A part from human skeletons and remains of domestic animals, archaeologists have also found bones of rhino and elephant in Rakhigarhi.“This shows that unlike the arid area that we see today, Rakhigarhi was not just a riverside civilization but a place like today's Kaziranga in Assam ­ full of lush greenery and rich fauna. Nothing less could have sustained big animals like these,“ says an official from Haryana archaeology department.

Curiously, it is the only Harappan civilization to have tiger seals.“Other cities of Harappan civilization had seals of Ox and unicorns.The fact that Rakhigarhi residents chose tiger as their symbol speaks volumes about their geography and strength,“ says the official.

“It was a well-watered plain with intensive agriculture. The residents of Rakhigarhi grew surplus foodgrain and even exported it,“ says Vasant Shinde, leader of the Rakhigarhi research project.

Though Rakhigarhi has all the signs of the Harappan civilization, it has its own characteristics too, he says, adding, “for example, in Rakhigarhi, all the houses open on to the streets, unlike in Harappa and Mohenjodaro.“ Rakhigarhi also had great drainage and water-harvesting systems. The metropolis was surrounded by a high wall fortification to protect residents from invaders.

According to the archaeology department official, the Rakhigarhians procured gold from the south ­ which points to well-organized trade through water channels. Like the rest of Harappa, they specialized in the manufacture of beads ­ wh i ch w a s exported to contemporary civilizations in Iran and other places.

The Saraswati

The fact that Rakhigarhi was an extremely fertile plain with abundance of water raises the possibility of it having been irrigated by a river. This has added to the Saraswati debate.“There was a river here. It may or may not have been the Saraswati.But the route of the river-bed corresponds to the course of the Saraswati mentioned in Rig Vedic texts. There's also the possibility of the Ghaggar being the Saraswati of yore as it is the only river between the Yamuna and the Satluj which is said to be the location of Saraswati. What and where exactly it was is a matter of research, says Vasant Shinde.

Significantly, the Haryana government is already digging in Yamunanagar district of the state to unearth the mythical river. A Haryana archaeology department official also hinted at the possibility of finding dry river bed of Saraswati in the vicinity of Rakhigarhi



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