Rojdi is an archaeological site belonging to the

Indus valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE ...

. It is located on the northern bank of the Bhadar River in Gondal taluka of

Rajkot district Rajkot district is one of the 33 districts of the Indian state of Gujarat. Located in Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra peninsula, Rajkot city is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is the third-most advanced and the fourth-most po ...

in central Saurashtra peninsula of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

state in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It was continuously occupied from 2500 BCE to 1700 BCE.Possehl, Gregory. (2004). ''The Indus Civilization: A contemporary perspective'', New Delhi: Vistaar Publications, , pp.82-6.

Chronology

The site was excavated for seven seasons between 1982 and 1995 by the Gujarat State Department of Archaeology and the University Museum at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. The excavation confirmed three periods of occupation, called Rojdi A, B and C. Twenty radiocarbon dates have helped to estimate the chronology of Rojdi as follows: * Rojdi C 1900-1700 BCE * Rojdi B 2200-1900 BCE * Rojdi A 2500-2200 BCE

Architecture

Two large excavation areas have been exposed at Rojdi, which are known as the South Extension and the Main Mound. There was also a systematic excavation at an outer gateway and at an isolated structure at the northern slope of the site. All of these very finely preserved structures can be dated to Rojdi C period (early second millennium BCE). The houses in Rojdi were built on stone foundations, probably with mud walls above them. No bricks were found, baked or otherwise, in the excavations. No wells, bathing platforms and the associated street drains were found either.

The material culture

Much of the pottery found in Rojdi is a hard, red to buff ware made from well-prepared clay. The most frequently found vessel is the hemispherical red ware bowl, often with a stud handle, this accounts for over half of all shreds recovered from Rojdi. The pottery often has graffiti with signs from the

Indus script The Indus script, also known as the Harappan script and the Indus Valley script, is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilisation. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whe ...

, such as jar sign. There is also a short inscription in Harappan writing on the rim of a potshred. Five (four complete and one broken) copper or bronze flat axes were found, all belonged to Rojdi C period. Signs of industrial and manufacturing activities are absent in all phases at Rojdi. Its overall character suggests a farmer's village.

Notes

{{India-hist-stub Archaeological sites in Gujarat

Chronology

Architecture

The material culture

See also

Notes