Rakhigarhi or Rakhi Garhi is a village and an archaeological site belonging to the

Indus Valley civilisation 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 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

in Hisar District of the northern Indian state of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

, situated about 150 km northwest of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

. It was part of the mature phase of the Indus Valley Civilisation, dating to 2600-1900 BCE. It was among the largest settlements of the ancient civilisation, though most of it remains unexcavated. The site is located in the

Ghaggar-Hakra River The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, ending ...

plain, Quote: "There are a large number of settlements to the east on the continuation of the Ghaggar Plain in northwest India. ... Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, and Banawali are located here. Rakhigarhi was over 100 hectares in size." some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river. Most scholars believe it to be between 80 hectares and 100+ hectares in area. Quote: "There are a large number of settlements to the east on the continuation of the Ghaggar Plain in northwest India. ... Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, and Banawali are located here. Rakhigarhi was over 100 hectares in size." Some Indian archaeologists, however, have claimed that the earliest settlements in Rakhigarhi predate the Indus Valley Civilization, and the site itself is 550 hectares in size. Only 5% of the site has been excavated; much of the area is yet to be excavated and published. Another related excavation sites in the area are Mitathal and the smaller site Lohari Ragho, which are still awaiting excavation.

Site details

Site location

It is located in the

Ghaggar-Hakra river The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, ending ...

plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river. Today, Rakhigarhi is a small village in Haryana State, India.Census of India, 2011
/ref> There are many other important archaeological sites in this area, in the old river valley to the east of the Ghaggar Plain. Among them are

Kalibangan Kalibangān is a town located at on the left or southern banks of the Ghaggar (Ghaggar-Hakra River) in Tehsil Pilibangān, between Suratgarh and Hanumangarh in Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan, India 205 km. from Bikaner. It is also identi ...

, Kunal, Balu, Bhirrana, and

Banawali Banawali (Devanagari: बनावली) is an archaeological site belonging to Indus Valley civilization period in fatehabad district, Haryana, India and is located about 120 km northeast of Kalibangan and 16 km from Fatehabad. Ban ...

.Nath, Amarendra, Tejas Garge and Randall Law, 2014
Defining the Economic Space of the Harappan Rakhigarhi: An Interface of the Local Subsistance Mechanism and Geological Provenience Studies
in Puratattva 44, Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi, pp. 84 academia.edu According to Jane McIntosh, Rakhigarhi is located in the valley of the prehistoric

Drishadvati River The Drishadvati river (IAST:, "She with many stones") is a river hypothesized by Indologists to identify the route of the Vedic river Saraswati and the state of ''Brahmavarta''. According to ''Manusmriti'', the ''Brahmavarta'', where the Rishis c ...

that originated in

Siwalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...

. Chautang is a tributary of Sarsuti river which in turn is tributary of Ghaggar river.

Size and number of mounds

Rakhigarhi has 11 excavation mounds,Rakhigarhi site being plundered due to lack of protection
The Tribune India, Apr 16, 2015. which follow the naming convention of ''"RGR-x"'' e.g. RGR-1 to RGR-11, with the total size of . Mounds RGR1 to RGR-6 are residential sites belonging to ''"pre-formation age early Harappan"'' era, while mound RGR-7 is a burial site where human skeletons were found. 1997 and 2000 excavations reported 7 mounds with total site size of . 2014 excavation discovered 2 more mounds, RGR-8 and RGR-9, each with total size of 25 hectares taking the total site size to , thus making Rakhigarhi largest Indus Valley Civilization site by overtaking

Mohenjodaro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men'; By 2020, only 5% of the site had been excavated by the ASI and Deccan College.

Significance

Size and age

Most scholars, including

Gregory Possehl Gregory Louis Possehl (July 21, 1941 – October 8, 2011) was a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and curator of the Asian Collections at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. ...

Jonathan Mark Kenoyer Jonathan Mark Kenoyer (born 28 May 1952, in Shillong, India) is an American archaeologist and ''George F. Dales Jr. & Barbara A. Dales'' Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his Bachelor of Arts, Master's ...

