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Ancient ports of Gujarat


The map shows that the area northwest of Ahmedabad is covered by palaeo-mudflats. Modhera is presently situated on the bank of the river Pushpavati on the edge of a paleo-mudflat. Hence it means that the town was situated near the seacoast and hence might have been a port at some time in the past. At the Bhavnagar coast, one can easily make out that earlier the coastline was more towards the west. The area to the east of the old coastline has come up, or the sea has receded later on, as it shows a broad saline band and all the rivers end on the strand line. Most of the rivers show wider river mouths near the strand lines, Figure 1. The location of Vallabhi town falls on this strand line on the bank of the present Ghelo River. The seacoast was not far away from the town. There are villages named Juni Rajsthali and Navi Rajsthali near Vallabhi that might be the places of the King’s residence or palace during those days.

Varahi, Benap and Tharad are located on the bank of a palaeo-channel that might have been a mighty river (Saraswati?) as the width of the palaeo-channel is very large. Thus these ports might have been riverine ports in those days. Some of the ports might have closed out due to unfavourable conditions. Mavsari, Padan, Amarapur, Kodadha, Zinzuwada and Guntaligadh located on the bank of the Great Rann or the Little Rann of Kachchha, which were once a part of the sea, are examples of such ports. Thus, remote sensing data shows that most of the places mentioned in literature which are believed to be the ports were indeed ports in the past. Thus it is possible to find out or confirm the location of old riverine ports or seaports using satellite data.

Table - 1 Ancient Ports of Gujarat
Port Location Taluka/District Remarks
Lat Long
1 Desalpur \ Guntali gadh 23o27’N 69o10’E Nakhatrana Kachchha Excavation
2 Rayan Mandavi 22o53’N 69o21’E Mandavi, Kachchha
3 Bhadreshwar 22o55’N 69o54’E Anjar, Kachchha
4 Koteshwar 23o41’N 68o32’E -do-
5 Jungi 23o13’N 70o34’E Bhachau, Kachchha
6 Tuna 22o59’N 70o05’E Anjar, Kachchha
7 Mavsari 24o37’N 71o22’E Vav, Banaskantha
8 Benap 24o09’N 71o25’E Vav, Banaskantha
9 Amarapur 23o36’N 71o27’E Santalpur, -do-
10 Padan 24o18’N 71o19’E -do-
11 Boru 24o02’N 71o20’E Vav,Banaskantha
12 Kodadha 23o33’N 71o30’E Sami, Mehsana Anchors found
13 Modhera 23o35’N 71o08’E Becharaji, Mehsana
14 Kamboi 23o41’N 72o02’E Chanasma, -do- temple of Vahanvati Goddess
15 Zinzuwada 23o21’N 71o39'E Dasada, Surendranagar Anchors
16 Kuntasi 22o54’N 70o36’E Maliya, Rajkot excavation
17 Hajnali 22o52’N 70o37’E -do-
18 Dahisar 22o57’N 70o37’E -do-
19 Khakharechi 23o05’N 70o55’E -do-
20 Vavania 23o00’N 70o55’E -do- established 1763AD
21 Pindara

Jamnagar
22 Vallabhi 21o53’N 71o53’E Bhavnagar
23 Vartej 21o44’N 72o04’E -do-
24 Lothal 22o31’N 72o15’E Ahmedabad excavation
25 Dholera 22o15’N 72o11’E -do-
26 Nagara 22o22’N 72o37’E Kheda 5th BC Excavation
27 Khambhat 22o18’N 72o37’E -do-
28 Bharuch

Bharuch 500BC
29 Rander 21o13’N 72o47’E Surat
30 Bilimora 20o47’N 72o58’E Valsad Mediaval
31 Varahi 23o47’N 71o27’E Santalpur, Banaskantha
32 Mahuva 21o05’N 71o46’E

33 Surat 21o12’N 72o50’E Surat
34 Kanakpur (Katpur?) 21o02’N 71o48’E

35 Navsari 20o57’N 72o55’E Valsad 841 AD
36 Tharad 24o24’N 71o38’E Banaskantha
37 Gandhar 21o53’N 72o39’E Bharuch


An Attempt to Locate New Sites
New sites of archaeological interest can be located using soil marks, vegetation marks and anomalous landforms from the satellite data. New sites can be found out on the old seacoast, palaeo mudflats or present coast or in the old seabeds. An attempt has been made to find out whether any such sign is there in the Rann of Kachchha or not. It is reported that the river Saraswati was flowing along the bank of the Little Rann of Kachchha and pouring its water in the Gulf of Khambhat. It is also reported that the river Saraswati was flowing in Kachchha up to 325 BC. The flow of the river Saraswati has been shown in Gujarat through the Rann of Kachchha up to Saurashtra from north Gujarat. Kota Venkatachelam has also shown the river Saraswati pouring water in the Rann. Figure 6 shows the map from ‘Ancient Bharat Varsha’ showing the flow of river Saraswati up to the Great Rann of Kachchha. In view of this and the recent findings at Dholavira, an attempt has been made to locate the possible sites of ancient ports.

The Great Rann of Kachchha which is dry Rann having encrusted salt in the dry season was examined in the satellite imagery. During monsoon the same area is covered with water. The area was part of the sea for more than 1000 years. IRS Geo-coded data of this area representing the Survey of India Toposheet no. 40L\8 was selected for site location. The image shows signs of a mighty river (Saraswati?) flowing in this area. River flow is between 70o 15' - 70o 30' E, the flow is north to south in direction and shows a bifurcation. The other signs show that there might be probable sites of towns or villages, at about 24o 09' N and 70o 28' E, 24o 13' N and 70o 16' E, 24o 02' N and 70o  29' E. A water body at 24o 09' N and 70o 17' E could be a village tank. Agricultural areas can be seen between 24o 11' - 24o 15' N and 70o 20' - 70o 30' E. SOI Toposheet shows only dry Rann having only one island, Maruda Takkar, having 23m height. The other information given is salt waste and the area remains usually flooded during July to December.

Such signs can also be seen in the south of Jakhel village, in between Jakhel and Chadiyana of Sami taluka. Some anomalous structures can also be seen in the north west of Subapura village of Sami taluka Mehsana district. (SOI toposheet no.41 M/10.) A more detailed survey is required for further confirmatory information. It would be useful if some of these sites could be investigated further to verify the indications seen in the satellite data.

Conclusion
Thus remote sensing technology can play an important role in understanding the past in the context of available historical and ancient literature. Remote sensing data can successfully be used for building up historical records and changes that might have taken place on the surface of the earth in the past. The data may also be used for upgrading historical atlases, which might have been prepared using only limited knowledge, and as per the imagination of certain scholars.

The proper planning, use and application of remote sensing techniques in archaeology will result in economic benefits through reduction of costs of survey. Remote sensing technique can increase efficiency, speed and data extraction at all stages of archaeological research. Aided by the broad, interdisciplinary scope injected by remote sensing data, archaeology may, in the near future, transcend its traditional narrow focus. This may, in fact, be one of the best justifications for a public, and publicly funded, remote sensing based archaeology programme.

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