Archeological Sites of Haryana | HPSC Preparation: All subjects - HPSC (Haryana) PDF Download

Bhirrana

• Bhirrana, also known as Birhana, is a village in Fatehabad District that is situated about 220 km northwest of New Delhi on the New Delhi-Fazilka national highway. It is located approximately 14 km northeast of the district headquarters on the Bhuna road in the Fatehabad district. 
• The village is among the several sites found along the channels of the ancient Saraswati riverine systems, which are now represented by the seasonal Ghaggar River that flows in modern Haryana from Nahan to Sirsa.
• Rao suggests that Hakra Ware, a type of material culture, has been discovered at Bhirrana and is from the pre-Harappan era, dating back to the 8th-7th millennium BCE. 
• The Hakra Ware culture existed at the same time as the early Harappan Ravi phase culture (3300-2800 BCE) of the Indus Valley. Dikshit and Rami have estimated the age of Bhirrana based on two charcoal samples, which have given two different dates: 7570-7180 BCE and 6689-6201 BCE.

Banawali

• Banawali is an ancient site that dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization era, situated in the Fatehabad district of Haryana, India. It is approximately 120 km northeast of Kalibangan and about 16 km from Fatehabad. Previously known as Vanavali, the archaeological site is located on the left banks of the dried-up Sarasvati River. Unlike Kalibangan, which was established in the lower middle valley of the dried-up Sarasvathi River, Banawali was constructed over the upper middle valley of Sarasvathi River.
• The Archaeological Survey of India conducted excavations at this site and found evidence of a well-built fort town from the Harappan period. This fort town was built over a large proto-urban settlement from the pre-Harappan period. During the excavation, a defensive wall with a height of 4.5 meters and thickness of 6 meters was discovered, which extended up to 105 meters in distance.
• The dwellings in the area were meticulously designed with rooms and bathrooms, featuring compacted earth floors. These houses were arranged along streets and lanes in an organized manner. A significant structure was discovered by ASI near the southeastern part of the fortification, consisting of a flight of stairs leading from the "Lower town" to the Acropolis. This structure is believed to be important by the ASI. The staircase of the "lower town" is situated next to a construction resembling a bastion.

Balu, Kaithal

• Balu is a fortified settlement from the Indus Valley Civilisation located in Haryana, India, about 22 km south of the city of Kaithal. This archaeological site has provided numerous plant remains.
• The plant remains found at Balu include different varieties of wheat, barley, rice, horsegram, green gram, various types of peas, sesame, melons, watermelons, grapes, dates, garlic, and more (according to Saraswat and Pokharia - 2001-2). 
• These findings are similar to those at the nearby IVC site of Kunal in Haryana, which revealed rice remains (possibly wild).

Farmana

• Farmana Khas, also known as Daksh Khera, is a site of archaeological importance located in the Meham block of the Rohtak district in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It spans an area of 18.5 hectares and is situated close to the village of Farmana Khas, approximately 15 kilometers away from the Rohtak-Hissar highway and 60 kilometers from Delhi. 
• One notable feature of the site is its burial site, which contains 70 burials from the Mature Harappan period (2500-2000 BCE), making it a recent addition to the list of excavated Indus Valley Civilisation sites in India.

Rakhigarhi

• Rakhigarhi, also known as Rakhi Garhi (Rakhi Shahpur and Rakhi Khas), is situated in the Hisar District of Haryana state in India, about 150 kilometers northwest of Delhi. It contains evidence of a pre-Indus Valley Civilization settlement from around 6500 BCE, as well as later occupation during the mature Indus Valley Civilization period from 2600-1900 BCE. 
• The site is situated in the Ghaggar-Hakra river plain, around 27 km away from the seasonal Ghaggar river.
• Rakhigarhi is composed of seven mounds, with additional settlement mounds located in close proximity, though not all were occupied simultaneously. The size of Rakhigarhi is estimated to be between 80 and 550 hectares, depending on which mounds are included. 
• In January 2014, the discovery of more mounds resulted in it becoming the largest Indus Valley Civilization site, surpassing Mohenjodaro (which covers 300 hectares) by nearly 50 hectares, bringing its total area to almost 350 hectares.

Milakpur

• Milakpur is an archaeological site belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization and is located in the Bhiwani district of Haryana, India. It is significant in supporting Rakhigarhi's status as the largest metropolis of the Indus Valley Civilization on the banks of Drishadvati river (now the paleochannel of Chautang). 
• Around 23 other Indus Valley Civilization sites were discovered within 5 km (at 4 sites), 10 km (at least 10 sites), and 15 km (at least 9 sites) radius of Rakhigarhi until 2001. Some of the raw materials were sourced from the central Rakhigarhi site, and finished products were taken back to it for marketing. 
• There are several Indus Valley Civilization sites located within a 5-10 km radius of Rakhigarhi. Within 5 km, there are early Harappan sites like Gamra, and mature Harappan sites like Budana, Haibatpur, and Lohari Ragho 3. Within 5-10 km radius, early Harappan sites are Lohari Ragho 1, Lohari Ragho 2, and Kheri Lochab-Kheri Jalab. 
• The mature Harappan small farmstead sites include Milakpur and Gunkali. Small farmstead sites like Kinnar, Nara, and Mirchpur have material from both mature and late Harappan periods. Late Harappan sites include Sotha and Gandaswala Khera.

Lohari Ragho

• Lohari Ragho is a village situated in Hisar district of Haryana, India. It is situated approximately 55 km from Hisar and 178 km from Chandigarh. The village is located in close proximity to the larger ancient site of Rakhigarhi.
• The excavation in 1980 uncovered three mounds that belonged to the Sothi-Siswal ceramic period. Dhoop Singh and Chanderpal Singh from the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Haryana first reported the archaeological remains found at the site. 
• A significant number of Harappan ceramics, including globular jars, vases, bowls, basins, and fast wheel pottery made of red ware, were unearthed during the excavation.

Srughna

• Srughna was a city in ancient India that is frequently mentioned in early and medieval texts. It was visited by the Chinese traveler Xuanzang in the 7th century, and even then, it was reported to be in ruins. However, its foundations still remained. Xuanzang described the city as having a large Buddhist vihara and a grand stupa that dated back to the time of the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka. 
• Several stupas were present, which commemorated the Buddha's visit or enshrined the relics of Buddhist monks Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. Alexander Cunningham identified the lost city with the village of Sugh (or Sugha) located 5 kilometers from Yamunanagar in the state of Haryana. It is likely that the city lost its importance after the 7th century and its name continued to exist in a local form. 
• Excavations conducted by Panjab University in 1965 revealed a range of artifacts dating from 600 BCE to 300 CE. These included different types of pottery such as grey ware and red ware, coins, seals, animal remains, male and female terracotta figurines, animal terracotta figurines, and various terracotta objects such as flesh rubbers, crucibles, rattles, gamesmen, stamps, seal impressions, discs, frames, wheels, a goldsmith's heating cup, an ear ornament with grooves on the exterior, and a broken figurine of a headless child holding a writing board with alphabets dating to the Sunga (187 BCE to 78 BCE) period. 
• The collection of figurines represents the Sunga, Mauryan, Kushana, Gupta, and medieval periods.