Harappan habitat found near Rakhigarhi burial site in Hisar district

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, April 29

In a major discovery, archaeologists have found a habitat structure at the burial site at mound number seven in Rakhigarhi, an iconic Harappan site in Hisar district of Haryana.

Could date back to 6000 BCE

• Archaeologists have found a habitat structure near Rakhigarhi burial site in Hisar
• The structure could be a site of early Harappan era dating back to 6000 BCE, say sources
• New discovery suggests that mature Harappan people used habitat site of early Harappan era as cemetery

Sources said the mud brick walls of the habitat structure indicated that it could be a site of the early Harappan era dating back to 6000 BCE (about 8,000 years old).

“Mud bricks have been discovered at the burial site where archaeologists earlier found a skeleton during the ongoing excavation. Mound number seven is known as the cemetery where inhabitants used to bury their dead during the mature phase of the Harappan era. The new discovery is important as it suggests the mature Harappan people used the habitat site of the early Harappan era as their cemetery,” said a person who visited the site.

The sources said samples of the sand extracted from the mud brick walls would be sent to the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) at Lucknow. “The exact date of the habitat structure will be known only after the samples are analysed scientifically,” said the sources.

An ASI team, led by Joint Director General Sanjay Manjul, has been carrying out the excavation. The process is expected to be completed by May 15. The ASI team earlier found a skeleton at the burial site and a seal at another site.