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Ancient Indians (Harappan Settlement) were Aware of Tsunami/Storm Protection Measures:A New Interpretation of Thick Walls at Dholavira, Gujarat, India


Affiliations
1 National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India
 

Dholavira is a Harappan city in Gujarat, India whose fortification, with maximum wall thickness of up to 18 m is extraordinary. The probable cause of such a massive protective wall is yet to be addressed. Based on (i) the location of Dholavira along tsunami/stormprone coast; (ii) climatic scenario during the mid-Holocene with special reference to higher sea level and (iii) lack of proto-historic military evidences, we hypothesize that the walls may have acted as defence against tsunami/sea storm. The presence of extremely thick protective walls thus implies that the Dholavirans were probably aware of the magnitude of destruction caused by tsunami waves/storms.

Keywords

City Fortification, Dholavira, Harappa, Sea Storms, Tsunami.
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  • Ancient Indians (Harappan Settlement) were Aware of Tsunami/Storm Protection Measures:A New Interpretation of Thick Walls at Dholavira, Gujarat, India

Abstract Views: 358  |  PDF Views: 148

Authors

R. Nigam
National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India
R. Dubey
National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India
R. Saraswat
National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India
Sundaresh
National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India
A. S. Gaur
National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India
V. J. Loveson
National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India

Abstract


Dholavira is a Harappan city in Gujarat, India whose fortification, with maximum wall thickness of up to 18 m is extraordinary. The probable cause of such a massive protective wall is yet to be addressed. Based on (i) the location of Dholavira along tsunami/stormprone coast; (ii) climatic scenario during the mid-Holocene with special reference to higher sea level and (iii) lack of proto-historic military evidences, we hypothesize that the walls may have acted as defence against tsunami/sea storm. The presence of extremely thick protective walls thus implies that the Dholavirans were probably aware of the magnitude of destruction caused by tsunami waves/storms.

Keywords


City Fortification, Dholavira, Harappa, Sea Storms, Tsunami.



DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv111%2Fi12%2F2040-2043