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Archaeological Studies at Dholavira Using GPR


Affiliations
1 Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gandhinagar 382 355, India
2 9/19, Sector III, Rajendra Nagar, Sahibabad, Gaziabad 201 005, India
 

A new area at an existing archaeological site of Harappan civilization at Dholavira, Gujarat, India has been studied using ground penetrating radar (GPR). An area of 12,276 m2 was surveyed using 200 MHz antenna at grid spacing of 2–3 m. The soil strata was found to extend mainly up to 3.5–4 m. The survey was conducted during the dry season to collect good signals. Post-processing was carried out to map the bedrock as well as archaeological features. A number of linear features were observed from the 3D image of the subsurface created from the acquired GPR profiles. Unlike residential structures, the large dimensions of these features indicate the likely existence of a series of water structures that may have partly collapsed due to floods at some point. There were some areas full of rubble next to the damaged walls that appeared to be orthogonal to the direction of possible flood from Manhar River.

Keywords

Archaeology, Electromagnetic Waves, Ground Penetrating Radar, Water Reservoirs.
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  • Archaeological Studies at Dholavira Using GPR

Abstract Views: 389  |  PDF Views: 132

Authors

Silky Agrawal
Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gandhinagar 382 355, India
Mantu Majumder
Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gandhinagar 382 355, India
Ravindra Singh Bisht
9/19, Sector III, Rajendra Nagar, Sahibabad, Gaziabad 201 005, India
Amit Prashant
Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Palaj, Gandhinagar 382 355, India

Abstract


A new area at an existing archaeological site of Harappan civilization at Dholavira, Gujarat, India has been studied using ground penetrating radar (GPR). An area of 12,276 m2 was surveyed using 200 MHz antenna at grid spacing of 2–3 m. The soil strata was found to extend mainly up to 3.5–4 m. The survey was conducted during the dry season to collect good signals. Post-processing was carried out to map the bedrock as well as archaeological features. A number of linear features were observed from the 3D image of the subsurface created from the acquired GPR profiles. Unlike residential structures, the large dimensions of these features indicate the likely existence of a series of water structures that may have partly collapsed due to floods at some point. There were some areas full of rubble next to the damaged walls that appeared to be orthogonal to the direction of possible flood from Manhar River.

Keywords


Archaeology, Electromagnetic Waves, Ground Penetrating Radar, Water Reservoirs.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv114%2Fi04%2F879-887