Sublime & surreal, 4500-year-old Lothal is the world's earliest known dock near Ahmedabad

All you history enthusiasts, this piece is especially for you! Listen up and listen up close... What if we tell you that there is a place near Ahmedabad that when touched upon by humans, transports them through the sands of time and into a rich, glorious past?

Seems unreal? This place is actually nothing short of sublime and surreal. Lothal, standing for 4,500 years now (yes, that is 45 centuries (!!)), is an archaeological marvel every Indian should, once in their life, visit and live.

Lying 80 km southwest of Ahmedabad, the celebrated archaeological site was once a city and various structural artefacts of Harappan town were excavated from here. Lothal is situated near the Saragwala village in Ahmedabad district's Dholka Taluka.

Emerging victorious from all tests of time, the site is said to have been discovered in 1954. It stands 670 kilometers from Mohenjo-daro in Sindh.

Inhabited sometime during 3700 BCE, Lothal was once an important and flourishing trading port-town. Artefacts found from here signify that trade was carried between Lothal and Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia.

Ancient remains unearthed are in abundance here. We're talking from one of world's artificial docks (which connected the city to an ancient course of Sabarmati River on trade route), warehouses, a well-organised drainage system (something we could definitely study and take inspiration from), bead factory, to the township, market place and more. All the evidences hint towards a highly intellectual Lothal society.

For all those who desire to visit the site, this is not it. There's also an Archaeological Museum near Lothal that shelters numerous artefacts like pottery, jewellery, seals, religious tokens, and other objects that you can visit anytime between 10 AM-5 PM and any day sans Friday.

A vital part making modern Indian archaeology what it is today, Lothal has also been nominated to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There's so much about Lothal that cannot be contained in a mere article — another reason for you to visit the historical and archaeological miracle!