The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History

by Sanjeev Sanyal

Lothal is one of the best known because of the discovery of a large dockyard which used sluice gates and a spill channel to regulate water levels. Next to the dockyard, there are remains of structures that may have been warehouses and a series of brick platforms where one can imagine stern customs officials inspecting the goods and unscrupulous merchants trying to bribe them. Lothal is several kilometres away from the sea now and modern-day visitors will be surprised to know that it was once possible to sail from Dholavira to Lothal. In fact, it is quite possible that Lothal was a customs checkpoint for shipping headed north for Dholavira through the Gulf of Khambhat. There may have been a similar checkpoint for ships coming in from the west, perhaps at Bet Dwarka, where a number of Harappan-era anchors have been found.