National Maritime Heritage Complex development in Lothal

Table of Contents

About National Maritime Heritage Complex

Purpose: The project aims to showcase India’s 4,500-year-old maritime heritage and will become the world’s greatest maritime complex once completed.
Components: The complex will include several features such as a Lighthouse Museum and a five-dimensional theatre offering interactive experiences.
Development: By the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.

Location: Lothal, a southernmost site of the Indus Valley Civilization, is believed to have been built around 2200 BC.
- It is located along the Bhogava river, a tributary of Sabarmati, in the Gulf of Khambhat (Gujarat).
Meaning: The name Lothal means “mound of the dead” in Gujarati.
Discovered by: SR Rao.
- Excavation took place from 1955 to 1960.

Features:
- Only port-town of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
- It was known for its harbour, cotton and rice-growing, and bead-making industry.
- It was part of a coastal trade route, linking sites such as Dholavira and Sutkagen Dor on the Makran coast.
- It was divided into a citadel (upper town) and a lower town.
- Buildings were made of fire-dried bricks, lime, and sand mortar.
- The city had a well-planned and sophisticated drainage system.
Key Archaeological Findings:
- Dockyard
- Persian Gulf Seals
- Shops for shell ornaments and beads
- Metal worker’s shop
- Fire altars
- Terracotta house figurine
- Warehouse
- Merchant house
- Cloth impressions on some seals
- Twelve bathrooms in the citadel
- Well
- Ivory Scale: The smallest known decimal scale from the Indus civilization.
UNESCO Nomination: Lothal was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in April 2014.
- It has not yet been granted full World Heritage status.