, Raymond Allchin and Rita P. Wright believe it to be between 80 hectares and 100+ hectares in area. Quote: "The site is about 17 meters in height. The southern face of the mounds is rather abrupt and steep. The northern side slopes down to the surrounding plain. The contours of the site have led the excavator to divide up the place into five mounds (RGR-1 through 5). RGR-6, a Sothi-Siswal site known as Arda, was probably a separate settlement. I have visited Rakhigarhi and believe that it is 80 hectares in size." Quote: Mohenjo-daro covered an area of more than 250 hectares, Harappa exceeded 150 hectares, Dholavira 100 hectares and Ganweriwala and Rakhigarhi around 80 hectares each."(p 183)Quote: "Within a few hundred years the thriving town had grown six times larger, covering an area of over 1 50 hectares. ... civilization: Mohenjo-daro (+200 ha), Harappa (+ 150 ha), Ganweriwala and Rakhigarhi (+80 ha) and Dholavira (100 ha)"(page 49) Quote: "Rakhigarhi at 80 hectares is the largest site followed by Banawali at 25 hectares." Quote: "They include Mohenjodaro (with a city core of about 100 hectares, and suburbs possibly covering more than 200 hectares) in Sind; Harappa (more than 150 hectares) in the center of Pakistani Punjab; Dholavira (more than 100 hectares) in Gujarat; Ganweriwala (82 hectares) in Pakistani Punjab near the border with Rajasthan; and Rakhigarhi (between 80 and 105 hectares) in Haryana." Furthermore, Possehl did not believe that all mounds in Rakhigarhi belong to the same Indus Valley settlement, stating, "RGR-6, a Sothi-

Siswal Siswal is a village in Hisar district, Haryana, India. It located 28 km from Hisar city. It is a site of Chalcolithic age. It is a typesite for ''Siswal culture'', dating from around 3800 BC, also known as Sothi–Siswal culture. Location The ...

site known as Arda, was probably a separate settlement." Based on his 1997 and 2000 excavations, Amarendra Nath reported that the site covers more than in size with 7 mounds, five of which were contiguous.Harappa's Haryana connect: Time for a museum to link civilisations
/ref>

Nearby important sites and cultures

Rakhigarhi, being the largest town and regional trade centre of IVC era, is surrounded by numerous IVC sites nearby in Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab along the Gagghar-Hakra river course. The important ones among those are the Bhirrana (4 phases of IVC with earliest dated to 8th-7th millennium BCE) 86 km northwest,, p=237-238., p=2-3. Kunal (belonging to ''Kunal cultural'' which is the cultural ancestor of Rehman Dheri site) 75 km northwest,Charles Keith Maisels
''Early Civilizations of the Old World: The Formative Histories of Egypt, The Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China.''
Routledge, 2003

(belonging to '' Sothi-Siswal culture'' dated to 3800 BC, contemporaneous to ''Early-Harappan Phase'') 75 km west,The Harappan Civilisation: Its Sub-cultures
Daily Pioneer, 10 May 2018. and

(another large regional IVC city with several phases starting from Early harappan phase) 235 km west, and few more.

Excavations

Chronology of excavations

While the earliest excavation of IVC sites started from Harappa in 1921-1922 and Mohenjo-daro in 1931, the excavations at Rakhigarhi were first carried out in 1969, followed by more excavations in 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000, between 2011–16 and 2021 onward. There are 11 mounds in Rakhigarhi which are named RGR-1 to RGR-11, of which RGR-5 is thickly populated by establishment of Rakhishahpur village and is not available for excavations. RGR-1 to RGR-3, RGR6 to RGR9 and some part of RGR-4 are available for excavations. In 1963,

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

(ASI) began excavations at this site, and, though little has been published about the excavations. Quote: "Rakhigarhi will be discussed briefly in view of the limited published material" (p 107) Quote: "Excavations have also occurred at Rakhigarhi, but only brief notes have been published, and little information is currently available on its form and organization. (page 325)" In 1969, Kurukshetra University's team studied and documented the site led by its Dean of Indic studies Dr. Suraj Bhan. In 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000, ASI team began to excavate the site again, which was led by its director Dr. Amrender Nath who published his findings in scholarly journals.Bhartesh Singh Thakur
"Former Archaeological Survey director sentenced to jail for fraud"

