Showing posts with label Kot Diji. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kot Diji. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Kot Diji: An Important Harappan Site

The important pre-Harappan and Harappan civilization site of Kot Diji is located on the left bank of the Indus River at the foot of the Rohri Hills of Khairpur district in the Sindh province of Pakistan . 

The excavations at Kot Diji were undertaken by F. A. Khan and G.S. Ghurye of the Pakistan Department of Archaeology between 1955 and 1957.



The Kot Diji Fort

The Harappan culture at Kot Diji had typical features- a well regulated town –plan with lanes, houses with stone foundations and mud brick walls. The roofs were covered with reed mats as discovered by plastered mud impression.

Storage jars, built on the mud floors, and large unbaked cooking brick-lined ovens were also found. A broken steatite seal, a few inscribed potsherds, beads of terracotta, semi-precious and etched carnelian and other beads, copper / bronze objects, bangles, arrowheads, metal tools and weapons (a blade axe, chisels and arrow heads), terracotta bull, bird and five figurines of the Mother Goddesses were also discovered.

The Indus pottery with original bright red surface and compact texture has the intersecting circles, papal leaf, peacocks, sun symbol, antelope, incised patters etc.

Jean Baptiste Tavernier

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier  (1605–1689)  was a French traveller and a merchant in gems who made six voyages to India between 1630 and 1668 duri...