Maritime Archaeology Around Porbandar

The book encompasses archaeological findings both from land and underwater explorations, carried out in and around Porbandar by the Marine Archaeology Centre of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. The habitation dates back to the mid-second millennium bc noticed at Bokhira in Porbandar town on the western bank of the creek. The time-bracket is supported by archaeological remains and the scientific dates such as Carbon-14 and Thermoluminescence. Other important scientific aspects discussed in the book include the analysis of faunal remains and palynological studies. The book begins with an introduction to the geological studies and previous archaeological researches undertaken in this region and then devotes a chapter to chronology, dealing with cultural and scientific dates from the site. The results of the excavation form the content of the next chapter. The antiquities including beads, balls, terracotta artefacts and stone tools have been described in a separate chapter. The detail descriptions and analysis of various wares are discussed under the chapter ?Pottery?. A comprehensive study of four profiles of sediments for pollen analysis and the study of faunal remains have been dealt with in separate chapters. Underwater explorations undertaken at Porbandar, Miyani and Visawada form another chapter. This also included detailed descriptions of stone anchors noticed at the above-mentioned sites. An onshore exploration at Kindar Kheda, a nearby Harappan site and a small report on the exploration undertaken in the inter-tidal zone of Pindara are included in Annexures I & II respectively. The book is profusely illustrated and it is hoped that scholars and students working on maritime archaeology will find it useful.