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

, 15 October 2015. After 2000, excavations were stopped for years because of a CBI investigation on the misuse of funds. Much of the findings are donated to the National Museum, New Delhi. From 2011 to 2016, Deccan College carried out several substantial excavations led by its then Vice Chancellor and archaeologist Dr. Vasant Shinde, several members of the team published their findings in various academic journals. From 2021 onward, more excavation by ASI commenced. Central University of Haryana and Dr Vasant Shinde also expressed interest in commencing excavation.Harappan site in Hisar draws interest of archaeologists
The Tribune India, September 18, 2021.

Dating

ASI has carbon dated mound labelled RGR-1, RGR-2, RGR-6 and RGR-7. The RGR-6 has two layers of '' Preharappan Phase'' dating to 5,640 years before present (BP) and 5,440 (BP). The RGR-1 has '' Early Harappan Phase'' dating to 5,200 and 4,570 years BP. The RGR-2 also has ''Early Harappan Phase'' dated to 5,200 and 4,570 years as well as two additional samples belonging to '' Mature Harappan Phase'' dating to 4,040 and 3,900 years BP. RGR-7, which is a cemetery or a burial site from ''Mature Harappan Phase'', dates back to 4600 BP. In 2014 six radiocarbon datings from excavations at Rakhigarhi between 1997 and 2000 were published, corresponding to the three periods at the site as per archaeologist Amarendra Nath (Pre-formative, Early Harappan, and Mature Harappan). Mound RGR-6 revealed a Pre-formative stage designated as Sothi Phase with the following two datings:

6420 \pm 110

and

6230 \pm 320

years before present, converted to

4470 \pm 110

B.C.E. and

4280 \pm 320

B.C.E.

Discoveries

Findings confirm both early and mature Harappan phases and include 4,600-year-old human skeletons, fortification and bricks.

Planned city

The ASI's detailed excavation of the site revealed the size of the lost city and recovered numerous artefacts, some over 5,000 years old. Rakhigarhi was occupied at Early Harappan times. Evidence of paved roads, drainage system, large rainwater collection, storage system,

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

bricks, statue production, and skilled working of bronze and precious metals have been uncovered. Jewellery, including bangles made from terracotta, conch shells, gold, and semi-precious stones, have also been found. Digging so far reveals a well planned city with 1.92 m wide roads, a bit wider than in

. The pottery is similar to Kalibangan and

. Pits surrounded by walls have been found, which are thought to be for sacrificial or some religious ceremonies. There are brick lined drains to handle sewage from the houses. Terracotta statues, weights, bronze artifacts, comb, copper fish hooks, needles and terracotta seals have also been found. A bronze vessel has been found which is decorated with gold and silver. A gold foundry with about 3000 unpolished semi-precious stones has been found. Many tools used for polishing these stones and a furnace were found there. A burial site has been found with 11 skeletons, with their heads in the north direction. Near the heads of these skeletons, utensils for everyday use were kept. The three female skeletons have shell bangles on their left wrists. Near one female skeleton, a gold armlet has been found. In addition semi precious stones have been found lying near the head, suggesting that they were part of some sort of necklace.

Granary

A granary belonging to mature Harappan phase (2600 BCE to 2000 BCE) has been found here. Granary is made up of mud-bricks with a floor of ramped earth plastered with mud. It has 7 rectangular or square chambers. Significant traces of lime & decomposed grass are found on the lower portion of the granary wall indicating that it can also be the storehouse of grains with lime used as insecticide & grass used to prevent entry of moisture. Looking at the size, it appears to be a public granary or a private granary of elites.

Tools

Hunting tools like copper hafts and fish hooks have been found here. Presence of various toys like mini wheels, miniature lids, sling balls, animal figurines indicates a prevalence of toy culture. Signs of flourishing trade can be seen by the excavation of stamps, jewelry and 'chert' weights. Weights found here are similar to weights found at many other IVC sites confirming presence of standardized weight systems.

