Coastal Archaeological Explorations on the Eastern Margin of the Little Rann of Kachchh, Gujarat

Abstract

A coastal archaeological exploration was carried out on the eastern margin of the Little Rann of Kachchh to document the ancient remains of coastal settlements, port installations and any other aspects related to maritime traditions. The explorations yielded two protohistoric sites at Kunwar and half a dozen sites of the Medieval period along this coast. A majority of the sites have small deposits suggesting their non-urban nature, and must have been depended on the marine resources as Rann was part of the Arabian Sea in the past. The present investigation has further endorsed the hypothesis that the Rann was navigable during the Harappan period