Rakhigarhi Excavations | A Timeline

Rakhigarhi, a village in Haryana’s Hisar district, is considered one of the largest known sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC). It is one of only two Harappan-era cities located within India’s present borders, the other being Dholavira in Gujarat.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has conducted multiple excavations at Rakhigarhi and claims it to be the largest discovered metropolis of the IVC in South Asia, significantly larger than the more well-known sites of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, both currently in Pakistan.

The Indus Valley Civilisation, also called the Harappan Civilisation, was a Bronze Age society that thrived in the Indus River basin and adjoining regions, covering parts of modern-day Pakistan, northwest India, and eastern Afghanistan. It existed from around 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE and is recognised as one of the world’s earliest urban civilisations, alongside Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.

Rakhigarhi comprises 11 mounds, seven of which have been excavated. Major discoveries include a drainage system, house structures, lanes, a jewellery-making unit, copper and gold ornaments, terracotta toys, earthen pots, seals, a burnt-brick wall indicating a walled settlement, an aristocratic quarter, semi-precious stones like agate and carnelian, and two female skeletons buried with pottery and jewellery.

Here is the timeline of archaeological excavations at Rakhigarhi:

1968–1969: Suraj Bhan’s Initial Exploration 

Archaeologist Suraj Bhan first documented Rakhigarhi in his PhD dissertation, Prehistoric Archaeology of the Saraswati and Drishadvati Valleys (1968–69). His study highlighted exposed structures, Harappan-painted pottery, and cultural material. Bhan explored mounds 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, suggesting Rakhigarhi could have been a provincial capital during the Harappan era. At the time, the village was small, but gradual settlement expansion made it difficult to work on some mounds.

1997–2000: Dr. Amarendra Nath’s Excavations 

ASI archaeologist Dr. Amarendra Nath led extensive excavations from 1997 to 2000. His team unearthed a well-planned Harappan city with mud-brick structures, lanes, and drainage systems, dating back to 2500 BCE. These findings provided insights into the urban planning and culture of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

2000–2011: Excavation Hiatus 

In 2015, Nath was convicted of fraud by a special CBI court for fabricating bills and misappropriating ASI funds during the excavation process. This CBI investigation led to a decade-long hiatus in excavations between 2000 and 2011.

2012–2016: Professor Vasant Shinde’s Excavations

Excavations resumed in 2012 under Professor Vasant Shinde, then Vice-Chancellor of Deccan College, Pune. Shinde’s team mapped the site and claimed it to be larger than Mohenjo-Daro. He estimated Rakhigarhi’s size at 550 hectares, compared to Mohenjo-Daro (300 hectares) and Harappa (150 hectares).

2018–2019: DNA Study Revelations 

In 2019, Professor Shinde co-authored a paper, An Ancient Harappan Genome Lacks Ancestry from Steppe Pastoralists or Iranian Farmers, in which they analysed DNA from a single Rakhigarhi skeleton. The study concluded that the individual lacked genetic ancestry from Steppe pastoralists, contradicting the Aryan Migration Theory (AMT). It suggested Indians originated from an indigenous genetic pool linked to an ancient civilisation. However, many historians criticised these deductions as “hasty” and lacking robust scientific grounding. They argue that existing evidence does not support conflating the Vedic civilisation with the Harappan civilisation.

2021–2023: Renewed Excavations and Global Attention 

In 2021, the ASI resumed excavations at Rakhigarhi, with subsequent digs in 2022 and 2023. Each phase usually lasts two to five months or more. On December 10, 2024, the ASI declared mounds 6 and 7 as protected sites. Four mounds had already been declared protected. Of the seven mounds at the site, only mound 4 remains unprotected due to dense habitation.