Dholavira is a site of an ancient metropolitan town of the Harappan period.
Marine Archaeologists from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) on Monday unearthed the world’s oldest known site to have been hit and submerged by a tsunami.
Addressing a press conference in Panaji along with the team of researchers working on the project, NIO Director Dr SWA Naqvi stated that the archelogical site of Dholavira in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, which was well-planned urban settlement then, was destroyed by a tsunami around 3,450 years ago.
“The soil samples have been found to contain fossils of foraminifera, microscopic organisms that build calcareous shells and live only in seawater. This presence of shells of marine organisms in the soil strongly suggests an episodic deposition of marine sediments in the area. This deposition could have occurred as a result of a massive tsunami,†he said.
“The GPR records show 2.5-3.5 metre thick homogenous soil layer below the surface, which suggests its episodic deposition, possible due to an extreme event. The exact timing of the sediments deposited in Dholavira is yet to be established. However, the results clearly indicate that massive tsunamis are not uncommon in the region,†he added.
Dholavira is a site of an ancient metropolitan town of the Harappan period and was known as the largest port town of the Harappans which flourished around 5,000 years ago. It is also the second largest Harappan site located within the present borders of India, comprises three parts including a castle, the middle town and the lower town.
“A unique feature of Dholavira is the presence of a 14-18 meters thick wall, apparently built as a protective measure against tsunamis,†said Rajiv Nigam, a lead scientist at the National Institute Of Oceanography.