Lothal port and Dholavira , as far as Mesopotamia (ancient cities of Elam and Sumer ). List of films , Chandrawal , Jagat Jakhar ) Archaeological site An archaeological site
1680-930: The largest town and regional trade centre of IVC era, is surrounded by numerous IVC sites nearby in Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab along the Gagghar-Hakra river course. The important ones among those are the Bhirrana (4 phases of IVC with earliest dated to 8th-7th millennium BCE) 86 km northwest, Kunal (belonging to Kunal cultural which is the cultural ancestor of Rehman Dheri site) 75 km northwest, Siswal (belonging to Sothi-Siswal culture dated to 3800 BC, contemporaneous to Early-Harappan Phase ) 75 km west, and Kalibangan (another large regional IVC city with several phases starting from Early harappan phase) 235 km west, and few more. There are many other important archaeological sites in this area, in
1728-427: The lower portion of the granary wall indicating that it can also be the storehouse of grains with lime used as insecticide & grass used to prevent entry of moisture. Looking at the size, it appears to be a public granary or a private granary of elites. Hunting tools like copper hafts and fish hooks have been found here. Presence of various toys like mini wheels, miniature lids, sling balls, animal figurines indicates
1776-485: The male was likely part of a necklace. The male was 177 cm (5 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) tall and female was 171 cm (5 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 in). Their skeleton had no abnormalities, injuries or sign of disease. They were both likely "quite healthy" at the time of their death. Shinde et al. (2019) have carried out DNA-tests on a single skeleton. Results announced in September 2018, and
1824-481: The mature phase (2600-1900 BCE) of the Indus Valley Civilisation. It was among the largest settlements of the ancient civilisation, and most scholars believe it to have been between 80 hectares and 100+ hectares in area. Other related excavation sites in the area are Mitathal and the smaller site Lohari Ragho , which are still awaiting excavation. Initial excavations at the site happened in
1872-667: The old river valley to the east of the Ghaggar Plain. Among them are Kalibangan , Kunal , Balu , Bhirrana , and Banawali . By 2020, only 5% of the site had been excavated by the ASI and Deccan College. While the earliest excavation of IVC sites started from Harappa in 1921-1922 and Mohenjo-daro in 1931, the excavations at Rakhigarhi were first carried out in 1969, followed by more excavations in 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000, between 2011–16 and 2021 onward. There are 11 mounds in Rakhigarhi which are named RGR-1 to RGR-11, of which RGR-5
1920-471: The presence of both artifacts and features . Common features include the remains of hearths and houses. Ecofacts , biological materials (such as bones, scales, and even feces) that are the result of human activity but are not deliberately modified, are also common at many archaeological sites. In the cases of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, a mere scatter of flint flakes will also constitute
1968-520: The site again, which was led by its director Dr. Amrender Nath who published his findings in scholarly journals. After 2000, excavations were stopped for years because of a CBI investigation on the misuse of funds. Much of the findings are donated to the National Museum, New Delhi. From 2011 to 2016, Deccan College carried out several substantial excavations led by its then Vice-Chancellor and archaeologist Dr. Vasant Shinde, several members of
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2016-572: The site, including 152 houses on the R4 and R5 mounds. Villages, whose houses in the site will be removed, will be relocated and rehabilitated in the housing flats on another location. Rakhigarhi, which is an Indus Valley civilisation site, also has a museum developed by the state government. There is also Haryana Rural Antique Museum 60 km away, which is maintained by CCS HAU in its Gandhi Bhawan, exhibits evolution of agriculture and vanishing antiques. Jahaj Kothi Museum , named after George Thomas ,
2064-480: The size of the lost city and recovered numerous artefacts, some over 5,000 years old. Rakhigarhi was occupied at Early Harappan times. Evidence of paved roads, drainage system, large rainwater collection, storage system, terracotta bricks, statue production, and skilled working of bronze and precious metals have been uncovered. Jewellery, including bangles made from terracotta, conch shells, gold, and semi-precious stones, have also been found. Digging so far reveals
2112-436: The skeletons, a man between 35 and 40 years old and women in early 20s, who died around the same time. They were found buried together side by side with men's head facing the women. Their ceremonial burial indicates that they were not in illicit relationship and the lovebirds were likely married to each other. Pots found in their grave likely carried food and water as offering to the dead . The agate found near he collar bone of
2160-600: The steppes after the Harappan civilisation had started to disintegrate. It is located in the Ghaggar plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river. Today, Rakhigarhi is a small village in Haryana State, India. According to Jane McIntosh, Rakhigarhi is located in the valley of the prehistoric Drishadvati River that originated in Siwalik Hills . Chautang is a tributary of Sarsuti river which in turn
2208-400: The team published their findings in various academic journals. From 2021 onward, more excavation by ASI commenced. Central University of Haryana and Dr Vasant Shinde also expressed interest in commencing excavation. Findings confirm both early and mature Harappan phases and include 4,600-year-old human skeletons, fortification and bricks. The ASI's detailed excavation of the site revealed
2256-521: The total number of mounds 11. According to Garge Tejas the earliest settlements in Rakhigarhi predate the Indus Valley Civilization. According to Possehl not all mounds in Rakhigarhi belong to the same Indus Valley settlement, stating that "RGR-6, a Sothi - Siswal site known as Arda, was probably a separate settlement." Mounds RGR1 to RGR-6 are residential sites belonging to "pre-formation age early Harappan" era, while mound RGR-7
2304-410: The villagers who have built 152 houses. The ASI has only 83.5 acres of the 350-hectare site that entails 11 archaeological mounds, due to encroachments and pending court cases for the removal of the encroachments. In February 2020, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the site of Rakhigarhi would be developed as an iconic site. ASI has commenced the plan to remove encroachments from
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