Dwarka

Dwarka in Gujarat, one of the important religious places for Hindus, attracts tourists from all over the world due to the fabulous architectural planning of the Dwarkadhish temple. According to scriptures the town was associated with Lord Krishna and it was submerged soon after his departure to his heavenly abode. Pargiter (1904 & 1922), a noted historian, was the first to suggest that Dwarka was located near the Raivataka mountain and he has also mentioned that it was constructed on the remains of Kusasthali. Pusalkar (1943 & 1945) has even accepted that modern Dwarka was the original Dwarka of the Mahabharata period. However, many scholars have claimed different places in Gajarat as the original Dwarka.

Offshore exploration of Dwarka, initiated in 1982, has resulted in recovery of a large number of dressed semicircular and rectangular stone blocks and structures. Blocks of these have an L-shape cut, in addition to a provision for dowels. A few still retain the hard cementing material that had bounded them. These structures have 2 to 3 courses with a 60 to 80 cm height. The average size of a block is 95 × 55 × 25 cm. A large number of rectangular blocks of various sizes are also scattered in a large area in the vicinity and are evidently part of a single structure. These blocks are lying on a rocky seabed and a few of them are buried in sand.

A few structures can also be noticed in a channel on the northern side of this zone. Exposed portions of the blocks are covered with a thick growth of seaweeds and a pinkish layer of marine growth. Among the important findings is a rectangular stone block bearing Gujarati scripts, which suggests that the structure may not be very old.

Among 75 stone anchors found in the area, 34 composite stone anchors have a circular upper hole and two lower holes are square or rectangular. The other types include Indo-Arabian and ring stone anchors. These are mostly made of limestone and very similar to those found in Oman, East African coastal countries, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala and Minicoy in context of early to late medieval period.

Dwarka Temple

Offshore exploration: Dwarka

Bet Dwarka

Bet Dwarka Island, also known as Bet Shankhodhara, is situated in the Gulf of Kutch. The island has a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. Early historic settlement remains have been located on the island which may be dated back to 3rd century BC on the basis of a potsherd inscribed with 'Nandakasa' in the Mauryan Brahmi script.

NIO has carried out onshore and inter-tidal zone explorations and a few trial trenches were laid to trace a proper cultural sequence of Bet Dwarka. The most potential sites, where a large number of antiquities were recovered are Bet Dwarka-I, II, VI, and IX.

The findings of Bet Dwarka may be divided into two broad periods: Protohistoric period which includes seal, two inscriptions, a copper fishhook and late Harappan pottery. The Historical period findings consist of coins and pottery. Onshore and inter-tidal zone explorations have indicated some kind of shoreline shifting around Bet Dwarka Island as a few sites get submerged during high tide.

Offshore explorations near present Bet Dwarka jetty brought to light a number of stone anchors of different types that include triangular, Indo-Arabian and ring stones. They are made out of locally available rocks and their period may also be similar to those found at Dwarka and other places. Recently, Roman period antiquities including sherds of amphorae and a lead ingot and lead anchors were recovered from the same site. There is also an indication of a shipwreck of Roman period in Bet Dwarka waters.

Lead ingot (below)                   Amphora (below)

Somnath

Like Dwarka, Somnath (Prabhasa) is a holy place with historical importance. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata as Prabhasatirtha and Bhagawata Purana says that at this sacred place the river Saraswati flows towards the west and the town is situated on the seashore. The Nasik and Karle cave inscriptions of Nahapana (AD 119-124) also refer to Prabhasa.