Kot Diji

The ancient site at Kot Diji (Sindhi: ڪوٽ ڏیجي‎; Urdu: کوٹ ڈیجی‎) was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization. The occupation of this site is attested already at 3300 BCE. The remains consist of two parts; the citadel area on high ground (about 12 m), and outer area. The Pakistan Department of Archaeology excavated at Kot Diji in 1955 and 1957.[1]

Kot Diji
ڪوٽ ڏيجي
کوٹ ڈیجی
Shown within Sindh
Kot Diji (Pakistan)
LocationKhairpur District, Sindh, Pakistan
Coordinates27°20′44″N 68°42′24″E
TypeSettlement
History
PeriodsHarappan 1 to Harappan 2
CulturesIndus Valley Civilization
Site notes
Excavation dates1955, 1957

Located about 24 kilometers south of Khairpur in the province of Sindh, Pakistan, it is on the east bank of the Indus opposite Mohenjo-daro.

The site is situated at the foot of the Rohri Hills where a fort (Kot Diji Fort) was built around 1790 by the Talpur dynasty ruler of Upper Sindh, Mir Suhrab, who reigned from 1783 to 1830 AD. This fort built on the ridge of a steep narrow hill is well-preserved.

Historical significance

Early Harappan towns (4000–3000 BCE)

The development of these farming communities in different parts of Baluchistan and Lower Sind ultimately led to urbanization. The earliest fortified town to date is found at Rehman Dheri, dated 4000 BCE in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa close to River Zhob Valley. Other fortified towns found to date are at Amri (3600–3300 BCE) and Kot Diji in Sindh and at Kalibangan (3000 BCE), India at the Hakra River.[2][3][4][5]

Kot Diji culture (3300–2600 BCE)

The site covers 2.6 ha. The earliest occupation of this site is termed 'Kot Dijian', which is pre-Harappan, or early formative Harappan.[6]

At the earliest layer, Kot Diji I (2605 BC), copper and bronze were not used.[7] The houses and fortifications were made from unbaked mud-bricks. Lithic material, such as leaf-shaped chert arrowheads, shows parallels with Mundigak layers II-IV. The pottery seems to anticipate Harappan Ware.[8] Later, bronze was used, but only for personal ornaments. Also, use of the potters wheel was already in evidence.

The Early Harappan phase construction consists of two clearly defined areas. There is a citadel on high ground for the elites separated by a defensive wall with bastions at regular intervals. This area measures about 500 ft x 350 ft. The Outer area, or the city proper, consisted of houses of mud bricks on stone foundations.

Pottery found from this site has designs with horizontal and wavy lines, or loops and simple triangular patterns. Other objects found are pots, pans, storage jars, toy carts, balls, bangles, beads, terracotta figurines of mother goddess and animals, bronze arrowheads, and well-fashioned stone implements. A particularly interesting find at Kot Diji is a toy cart, which shows that the potter’s wheel permitted the use of wheels for bullock carts.

Progress towards Harappa Phase

Glazed steatite beads were produced. There was a clear transition from the earlier Ravi pottery to what is commonly referred to as Kot Diji pottery. Red slip and black painted designs replaced polychrome decorations of the Ravi Phase. Then, there was a gradual transformation into what is commonly referred to as Harappa Phase pottery.[9]

Early Indus script may have appeared at Kot Diji on pottery and on a sealing. The use of inscribed seals and the standardization of weights may have occurred during the Kot Diji period.[10]

Late Kot-Diji type pots were found as far as Burzahom in Jammu and Kashmir.

Massive burning

There are obvious signs of extensive burns over the entire site, including both the lower habitation area and the high mound (the fortified town), which were also observed at other Early Harappan sites: Period III at Gumla, Period II at Amri, Period I at Naushero. Signs of cleavage were observed at Early Harappan phase Period I at Kalibangan. The cause of the disruptions and/or abandonment of these sites toward the end of the Early Harappan phase remains unexplained.[11]

Rani Kot (600-1843 AD)
Fort of Rani Kot

According to legends, the wall existed during Umayyad rule and later under the Abbasid rule. The Soomro tribe inhabited the fort and later the Samma tribe positioned large infantry formations inside the fort.

The Mughal Emirs armed the walls of the fort with cannons and muskets. They were the first to renovate the entire structure. The Kalhora tribe later gained control of the fort, and finally the Talpurs saw the fort as a strategic asset especially during the reign of Mir Fatih Ali Khan Talpur, until they were defeated and overthrown by the British Empire, in 1843 AD.

See also

Notes
  1. Possehl, Gregory L. (2004). The Indus Civilization: A contemporary perspective, New Delhi: Vistaar Publications, ISBN 81-7829-291-2, pp.72-4.
  2. Charles Keith Maisels, Early Civilizations of the Old World: The Formative Histories of Egypt, The Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China. Routledge, 2003 ISBN 1134837305
  3. Higham, Charles (1 January 2009). Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. Infobase Publishing. pp. 9–. ISBN 978-1-4381-0996-1.
  4. Sigfried J. de Laet, Ahmad Hasan Dani, eds. History of Humanity: From the third millennium to the seventh century B.C. UNESCO, 1996 ISBN 9231028111 p.674
  5. Tejas Garge (2010), Sothi-Siswal Ceramic Assemblage: A Reappraisal. Ancient Asia. 2, pp.15–40. doi:10.5334/aa.10203
  6. Sigfried J. de Laet, Ahmad Hasan Dani, eds. History of Humanity: From the third millennium to the seventh century B.C. UNESCO, 1996 ISBN 9231028111 p.674
  7. R.K. Pruthi, Indus Civilization. Discovery Publishing House, 2004 ISBN 8171418651 p22
  8. R.K. Pruthi, Indus Civilization. Discovery Publishing House, 2004 ISBN 8171418651 p22
  9. Ravi and Kot Diji Phase Developments harappa.com
  10. Ravi and Kot Diji Phase Developments harappa.com
  11. Possehl, Gregory L. (2004). The Indus Civilization: A contemporary perspective, New Delhi: Vistaar Publications, ISBN 81-7829-291-2, pp.47-50.
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