adminI left for Rakhigarhi at 7 am in November 2009 in a Tata Indica car, with my driver named Sispal. I was soon crossing the Delhi border at Bahadurgarh past the village of Kanjhawala to enter the state of Haryana. The drive to Rakhigarhi is supposed to be of 150 km from Delhi along the Delhi – Rohtak road, which as the name suggests leads to Rohtak. After Rohtak the road leads to Hissar, and then a left turn at Hansi towards Jind, following the road onto Narnaud. Finally a left turn should lead to Rakhigarhi – ideally this was meant to happen till my driver Sispal took a wrong left turn on the road to Jind. This wrong turn turned out to be a blessing even though it cost us an extra 20 km and about an extra 45 minutes.
We soon found ourselves in the middle of rural Haryana with corn fields all around, buffaloes being chassed by local kids with a stick and locals merrily smoking clay pipes called ‘Hookahs’ giving you that unfamiliar yet welcoming look while sitting on a handmade coir bed called a charpai. Except for the odd bikes and our car, the ambience projected a world still unchanged over the years of the Indus Valley Civilisation, or rather the ‘Saraswati Civilisation’ as I call it.
The lost world, forgotten for nearly 5000 years, and re-discovered only in 1963 for our generation to wonder in amazement at the aptitude and skill of these people to design and built cities which would act as blue prints to our modern civilization, which we are so proud of.
I started to wonder, we have taken more from this planet than given, leaving behind chemical and biological waste, plastic bags, deforestation, Carbon, over-production, etc. My mind wondered what would we leave behind for the generations to come? What would the inhabitants of these lands find 5000 years from now know about us? Would they wonder in awe with respect and proudness, like I was feeling today over the achievements of my forefathers or would the generation to come will blame us for the destruction we are causing on this planet?
Sispal stopped the car at a shop to ask for directions after he realised that we were lost after a few random turns along the dusty villages we had just passed through. After a quick word in Haryanvi with the local elders called ‘taus’ we seemed very confident about the direction to take, this confidence funnily died down after a few left and right turns in next village we crossed. There were no signs along the way to show us the direction to Rakhi (that is how Rakhigarhi is locally referred to as) which is surprising keeping in mind the value of this sight, so we drove along through dusty villages asking for directions along the way and soon ended up at Rakhi.
Sispal was a great help along the way despite his sometimes over confident driving, he was soft-spoken and proved very reliable especially after the meal of a ‘parantha – local bread stuffed with potatoes’ and chai that I offered him at a local dhaba just before Rohtak. What surprised me was the signboard at the place –“free food for all elders above 70”.
Sispal came from a village near Patiala, Punjab and was living in Delhi for the past 9 years. He spoke the local dialect of Haryana which was of invaluable help throughout the day, whether it was asking directions, or calling the chowkidar: the guard of the Rakhigarhi site.
Present day Rakhigarhi is a muddy village with heaps of cow-dung, muddy roads and uncovered sewage drains. It is unfortunate that while 5000 years ago, the residents of Rakhigarhi enjoyed the privileges of urban life – paved roads and streets, underground sewerage system, rainwater harvesting system, toilets and bathing facilities; the modern dwellers at the place live in a muddy village with poor bathing and sanitation facilities. After asking for directions for the last time towards the moulds, a kid excitedly jumped in the back of the car “chalo” and he took us right to the door of a massive fenced enclosure with heaps of cow-dung scattered all over, which to my astonishment did not seem like a one of a kind site, a site which was of great archeological importance to the country and the world as well.
The black sheets showing places where digging previously took place
I made a quick inspection on the site and realised that this indeed was a special site with bits of broken pottery scattered all over and little black plastic showing the excavation area. The Archeological Survey of India excavated the place for three winters, starting from 1997. But there was not a single sign, not a single attempt to indicate the importance of the place to the visitors. Apparently, the excavation has been stopped for years because of a CBI investigation on the misuse of funds.
The place is meant to be guarded by a security man who was missing, with a site open to further destruction.
Rakhigarhi is an unexcavated city of the Indus Valley Civilisation or the ‘Saraswati Civilisation’ in Haryana, India. It is as large as Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Ganaweriwala.
Recent excavations at Rakhigarhi push the history of the Indus Valley Civilisation back by over a thousand years. This site raises the questions again about the Vedic Civilisation and its relationship to the Indus Valley Civilisation. Archaeologists have already declared the importance of Rakhigarhi sitting at the dried bed of Saraswati River.
Since 1997 the Archaeological Survey of India has excavated the site, revealing the size of the lost city (at least 2.2 km²) and recovering numerous artifacts, some over 5000 years old. Evidence of paved roads, drainage system, large rainwater collection, storage system, terracotta brick, statue production, and skilled metal working (in both bronze and precious metals) have been uncovered. Jewelry, including bangles made from terracotta, conch shells, gold and semi-precious stones have also been found.
