Rakhigarhi

In news : Recently, The Ministry of Culture stated that Rakhigarhi is Being developed as one of the five Identified Iconic Archaeological Sites

Background: 

In the union budget of 2020 it was announced that Five iconic archaeological sites located across five states will be developed. One of which is Rakhigarhi located in Hisar district, Haryana.

About the Rakhigarhi

• Name: The ancient site of Rakhi-Khas and Rakhi-Shahpur are collectively known as Rakhigarhi
• It is located on the right bank of now dried up Palaeo-channel of Drishadvati, Several scholars have identified the river with the present-day Ghaggar-Hakra River or dried up part of it

Historical significance:

• It is the site of a pre-Indus Valley Civilisation settlement going back to about 6500 BCE.
• Later, it was also part of the mature Indus Valley Civilisation(IVC)
• It has yielded various stages of Harappan culture and is by far one of the largest Harappan sites in India
• It shows the sequential development of the Indus culture in the now dried up Saraswati basin.
• This site encompasses a set of 11 mounds with a confirmed size in excess of 350 hectares, according to the Global Heritage Fund Rakhigarhi is the largest and oldest Indus sites in the world

Excavations:

• As of 2020,  5% of the site had been excavated by the ASI and Deccan College
• The earliest excavation of IVC sites started from Harappa in 1921-1922 and Mohenjo-daro in 1931, the excavations at Rakhigrahi were first carried out in 1969
• As per the discoveries, digging so far reveals a well planned city with 1.92 m wide roads, a bit wider than in Kalibangan

Key findings in the site

• Granary: Granary that was found here belongs to the mature Harappan phase (2600 BCE to 2000 BCE). It is made up of mud-bricks with a floor of rammed earth plastered with mud. It has 7 rectangular or square chambers
• Satampseals
• A cemetery of Mature Harappan period is discovered at Rakhigarhi, with eight graves founD
• Hunting tools like copper hafts and fish hooks have been found here.
• 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 and one child. Pottery with grains of food as well as shell bangles were found around these skeletons