Re: Gulf of Khambat Cultural Complex

Mr. Kalyanaraman,

Many thanks for your reply. Some comments and many questions are in
order.

Kalyanaraman: "Yes, I did participate in the symposium held by NIOT.
Their findings are published in the Memoirs of Geological Society of
India. Explorations are ongoing."

JS: Some questions…First, have the findings already been published?
Second, will institutions professionally engaged with archaeology,
such as the ASI and the NIO, publish something on the findings?
Third, who were the international and Indian experts who
participated in the symposium? Fourth, how did they view claims
about "the oldest city in the world" etc.? Fifth, which institutions
are involved in the ongoing explorations and who is leading them?

Kalyanaraman: "I have spelt out my views on the importance of the
finds,
particularly in reference to the formation of the gulf of khambat by
the incursion of the sea, submerging two extensions of the palaeo-
channels of rivers Narmada and Tapati. The finds have pointed to
archaeological sites on the banks of these submerged channels. At
the mouth of Tapati is a place called Bharuch (Bhr.gu-kaccha). At
the mouth of Narmada is a place called Surat (famed for the
lapidaries working with precious stones)."

JS: Strange, I always thought that Surat is at the mouth of Tapti
and Bharuch at the mouth of Narmada…Anyway, did I get it right: are
you saying that archaeological sites have been found at the
riverbanks of modern Narmada and Tapti, or are you saying that
archaeological sites have been found at the banks of presumed
ancient paleo-channels, now submerged at the depths of the Gulf of
Khambat? If the first alternative is what you meant, what relevance
does all this have with the claims on the "oldest city in the
world", "ancient writing" predating Harappan seals by thousands of
years etc.? If the latter alternative is what you meant, what
concrete evidence can you present to establish its truth?

Kalyanaraman: "The complex could be posited as a neolithic precursor
of the
Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization, exemplified by the finds of a wide
bangle made of turbinella pyrum (s'ankha) found at Mehergarh and
dated to 6500 BCE."

JS: Let us put aside for a while the controversy about naming
practice and the "mighty Saraswati river"; what you mean
by "Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilization" is known by many others as
the "Indus Civilization" or the "Harappan Civilization". Now, it is
well known that sites as Mehrgarh were Neolithic precursors of the
Harappan civilization. When you write about the "Gulf of Khambat
Cultural Complex", do you mean that Mehrgahr was part of that very
complex or a parallel development to that complex? And where is
reliably dated and stratigraphically secure archaeological evidence
to establish such claims? (If the bangle is supposed to be such
evidence, a more detailed explanation would be welcome here)

Gratefully hoping for some answers,

Best regards,

Juha Savolainen