World First Dock

I dont know if most of you have heard of Lothal, World's First Dock.

I had been to Lothal, while i was working in a Project in Gujarat. Its immense. These folks had studied the was the sabramati river used to change course, and had constructed a Dock that was not affected by it at all.

More Info..

The world's first dock at Lothal (2400 BCE) was located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt.[16] Modern oceanographers have observed that the Harappans must have possessed great knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering.[16] This was the earliest known dock found in the world, equipped to berth and service ships.[16] It is speculated that Lothal engineers studied tidal movements, and their effects on brick-built structures, since the walls are of kiln-burnt bricks.[17] This knowledge also enabled them to select Lothal's location in the first place, as the Gulf of Khambhat has the highest tidal amplitude and ships can be sluiced through flow tides in the river estuary.[17] The engineers built a trapezoidal structure, with north-south arms of average 21.8 metres (71.5 ft), and east-west arms of 37 metres (121 ft).[17]

Source- Wikipedia - Indian Maritime History

Lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilization. Located in the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 2400 BCE, it is one of India's most important archaeological site that dates from that era. Discovered in 1954, Lothal was excavated from February 13, 1955 to May 19, 1960 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Lothal's dock—the world's earliest—connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra when the surrounding Kutch desert of today was a part of the Arabian Sea. It was a vital and thriving trade centre in ancient times, with its trade of beads, gems and valuable ornaments reaching the far corners of West Asia and Africa. Lothal's people were responsible for the earliest-known portrayals of realism in art and sculpture, telling some of the most well-known fables of today. Its scientists used a shell compass and divided the horizon and sky into 8–12 whole parts, possibly pioneering the study of stars and advanced navigation—2000 years before the Greeks. The techniques and tools they pioneered for bead-making and in metallurgy have stood the test of time for over 4000 years.

Source - Wikipedia- Lothal


More reading at

en.wikipedia.org...

and
www.harappa.com...




more photographs at
www.indohistory.com...

Excellent presentation Coredrill, thanks

One question I couldn't quite answer from the data. How far is the dock from the sea? Or did it operate as a riverine port?

reply to post by Hanslune


It is is a riverine Dock.

it up the river, in the sabarmati river basin...

the below pic is an external image since it is slightly large...
i238.photobucket.com...

[edit on 20/2/09 by coredrill]

[edit on 20/2/09 by coredrill]

reply to post by coredrill


Thanks for the additional info - I can sleep tonight.

does anyone but the archaeological survey of india say its the oldest?

is it a unesco site? under consideration? being the oldest thats pretty important?

Nice find, i did a lil Googe'ing and found some great sources of Info on that. Have you ever heard of Tianhuanaco in Bolivia ? It is also a port, which used to be located on the edge of a lake. The lake has now receded greatly, the lake is now 15+ miles away and they think it would of took 12,000+ years for it to receded so far, any one heard that ? I only found it after looking at this one...

Originally posted by ProTo Fire Fox
Nice find, i did a lil Googe'ing and found some great sources of Info on that. Have you ever heard of Tianhuanaco in Bolivia ? It is also a port, which used to be located on the edge of a lake. The lake has now receded greatly, the lake is now 15+ miles away and they think it would of took 12,000+ years for it to receded so far, any one heard that ? I only found it after looking at this one...

Sounds familiar, considering it's been claimed and debunked probably about 45 times since I joined ATS a couple years back.

Tiahuanaco wasn't a port on the lake and it's nowhere near that old. Case closed.

Harte

Nice presentation, Coredrill!

I also have a question -- has the path of the river changed much since the time it was built? A number of Native American sites here in North America near the Mississippi river were abandoned as the rivers changed course (and some sites were buried.)

"Byblos Port is an ancient port in Byblos, Lebanon and is the oldest port in the world. Around 3000 BC, Byblos Port was the most important timber shipping center in the eastern Mediterranean. It was used by the Phoenicians to ship Cedars of Lebanon and other wood to the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt to be used in tomb construction and shipbuilding."

"Jaffa is the oldest port in the world and was first used by the Canaanites for several centuries."

looks like its a gum fight

parta, you seem to have confused the Word "Dock" with "Port"

PORT

A port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake.

en.wikipedia.org...


DOCK

A dock (from Dutch 'dok') is a man-made feature involved in the handling of boats or ships. However the exact meaning varies between different variants of the English language.


The world's first dock at Lothal (2400 BCE) was located away from the main current to avoid deposition of silt.[1] Modern oceanographers have observed that the Harappans must have possessed great knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever-shifting course of the Sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and maritime engineering.[1] This was the earliest known dock found in the world, equipped to berth and service ships.[1] It is speculated that Lothal engineers studied tidal movements, and their effects on brick-built structures, since the walls are of kiln-burnt bricks.[2] This knowledge also enabled them to select Lothal's location in the first place, as the Gulf of Khambhat has the highest tidal amplitude and ships can be sluiced through flow tides in the river estuary.[2] The engineers built a trapezoidal structure, with north-south arms of average 21.8 metres (71.5 ft), and east-west arms of 37 metres (121 ft).[2]

en.wikipedia.org...(maritime)

HARBOUR/HARBOR

harbor or harbour (see spelling differences), or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbors can be man-made or natural. A man-made harbor will have sea walls or breakwaters and may require dredging. A natural harbor is surrounded on most sides by land. Harbors and ports are often confused. A port is a man-made coastal or riverine facility where boats and ships can load and unload. It may consist of quays, wharfs, jetties, piers and slipways with cranes or ramps. A port may have magazine buildings or warehouses for storage of goods and a transport system, such railway, road transport or pipeline transport facilities for relaying goods inland.

en.wikipedia.org...


I hope this clears the misconception!

You can have your gum fight in front of your mirror!

so what is the thing at a port where you tie up your ship?

now there are 80 foot long ships at abydos and they are 3000bc. would you tie those up at a dock?

apparently coredrill is saying that a single national archaeological survey can summarily determine whats oldest in the whole world. this is very good to hear because i know someone who's going to show us really really old and really really big docks.




[edit on 26-2-2009 by Parta]

byrd,

i searched all over for any reference to the ancient courses of the sabarmati river, but came across only some papers that are available for purchase.

i had posted a screen capture of the river basin. In that pic, the basin, the existing river course and the complete extent of the river through out time is quite visible and evident.

will surely post something if i get my hands on any information.