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DEPARTMENT OF
ARCHEOLOGY
Introduction
:-
The Gujarat State Department
of Archaeology was established in 1949.
Even before Independence, the princely
States, especially Baroda, Jamnagar and
Junagadh were at the forefront of
antiquarian activities and had their own
laws for the protection of monuments. There
are hundreds of ancient settlements of
various cultures and periods beginning from
pre-Harappan (2900 B.C.) and Harappan
(2500-1800 B.C) to Post-Harappan (1500-1200
B.C.) and Early Historic periods (1st
to 4th centuries A.D.) During
the mediaeal period beginning with the
Solanki period, Gujarat witnessed a flurry
of building activities in the form of
temples, stepwells and gateways. The
Navlakha temple at Ghumli, in Jamnaar
district, the Sun Temple at Modhera and
Rani-ki Vav at Patan are the outstanding
examples of Solanki architecture. Prior to
the Solankis, Saurashtra under the Maitrakas
and Saindhavas (6th to 10th
centuries A.D.) witnessed the rise of a
typical style of temple architecture both
along the coastal belt and in the
hinterland. The temples – Khimeswar Mahadev
near Kuchhadi, Chadeswar Mahadev near Chhaya,
Sun temple at Boricha, ive temples at Fatana,
Nandeshwar Mahadev temples near Bokhira are
all located near or close to Porbandar.
However, the earliest temple of Gujarat is
the Sun Temple at Gop datable to 7th
century A.D. Early dates for this temple
have been suggested by some scholars. The
temple is located in the village of
Jina-vali Gop in the Jamjodpur taluka of
Jamnagar district and is 60 km. from
Jamnagar on the highway through Lalpur.
Bhanwad which is also on the same route, is
the town from where famous group of temples
of Ghumli can be reached. The most
prominent among these is the Navlakha temple
(12th A.D.) and Sonkansari
temples (9th – 10th
A.D.) This apart, there is Rani-ki-Vav at
Patan and the temple of here are numerous
other monuments all over Gujarat bearing
testimony to different dynasties and
religions. For example, we have beautiful
mosques, tombs and gateways belonging to
Sultanate period in Ahmedabad itself. |
