KOT DIJI ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
February 23, 2020
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The
ancient site at Kot Diji was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization. The
occupation of this site is attested already at 3300 BCE.
Situated
fifteen miles south of the Town of Khairpur KotDiji is the earliest known ruin
of the great Chaleolithic Civilization of the Indus Valley. Excavation at the
prehistoric mound of Kot Diji has dismissed the long-held view that” the Indus
Valley Civilization was a static an uninspired monument of ultra-Conservation.
In 1946 Sir Mortimer Wheeler discovered a distinct
glass of ceramic below the defenses at Harappa which he considered of an
insignificant nature and belonging to some alien people. The excavations
conducted by Dr. F.A. Khan at Kot Diji proved that the “alien pottery below the
massive defenses at Harappa, in fact, belonged to a distinct pre-Harappan
Culture”.
The ancient Kot Diji comprised a citadel where the
ruling class lived and an outer part of the city that was the dwelling of the
common populace. Today the main axis of the 40 feet high mound runs from east
to west and measures 600 feet in length and about 400 feet in breadth.
Excavations, both vertical and horizontal, on the top
and the eastern slope of the mound have provided a complete cross-section of
the Kot Diji site, revealing valuable information about the cultural sequence,
and the art and architectural details of the occupation phases. The excavations
extend the prehistoric chronology by 300 years beyond the date of the beginning
of Harappa.
The few upper layers of vertical digging represent a typical mature phase of the Indus Valley Civilization contemporary to the
Harappan Culture. The underlying 17 feet thick cultural accumulation is
separated from the superimposed Harappan levels by a thick layer of Charred
material suggesting a holocaust and a temporary discontinuity in the chronology
of the settlement. The levels of occupation below this plane represent the
older culture of Kot Diji, distinguished by a peculiar type of ceramic
industry.
In the upper levels of Kot Doji excavation the
general characteristics of the pottery and their designs are the same as
observed in the Harappan pottery, possibly with a few minor differences, but
the typical Harappan pottery, possibly with a few minor differences, but the
typical Harappan steatite seals and terracotta human and animal figurines are
very rare only one steatite seal depicting the “unicorn” was found and three
terracotta female (mother goddess) and a dozen of bull figurines were
recovered.
Below the layer of charred material, the cultural
finds represent the Kot Diji culture. The most distinctive feature of the
pottery in these layers are the fine thin body, short beaded or slightly
everted rim, fugitive, broad band round the neck in red, brown, sepia or warm
black one to three inches wide, painted on a cream or dull red slip. It is
wheel made and has no visible affinity with the normal Harappan were higher in
texture, form, or decoration.
Small finds from the Kot Dijian level are very rare.
Still, they provide evidence of a highly developed culture, and compared with the
Harappan specimens, they show superiority in technical skill.
Excavation has clearly revealed the evidence of
settled conditions when the Kot Dijians manufactured well-finished pottery and
built their houses in mud bricks. The people of Harappan borrowed some of the
decorative designs and motifs on pottery from the Kot Dijians and above and
they learned they are of fortification from the Kot Dijians to which their
fortified cities, Harappan and Mohenjodaro bear witness.
