“Lothal: The ancient port that connected civilisations”, Firstpost, 7 Sep 2026.
“The word ‘Lothal’ in Gujarati means “the Mound of the Dead”. It is also interpreted as a place where the boats are moored and repaired. Lothal is widely considered as the world’s oldest artificial dockyard. It dates to around 2400 BCE, during the Indus Valley Civilisation. Archaeologist S. R. Rao discovered this maritime architecture and sophisticated engineering in 1954 in Gujarat.
The tidal dockyard was a masterpiece of ancient hydrology. The basin of the dockyard is a trapezoidal enclosure built with high-quality bricks. It measures approximately 214–218 meters in length and 36–37 meters in width. Harappan engineers developed sophisticated systems for controlling tidal flows. Lothal was situated near the Gulf of Khambhat, a bay of the Arabian Sea known for its tidal range. The highly skilled Harappan engineers built sluice gates and spill channels. These systems helped the ships float in the dockyard during high tide and prevent them from becoming stranded in the deep, wet mud during low tide.
The burnt-brick structures of the dockyard were highly resilient to the water pressure and strong currents during high tides. The extraordinary water-locking device was an engineering marvel, unique in many ways. The Bhogava tributary connected the dock to the wider Sabarmati River ecosystem. This riverine connectivity helped establish a vital network for trade, transport and supply chains between Lothal and its hinterland………..”
Read the full article at Firstpost.
