Importance of Rakhigarhi

The archaeological site of Rakhigarhi is one of the oldest and largest cities of the the Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization, located in the Hissar district of Haryana.

This site, protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), is currently under excavation by the Institute of Archaeology, New Delhi.

Rakhigarhi constitutes one of the only two cities of the Harappan Era (6th millennium–1900 BC) situated within India’s current political boundary, the other being Dholavira in Gujarat.

Recently, archaeologist Professor Vasant Shinde has argued that the site of Rakhigarhi is comprised of 11 mounds, which would thus make it the largest known Harappan site.

Rakhigarhi is also well-known as the site which has yielded the only DNA evidence from the Harappan era.