National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR PRELIMS

India’s Maritime Heritage

1. Early Days (3000 – 2000 BC): The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) engaged in maritime trade with Mesopotamia.
2. Vedic Age (2000 – 500 BC): The Rig Veda contains the earliest references to maritime activities in India.
3. Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (500 – 200 BC): The Magadh kingdom's navy is considered the first documented instance of a navy in history.
4. Satavahana Dynasty (200 BC – 220 AD): The Satavahanas were the first native Indian rulers to issue coins featuring ship inscriptions.
5. Gupta Dynasty (320 – 500 AD): During this era, numerous ports were developed along the east and west coasts, revitalizing maritime trade with European and African regions.
6. Marathas: Under the leadership of Shivaji, the Maratha navy grew into a formidable force, boasting more than 500 ships.
7. Southern Dynasties: The Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas, and the Vijayanagar empire had significant maritime resources.

What is Lothal?

1. Lothal is one of the southernmost sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, located in Gujarat's Bhāl region. It is estimated to have been established around 2200 BC.
2. Situated along the Bhogava River, a tributary of the Sabarmati, near the Gulf of Khambhat.
3. The city was enclosed by a large brick wall for flood protection. It served as a major trade hub, maintaining trade connections with regions such as Mesopotamia and Africa, particularly in beads, gems, and ornaments.
4. The name "Lothal" is derived from two Gujarati words, "Loth" and "thal," meaning "mound of the dead."
5. The excavated site of Lothal is recognized as the only port town of the Indus Valley Civilization.
6. It is recognized as the oldest artificial dockyard globally.
7. Architecture: Lothal was divided into two sections: Citadel (Upper Town) which was built on a 4-meter-high mud-brick platform and Lower Town (a bead factory and a tidal dockyard were discovered in this area).
8. Science and Engineering: A compass, likely used for navigation and astronomical measurements and an ivory scale with the smallest decimal divisions known from the Indus civilization was also discovered.
9. Religion: The residents worshipped a fire god, believed to be the horned deity Atha (Athar) or Arka. There is no evidence of Mother Goddess worship, which was common in other Harappan cities.
10. Burial Practices: Burial pits were lined with burnt bricks, indicating coffin usage.
11. Metallurgy and Jewellery: The people used advanced metallurgy, such as the Cire Perdue technique (Lost-wax casting), using multi-piece moulds to create figures of birds and animals.
12. Lothal has the 3^rd-largest number of seals among all Indus Valley sites. These seals depict animals such as short-horned bulls, mountain goats, tigers, and composite creatures like the elephant bull, etc.
13. Pottery: Redware pottery was the most common, used for daily activities, while blackware pottery, used for finer items like drinking vessels, was less common but significant.
14. Other Important sites of IVC: Harappa and Mohenjo-daro (Present-day Pakistan), Dholavira (Gujarat), Ropar (Punjab), Balathal and Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Banawali (Haryana)