National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal

Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that the Government has envisioned developing a National Maritime Heritage Complex-NMHC at Lothal near Ahmedabad to boost India’s rich and diverse maritime heritage.

Mr Sonowal highlighted that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Portugal for cultural collaboration on development of NMHC.

The complex will comprise fourteen galleries, including a naval gallery that highlights India’s maritime heritage from the Harappan times till present. He said the coastal state pavilions displaying the diverse maritime of states and union territories will also be featured in the complex.

About Lothal:

• About 80 km southwest of Ahmedabad, Lothal stood at this archaeological site 4500 years ago and was one of the most important of the Indus Valley civilization.

• Lothal is a combination of two words; Loth and thal, which in Gujarati means ‘the mound of the dead.’ The city was inhabited during 3700 BCE and was a thriving trading port. The excavation started from 13 February 1955 to 19 May 1960 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to unearth the ancient city. Archaeologists believe that the city was a part of a major river system on the ancient trade route from Sindh to Saurashtra in Gujarat.

• Artifacts suggest that trade may have been conducted with Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia. An entire township with a market and dock has been unearthed here.