The area of excavation spans around five square km.

Archaeologists say the structure found suggests a cemetery and the stones strongly indicate the presence of over 100 burial sites in the area.

Possibility of human settlement near site stronger

A team of archaeologists from Kutch University and Kerala University unearthed the site near Nani Khatia village in Lakhpat taluka, around 102 km from Bhuj.

RAJKOT: After two weeks of excavation, archaeologists have found remains of another pre-Harappan site that strongly indicates a thriving human settlement in Kutch.A team of archaeologists from Kutch University and Kerala University unearthed the site near Nani Khatia village in Lakhpat taluka, around 102 km from Bhuj. The area of excavation spans around five square km.Archaeologists say the structure found suggests a cemetery and the stones strongly indicate the presence of over 100 burial sites in the area. “This settlement existed at the same time when Dholavira, the most prominent Indus Valley Civilization site, was thriving,” said Subhash Bhandari, head of Department of Archaeology, Kutch University.“We have found pottery shards, beads and broken bangles also at this site. In Dholavira, these items were placed beside the dead bodies before burial. We believe that there are more than 100 burial sites in the area and now we will dig 10 to 15 trenches for further excavation,” said Bhandari.The possibility of a human settlement has got stronger as there is a river flowing near by.The archaeologists have also found some bricks and some other items which are being analysed to ascertain their eraThe departments of archaeology of both universities had initiated a preliminary survey of the area in 2016 using differential geographic positioning system (DGPS) and drone to get details of the geomorphology and topography of the area.“We learnt that in ancient times, round stones were placed around the burial site. Since we found such stones, it lends further credence to the possibility of finding a burial site here,” Bhandari added..