Replies

So any evidence of farming from before then would be under the ocean, wouldn't it?

Submerged city in the Gulf of Khambat

Working in the area off the coast of Gujarat is a tough task with tide fluctuations upto 10 m height and high velocity of currents of upto 6 knots in turbid waters. Project Director Dr. S. Kathiroli, S. Badrinarayanan, D. Venkat Rao, K.M. Sivakkozhuntu, E. Srinivasan and other scientists of the National Institute of Ocean Technology(NIOT) under the direction of Prof.M. Ravindran, have done a remarkable scientific investigation and unravelled a major marine mystery in the Gulf of Khambat They have made a significant contribution to the emerging discipline of Marine Archaeology, The efforts of these Indian scientists and the technological excellence achieved by them should be lauded and encouraged.

The work done by NIOT should make every citizen of the country feel proud that India is a force to reckon with in Science and Technology of the world. It is unfortunate that the reporters have failed to recognize the scientific rigour with which the work has been carried out by the NIOT scientists. It was indeed disappointing to find, in some parts of the report, an inadequate appreciation of the excellent technological competence and methodical investigation. It was also disheartening to note the attribution of hasty generalisations to some archaeologists and other experts who have not even seen the exhibit or remarkable assemblage of artefacts .One archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India who has seen the exhibits has remarked that the findings constitute a major discovery and that it was a great education for him to learn from the scientists of NIOT new methods of archaeological investigation

NIOT team chanced upon the Gulf of Khambat Cultural Complex (GKCC) in the course of routine multi-purpose marine surveys undertaken along the long coast-line of the country. Once the unusual finds were recognized, the investigation was pursued vigorously and systematically, for two years, including four investigative visits to the site (comparable to four ‘seasons’ of work undertaken by archaeologists on the ground). Only after the scientists were reasonably satisfied and were able to authenticate the discoveries were the findings reported. This fact attests to the high-level of integrity and the scientific method which has governed the team’s work.

Extensive sampling utilising state-of-the-art techniques for positioning using sophisticated equipment and collection of samples could bring out a remarkable collection of artefacts. Samples were collected using: (1) grab sampler; (2) dredgers; and (3) vibro-corer equipment. Over 1000 objects have been collected, out of which about 250 are of archaeological, cultural interest. The methods used for dating some selected artefacts, mostly at a depth of 40 m. below sea level, were:

Carbon-14: (a) National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad; Calibrated Age: 7960-7380 BCE Range; Radio-carbon: 8592+- 235 BP (This is an interim report and a final report is awaited); (b) Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeo-Botany, Lucknow (Calculated Age: 8450 – 8350 BP ; Age of sample: 7610+ - 100 BP).
Thermo Luminiscence: in process with the Physical Research Institute Ahmedabad for pottery samples
Accelerated Mass Petrometry from Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar for corals and shell artefacts

Results of the sampling and microscopic examination of artefacts (which have been thoroughly documented with a location index) revealed that they are essentially terrestrial formations with no evidence of their being of marine origin. The cores also revealed that just below half-a-metre thick marine sediments, the entire material is fresh water alluvium with a remarkable number and types of fresh water shells.

State-of-the-art technology used by NIOT investigation team included:

Side Scan Sonar (which is a widely accepted method for photographing the sea-bed) used for delineating sea floor surface features and mosaic
Sub Bottom Profiler – for cross-section of the sub-sea-bed
Magnetometre – to identify major structural elements including analysis of impact of tectonics
Under-water remote-controlled videography was attempted using very advanced equipment but due to high turbidity, the optical systems could not be worked beyond 10 m.; high turbidity which is characteristic of the Gulf makes the water opaque to light.

The major finding relates to a palaeo-channel (ancient river) lying on the sea-bed of GOK, running in an East-West direction. This channel appears to be aligned along the the present course of the River Tapti extended beyond the gulf into Saurashtra, Gujarat. Palaeo-river channel was identified for a distance of over 9 kms. in the middle of the Gulf along with ancient buried rectangular and square-geometrically-shaped basements (possibly foundations of buildings or platforms). On sampling, the palaeo-channel yielded several river conglomerates about 40 km. away from the present-day coastline, indicating, unambiguously, the riverine nature of the area. The conglomerate was found at 30–40 m depth, 40 km. west of Hazira near Surat in Gujarat. A piece of wood was also found at the same site (see the datings reported earlier). Some of the structures include tanks of size 40 m X 40 m and 45 m X 20 m. including what are referred to as gabar-bands in the Sindhu River Basin for training and diverting river water channels. Also seen are groups of constructions in an area 97 m X 24 m in size which could reasonably be interpreted as comparable to the ‘acropolis’ of the Harappan culture.

Some of the astonishing finds include: kiln-burnt potsherds, fused articles with a flat surface with a cylindrical or flat object fused on to it; circular and triangular cakes with precisely drilled holes, even 2 in. long cylindrical beads perforated along the axis and two tablets-in-bas-relief with inscriptions (one with a possible pictorial motif of a person seated in a yogic posture – a typical pictorial motif of objects found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa inscribed with script and another with a triangular sign with lines drawn parallel to the base-line – a pictograph which looks similar to the sign of the Harappan script), semi-fossilized bones (of a bovine), a fossilized jaw-bone, a fossilized part of a vertebral column, a human tooth., semi-precious stone beads with perforated holes of 1cm to less than 1 mm. in diameter.

All these artefacts found only on the banks of the river-bed are indicative of human activity, perhaps a precursor of the maritime-riverine civilization that would unfold in the Sindhu Sarasvati River Basins. The stone structures – polished stone pillars and stone rings --, found at Dholavira, a cultural site in another Gulf close-by, the Rann or Gulf of Kutch, close to the sea and some river channels -- should be comparable to the neolithic nature of the finds of GKCC on a river bank and close to the sea.

The area of the GKCC is a neo-tectonically active terrain and is a graben (like a rift valley) because of its depressed position topographically. When there was a major sea-level rise during the period 6900-7900 BP the entire present area of Gulf of Khambat was inundated by onrushing sea-water and became the Gulf of Khambat. The entire GOK area had perhaps sunk taking down with it the then existing part of the river (maybe an extension of River Tapti or one of its tributaries) and ancient settlements, along the banks of the ancient river.

Since sea-level rise is involved in understanding the history of the formation of the Gulf of Khambat, we have to look for and likely to find similar palaeo-channels and cultural complexes in other parts of the Gulf. Further investigations are likely to reveal early human settlements in the area. As observed so perceptively in the report which appeared in a scientific journal:“If we are keen to discover what possibly lies buried under the sea off an approximately 7000 km. coastline, more facilities in the area of marine archaeology would need to be developed in the country. India has to equip itself with tools to conduct work on marine archaeology.” [CURRENT SCIENCE, Vol. 82, No. 4, of 25 February 2002, ‘The seabed reveals artefacts; will India now hone its skills and tools for diving into the realm of marine archaeology?’]

We are on the threshold of further discoveries along the long coastline of India. The efforts of institutions such as NIOT should be encouraged and further efforts made at creating a network of scientists and scholars of a variety of disciplines to collaborate, in a team effort, as a colloquium, under the leadership of NIOT, to unravel the mysteries of the heritage of the country that lie on the sea-bed of the Sindhu sa_gara, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal.