RAKHIGARHI

1.Context

ASI's latest excavation has revealed new archaeological findings. The major findings include a drainage system, the structure of some houses, lanes, jewellery unit, copper and gold jewellery, terracotta toys, earthen pots, seals, a burnt-brick wall (possibility of a walled settlement), an aristocratic settlement, semi-precious stones such as agate and carnelian, two female skeletons buried with a plethora of pottery and adorned jewellery etc.

2.Facts about Rakhigarhi

• It is the largest Harappan site in the Indian Subcontinent.
• It is situated in the Hisar district of Haryana and is located in the Ghaggar-Hakra river plain.
• The site was first excavated by Amarendra Nath of ASI.
• Earlier Mohenjodaro (Pakistan) was considered the largest Harappan site until Prof. Vasanth Shinde and his team started fresh excavations at Rakhigarhi.
• The findings confirm both the early and mature phases of this 5,000-years-old Harappan site of Rakhigarhi.
• An important find from this site is a cylindrical seal with 5 Harappan characters on one side and a symbol of an alligator on the other
• The Ritual system is signified by an animal sacrificial pit lined with mud-brick and triangular and circular fire altars on the mud floor.
• A DNA study from skeletal remains from the cemetery at Rakhigarhi found that the Harappan people had an independent origin. The study negates the theory of the Harappans having ancestral links with steppe pastoral or ancient Iranian farmers.

 3.The idea behind this phase of excavation at Rakhigarhi

  The idea of this phase of excavation is to make the archaeological site of Rakhigarhi accessible to people by exposing the structural remains and conserving them for future viewing, along with providing amenities to the visitors

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Source:indianexpress