An illustrated Gazetteer on 700 Harappan and affiliated Chalcolithic sites spread across Gujarat, which were surveyed using the GIS (Geographical Information System) to update the geo coordinates of these early settlements, will be brought by the Maharaja Sayajirao (MS) University in Baroda.
The survey, a first-of its kind, was undertaken by the varsity in collaboration with the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), Kyoto (Japan) to clear doubts over the geographical accuracy of such endangered heritage sites, which were first discovered during the 1920s and 30s, Principal Investigator, Gujarat Harappan Sites Gazetteer Project (GHSGP) and Professor at Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at MSU, Ajitprasad, said.
He told PTI that the survey was carried out after an MOU was signed between MS and RIHN, Kyoto in 2009 in order to bolster research cooperation between the two institutions.
Subsequently, in June 2010, a research programme for creating a Gazetteer of Harappan sites in Gujarat was undertaken jointly by the institutes, he said.
"The primary aim of the research programme was to correct the geo-coordinates of over 700 Harappan and affiliated sites reported over the years by several scholars and researchers in Gujarat," he said.
Also, this survey was necessary to make the data useful for modern Geographical Information System (GIS)-based research and analysis, he said.
The survey project was funded by RIHN.
Under this project, the field exploration for re-checking and documenting the Harappan and Chalcolithic sites was carried out in Kutch along with Prof Toshiki Osada (Co-ordinator of GHSGP) and other researchers from the Department of Archaeology.
This was followed by field surveys in North Gujarat with Dr Akinori Uesugi (Research Scholar, Indus Project RIHN) and exploratory surveys for recording and documenting sites in Saurashtra and parts of Kutch, Ajitprasad said.
The survey was conducted with the help of researchers from the Department of Archaeology at the MS and those from the Indus Project, RIHN, Kyoto, he said.
