QUE: Excavations at Lothal, Kuntasi and Rangpur have given a new dimension to the understanding that the people of the Indus Valley were skilled traders through ports. – Discuss.

Based on the excavations done at various sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, it can be said that the most important aspect of the urban economy of this civilization was their internal and international trade, which was carried out through ports like Lothal, Sutkagendor, Kuntasi and Rangpur.

• Trade through the ports of Lothal, Kuntasi and Rangpur
  

•  The coast was once only 5 km away from Lothal, located between the Bhogao and Sabarmati rivers. From the excavations done under the guidance of Dr. S.R.Rao, it was found that there was a fort in Lothal to the east and a warehouse to the south.
  
•  The anchorage in Lothal was more developed than the Roman anchorages and could withstand the waves of the water during high tide.
  
•  The anchorages from Lothal prove that the Harappan civilization traded through Lothal. Moreover, Lothal was an international port of India.
  
•  Cotton, chalcedony, carnelian, agate and shell rock were produced in Lothal and its surrounding areas, due to which the traders traded with ports like Oman, Bahrain, Susa, Kish in the Persian Gulf and Ur in Mesopotamia.
  
•  Apart from Lothal, Bibino Timbo of Kuntasi is about 7 km away from the Gulf of Kutch, so it can also be said to be a port settlement.
  

                         Ship anchoring piers, warehouses for storing goods, and beads have been found at Kuntasi, which indicates that the traders there must have had trade relations with Bahrain, Oman, and ancient Iraq. Thus, such ports allowed traders to move from one place to another to obtain raw materials and exchange them with different countries, which shows that the Indus Valley traders were skilled in trade and commerce.