Culture, clothing and worship

Fire altars and apsidal structures were revealed in Rakhigarhi. Cotton cloth traces preserved on silver or bronze objects were known from Rakhigarhi,

Chanhudaro Chanhu-daro is an archaeological site belonging to the Indus Valley civilization. The site is located south of Mohenjo-daro, in Sindh, Pakistan. The settlement was inhabited between 4000 and 1700 BCE, and is considered to have been a cen ...

and Harappa. An impressive number of stamps seals were also found at this site.

Cemetery and burial sites

A cemetery of Mature Harappan period is discovered at Rakhigarhi, with eight graves found. Often brick covered grave pits had wooden coffin in one case. Different type of grave pits were undercut to form an earthen overhang and body was placed below this; and then top of grave was filled with bricks to form a roof structure over the grave. So far 53 burial sites with 46 skeletons have been discovered. Anthropological examination done on 37 skeletons revealed 17 to be of adults, 8 to be of subadults while the age of 12 skeletons could not be verified. Sex detection of 17 skeletons was successful out of which 7 were male and 10 female skeletons. Most of the burials were typical burials with skeletons in a supine position. Atypical burials had skeletons in a prone position. Some graves are just pits while some are brick lined and contain pottery. Some of them also had votive pots with animal remains symbolizing offerings to the dead. Bone remains of secondary burials were not charred hence ruling out the possibility of cremation practices. While these burials retained many of the Harappan features, group burials and prone position burials are distinct. Paleo-parasitical studies and DNA analysis to determine the lineage is being undertaken. Parasite eggs which were once existed in the stomach of those buried were found in the burial sites along with human skeletons. Analysis of Human aDNA obtained from human bones as well as analysis of parasite and animal DNA will be done to assert origins of these people.

Skeleton finds

In April 2015, four 4,600-year-old complete human skeletons were excavated from mound RGR-7. These skeletons belonged to two male adults, one female adult (classified as 'I6113') and one child. Pottery with grains of food as well as shell bangles were found around these skeletons. As the skeletons were excavated scientifically without any contamination, archaeologists think that with the help of latest technology on these skeletons and DNA obtained, it is possible to determine how Harappans looked like 4500 years ago. Shinde et al. (2019) have carried out DNA-tests on a single skeleton. Results announced in September 2018, and a paper published in ''Cell Magazine'' in 2019, show that the DNA did not include any traces of steppe ancestry, in line with the Aryan migration theory, which says that Indo-Aryans migrated to India from the steppes after the Harappan civilization had started to disintegrate. The DNA of a male skeleton (classified as 'I4411') shows affinity with present-day South Indian tribal populations, most notably the

Irula people Irula, also known as Iruliga'','' are a Dravidian ethnic group inhabiting the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. A scheduled tribe, their population in this region is estimated at around 200,000 people. People of Irula ethnicit ...

. A total of 61 skeletons were found till 2016. The average height is estimated to have been for men and for women.Nath A., Walimbe S.R., Garge T.M., Mushrif-Tripathy V., Dehuri R., and Malik A. (2015) Harappan interments at Rakhigarhi, Haryana. Man and Environment, XL: 9–32. Two of the skeletons, a man between 35 and 40 years old and women in early 20s, who died around the same time. They were found buried together side by side with men's head facing the women. Their ceremonial burial indicates that they were not in illicit relationship and the lovebirds were likely married to each other. Pots found in their grave likely carried food and water as offering to the dead. The

agate Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Anci ...

found near he collar bone of the male was likely part of a necklace.Ancient lovers found in Indian burial site mystify and intrigue archaeologists
CNN, January 10, 2019.Vasant Shinde1, et al, 2018
A young couple's grave found in the Rakhigarhi cemetery of the Harappan Civilization
Anatomy & Cell Biology, vol 51 (3), pp. 200-204. The male was tall and female was . Their skeleton had no abnormalities, injuries or sign of disease. They were both likely ''"quite healthy"'' at the time of their death.Harappa grave of ancient 'couple' reveals secrets
BBC, 9 January 2019.

