Ancient site · Settlement
Bhirrana
Also known as Bhirdana
A village and town on the dry Ghaggar river in Haryana that grew from an early Hakra Ware settlement of pit dwellings into a walled Harappan town with streets and mudbrick houses. The Archaeological Survey of India reported two very early radiocarbon dates and called it the oldest Indus site.
Other samples from the same early levels date to 3200–2600 BCE, and the copper tools fit a later stage, so its early chronology remains contested.
- Dates
- claimed c. 7500 BCE; most scholars: 4th millennium BCE to c. 1900 BCE
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- Location
- 29.55° N, 75.55° E
How we know
Two charcoal samples gave dates near 7500 BCE, but they came from layers with pottery and copper dated to around 3500 BCE elsewhere, so many scholars doubt the early date.
Nearby sites
- Rakhigarhi village from c. 4600 BCE; city c. 2600–1900 BCE
- Kalibangan c. 3500–1750 BCE
- Sinauli c. 2000–1500 BCE
- Iron pillar of Delhi c. 400 CE (reign of Chandragupta II, c. 375–415 CE)
- Hastinapur Painted Grey Ware town c. 1100–800 BCE (Lal; 2021–22 dig: from c. 1500 BCE); occupied into medieval times
- Harappa c. 3300–1300 BCE; city at its height c. 2600–1900 BCE
Related
- Early Harappan (Ravi, Kot Diji and Sothi-Siswal phases) archaeological culture