Ancient Indians (Harappan settlement) were aware of tsunami/storm protection measures: a new interpretation of thick walls at Dholavira, Gujarat, India

Ancient Indians (Harappan settlement) were aware of tsunami/storm protection measures: a new interpretation of thick walls at Dholavira, Gujarat, 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 d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current science (Bangalore) Vol. 111; no. 12; pp. 2040 - 2043
Main Authors: Nigam, R., Dubey, R., Saraswat, R., Sundaresh, Gaur, A. S., Loveson, V. J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Current Science Association 25-12-2016
Subjects:
RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0011-3891
DOI:10.18520/cs/v111/i12/2040-2043