Site conservation

Issues

Endangered heritage site

In May 2012, the Global Heritage Fund declared Rakhigarhi one of the ten most endangered heritage sites in Asia facing the threat of irreparable loss and destruction due to development pressures, insufficient management and looting. A 2012 study by the Sunday Times found that the site is not being looked after; the iron boundary wall is broken, and villagers sell the artefacts they dig out of the site and parts of site are now being encroached by private houses. Due to the lack of site protection the site is being destroyed by soil erosion, encroachments, illegal sand lifting, theft of archaeological artifacts for illegal sale. It is a punishable crime to sell or buy artifacts found in the ancient sites. 80% of mound 6 – a residential site of Harappan Era and 7 which is a burial site where 4 human skeletons were recovered in 2015 have been destroyed due to cultivation and soil mining.

Site encroachments

Parts of mounds R4 and R5 have been encroached by the villagers who have built 152 houses.At Haryana's Harappan site of Rakhigarhi, anxiety trumps history

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

, Feb 27, 2020. The ASI has only 83.5 acres of the 550-hectare site that entails 11 archaeological mounds, due to encroachments and pending court cases for the removal of the encroachments.

Site development

Site rehabilitation and preservation

In February 2020, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the site of Rakhigarhi would be developed as an iconic site. ASI has commenced the plan to remove encroachments from the site, including 152 houses on the R4 and R5 mounds. Villages, whose houses in the site will be removed, will be relocated and rehabilitated in the housing flats on another location.

Site museum and lake

Rakhigarhi, which is an

site, also has a museum developed by the state government.Harappan museum at Rakhigarhi
/ref> There is also

Haryana Rural Antique Museum The Dr. Mangal Sain Museum (earlier, Haryana Rural Antique Museum) in Hisar, Haryana, India is located inside the ''Gandhi Bhawan'' building of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University. History The museum construction started in ...

60 km away, which is maintained by CCS HAU in its Gandhi Bhawan, exhibits evolution of agriculture and vanishing antiques.

Jahaj Kothi Museum The Jahaj Kothi Museum in Hisar, Haryana, India, originally an 18th-century Jain temple which was also the residence of George Thomas ( – 22 August 1802) and James Skinner ( – 1841), is located inside the Firoz Shah Palace Complex whic ...

, named after George Thomas, is located inside Firoz Shah Palace Complex and maintained by

.Jahaj Kothi museum
/ref> To develop Rakhigarhi as the global heritage, two

johad A johad, also known as a pokhar or a percolation pond, is a community-owned traditional harvested rainwater storage wetland principally used for effectively harnessing water resources in the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and weste ...

(water bodies) across the road to museum are developed as lakes. The lake has been deepened by digging and traditional

ghat Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...

s with burji on the banks of lake have been constructed. A park is developed the spare land of the lake. A walking track around the lake, with shady trees and fruit trees, has been constructed for the tourists.Lake being built in Rakhigarhi
, Dainik Jagran, 16 Sept 2021. The traditional ghats represent the past scenario when paleo-

Drishadvati river The Drishadvati river (IAST:, "She with many stones") is a river hypothesized by Indologists to identify the route of the Vedic river Saraswati and the state of ''Brahmavarta''. According to ''Manusmriti'', the ''Brahmavarta'', where the Rishis c ...

use to flow through Rakhigarhi which had ghats for transporting goods for trade, via

Lothal Lothal () was one of the southernmost sites of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt. Construction of the city is believed to have begun around 2200 BCE. Archaeological Survey of ...

port and

Dholavira Dholavira ( gu, ધોળાવીરા) is an archaeological site at Khadirbet in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat in western India, which has taken its name from a modern-day village south of it. This village is ...

, as far as

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

(ancient cities of Elam and Sumer).DNA analysis of Harappan skeleton from Rakhigarhi: Thin evidence
Frontline, October 11, 2019.

Notes

References

External links

Photo of the Rakhigarhi love birds buried together.

BBC report with photo of the Rakhigarhi love birds buried together.

2015 ''Man and Environment'' Journal article on Rakhigarhi burials.Haryana Samvad Newsletter: Detailed report on Rakhigarhi with color photographs, page 1-15.
* {{Haryana Indus Valley civilisation sites History of Haryana Tourism in Haryana Former populated places in India Archaeological sites in Haryana Archaeological sites in Hisar district Tourist attractions in Hisar (city) History of Hisar district