KOTDA MOUND (DHOLAVIRA), FEBRUARY 2:

Across the landscapes of death and destruction, villages and towns of debris and dust, Kutch is a modern civilisation wiped out from history, airbrushed from the map. But beyond the endless heaps of concrete and bricks, there is a patch of ancient history which withstood the killer quake: Dholavira, a Harappan landmark. The biggest Indian site of the 5,000-year-old Indus Valley civilisation looks solid, fortified by passage of time. The structures built by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to provide shelter to its staff have crumbled.
The site excavated extensively only in the early 1990s, nearly 20 years after it was discovered, has suffered no damage at all, though the villages a couple of kilometres away have been devastated by the quake.
As if to rub in one of the ironies of history, the site, inside the Great Rann of Kutch, is in a position to provide succour to residents of nearby villages who are unlikely to grow much crop in the third successive drought.That is provided the ASI which is protecting the world's common cultural heritage takes up further excavation by employing villagers as it did in the past.
But even eight days after the quake, no ASI official has visited the site. Of the six guards, who also double up as guides, only one has remained while the rest fled the day of the quake.
Ramabhai Jivabhai Koli is standing guard only because he lives in Dholavira. ``The site is absolutely safe and has not suffered any damage,'' he says,wondering when would his ordeal end. He has no one but himself for company. The hut where he used to sleep has collapsed. Alone and afraid of tremors that refuse to go away, he has been defying his family's request to stay home.
The site is believed to be the only town during that period to have an elaborate underground drainage system, houses, streets, wells and even a swimming pool.
The site is spread over 100 hectares and it has been established that it was very much in contact with the rest of the Indus Valley civilization sites in India and Pakistan.
The main citadel, where the king or the ruler of those times is believed to have stayed, the middle town and the lower town and the ceremonial ground are all intact.
Every year, the ASI begins excavation by December which continues till March or April. This year, no excavation activity has started, reportedly because a team with technical expertise could not be drafted.
Shambudhan Gadhvi of Dholavira, whose discovery of a seal in 1971 led to the unearthing of the civilisaton, says ASI can start excavation of storage tanks of the site. The work won't require any technical expertise, he says.

Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.