Excavation maps of Archaeological Survey of India
The Rakhigarhi site is spread over 224 hectares, the largest in India. In size, dimensions strategic location and unique significance of the settlement, Rakhigarhi matches Harappa and Mohenjodaro at every level. All three layers of Early, Mature and Late phases of the civilisation have been found at Rakhigarhi.
Diggings so far reveal a well planned city with 1.92 m wide roads, a bit wider than in Kalibangan. The pottery is similar to Kalibangan and Banawali. Pits surrounded by walls have been found, which are thought to be sacrificial pits or for some religious ceremonies. This shows that fire was used extensively in their religious ceremonies. There are brick lined drains to handle sullage from the houses. Among other things that have been found are terracotta statues, weights, bronze artifacts, combs, needles and terracotta seals. A bronze vessel has been found which is decorated with gold and silver. A gold foundry with about 3000 unpolished semi-precious stones has been found. Many tools used for polishing these stones and a furnace were found at Rakhi.
A burial site has been found with 11 skeletons with their heads in the north direction. Near the heads of these skeletons, utensils for everyday use are kept. The three female skeletons have shell bangles on their left wrists. Near one female skeleton, a gold armlet has been found. In addition semi precious stones have been found lying near the head, showing that they were part of some sort of necklace.
The site has deposits of ‘Hakra-Ware’, typical of settlements dating back before the early phases of Indus Valley Civilisation. Based on the thick layers of ‘Hakra-Ware‘ at Rakhigarhi, it is said that the site may date back to at least 2500 BC to 3000 BC.
Mr. Wazir Chand Saroae, a local schoolteacher and a resident of Rakhigarhi, has done his best to preserve what he can of Rakhigarhi’s antiquities. He has an invaluable collection of Indus valley artifacts. He has donated much of his collection to the National Museum and the rest have been preserved in his little house in Rakhigarhi.
During my trip I met Mr. Saroae and spent the afternoon in his small house in the village. He generously offered me lunch and tea, and showed me his collection of artifacts that he has gathered over the years from the digging site. Many of the artifacts he said have been donated to the national museum in New Delhi, the rest he keeps to show to the awe of a few national and international visitors who come to Rakhigarhi.
Below are some of the artifacts that have been recovered, some over 5000 years old and one can clearly see the transition from the Early, Mature and Late phases of the ‘Saraswati Civilisation’. The ones from the early phases are finer as compared to those from the later phases when item were comercialised and being mass produced.
Discovered in the 1920′s, Indus Valley Civilisation is considered to be the largest of the four ancient urban civilisations – Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China.
Decorated pottery and Collection of vases and jugs
Pieces of pottery used for cooking and others as a sieve and others for washing
Full and broken fragments of bangles/bracelets made from bone or clay used by women
Rounded balls made from stone and clay used for recreation and game, an early form of Checkers?
Big beads could have been used for marking animals or as lids or other tools
Sharp tools used for cutting in cooking, cutting human and animal hair
Baby toy that makes noise when shaken
Broken pottery with etched animal, probably a cow showing that the cow was already domesticated in India around 4000 BC
5000 year old cup used for feeding babies
Ornaments used with thread inside, probably these were for men
Metal arrowheads
Miscellanous collection of coloured beads used as ornaments and for decoration
Full utensil with lid for water and other liquids
Little case for storing black eye liner or ‘kajal’ for women
Unique toy that moves its head when the thread is pulled
This one is special, it seems like a toy human. Mr. Saroae suggests that it could also be chess piece used in play as other similar items have also been found
Collection of toys from all phases of the ‘Saraswati Civilisation‘
Another toy, this one is definitely either a cow or a bull
It has been proven that there was another large river which ran parallel and west of the Indus in the third and fourth millennium B.C. This was the ancient Ghaggra-Hakra River or Saraswati of the Rig Veda. Its lost banks are slowly being laid out by researchers. Along its bed, archaeologists are discovering a whole new set of ancient towns and cities.
It has been speculated that the ‘Saraswati Civilisation’ that originally flourished along the banks of the Saraswati River around 5000 BC dried out due to geological changes spanning between 3000-2000 BC. During these transitory phases the ‘Saraswati Civilisation’ gradually migrated from along the Saraswati River to the Indus River and converted to the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Rakhigarhi clearly is one of the most prominent of these ancient cities along the banks of the ancient Saraswati River. Who knows how much still stays buried in this small village that is waiting to be dug out of this neglected site? Items that can enhance the knowledge of modern society as we know it today.
The private museum maintained by Mr. Wazirchand Saroae in Rakhigarhi was looted by two men at gun point on 23 September 2014. Some artefacts you see above were taken from him, while the other have been handed over to the Haryana government by Mr. Saroae and would be kept in a museum hopefully in the near future.
The article above was my first attempts to showcase the wonders of Rakhigarhi on the Internet. It was published on my first blog hermesonwings.com in the year 2010.
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