Overview
About 120 kilometres northeast of Kalibangan and 16 kilometres from Fatehabad, Banawali preserves the remains of an ancient settlement built beside the left bank of the now-dried Sarasvati River. The site, earlier called Vanavali, developed in the upper middle valley of the river, while Kalibangan stood farther downstream in its lower middle valley.
Excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India under R. S. Bisht in 1974, Banawali revealed a sequence extending from the pre-Harappan period through the Mature Harappan phase and into the Bara culture. Its remains include a fortified town, carefully planned streets, domestic houses, wells, storage facilities, seals, weights, ornaments, painted pottery, and structures connected with ritual activity.
Banawali matters because its archaeological layers show urban development rather than a single moment of occupation. An extensive proto-urban settlement was followed by a fortified Harappan town measuring approximately 200 by 500 metres. The site also preserves evidence of trade and specialized craft production, allowing the settlement to be understood as both a residential community and an active economic centre.
Etymology and Names
Banawali was earlier known as Vanavali. The surviving historical material does not establish the linguistic origin or precise meaning of either name. In archaeological discussions, the name Banawali identifies the settlement and its cultural sequence in present-day Fatehabad district, Haryana.
Geography and Location
Banawali occupied the left bank of the dried Sarasvati River. Its location in the upper middle valley distinguished it from Kalibangan, which was situated in the lower middle valley. The riverine setting probably shaped the settlement’s development, although the precise course and history of the ancient river remain subjects requiring careful archaeological interpretation.
The settlement’s wall may have served a defensive purpose, but it may also have helped confront flooding from the Sarasvati. Archaeological observations suggest that water damage contributed to the wall’s collapse. This possibility shows how the town’s geography could be both an advantage and a danger.
Marine shells found at Banawali, as at Harappa and Kalibangan, are especially important. Since these settlements were far from the seacoast, the shells indicate internal exchange between distant regions during the early Indus period.
Ancient History
Banawali’s earliest identified phase, Period I, dates approximately from 2500 to 2300 BCE and is associated with the pre-Harappan period. It included several stages: an initial phase before fortification, a defence phase, and a transitional Proto-Harappan phase. Houses were constructed from kiln-fired and molded bricks. Pottery included vases and jars arranged into two broad groups according to their designs, and the assemblage closely resembled pottery from the Kalibangan I period.
During Period II, approximately 2300–1700 BCE, Banawali became a Mature Harappan fortified town. Its plan followed a chessboard-like arrangement. The fortified area consisted of two adjacent sections, one interpreted as being associated with a ruling group and the other with common residents. In the lower residential area, north–south thoroughfares intersected with east–west lanes, creating an organized urban street network.
The houses opened onto these lanes and contained rooms, kitchens, toilets, rammed-earth floors, mud-plastered walls, and storage spaces. Some storage arrangements have been compared with the strong rooms found at Kuntasi. A flight of steps in the south-eastern part of the fortification connected the lower town with the acropolis. The staircase stood near a bastion-like construction and is regarded by the Archaeological Survey of India as an important feature of the town’s design.
Period III, approximately 1700–1500 or 1450 BCE, is represented by the Bara culture. It may be described as post-Harappan or as late contemporary with the Harappan tradition. The end of the urban phase at Banawali, like the decline of urban life at Kalibangan, appears to have occurred suddenly.
Historical Timeline
- c. 2500–2300 BCE: Pre-Harappan settlement develops, with planned brick houses and Kalibangan-related pottery.
- c. 2300–1700 BCE: Mature Harappan fortified town is established.
- c. 2300–1700 BCE: Organized streets, houses, craft activity, ritual structures, and trade connections flourish.
- c. 1700–1500/1450 BCE: Bara culture represents a post-Harappan or late contemporary phase.
- 1974 CE: R. S. Bisht and the Archaeological Survey of India excavate the site.
Political and Urban Significance
Banawali’s fortification and internal division suggest a carefully organized settlement. The two adjacent areas may reflect distinctions between a ruling group and common residents, although the exact political structure cannot be reconstructed with certainty. The substantial wall—more than 105 metres long, 4.5 metres high, and 6 metres wide—was a major architectural undertaking.
Urban order is also visible in the streets. Thoroughfares crossed at right angles, while lanes connected the residential blocks. Houses were aligned along these routes, demonstrating planning at the level of both the town and the individual dwelling.
Religious and Cultural Importance
Several houses contained fire altars associated with apsidal structures. These installations appear to have had ritual purposes, though their exact meaning remains uncertain. Banawali also yielded large numbers of female figurines, comparable to finds from Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.
The site’s pottery was finely made and decorated with peacocks, pipal leaves, trees, deer, stars, fish, flowers, intersecting circles, checkerboard designs, and honeycomb patterns. Seals carried images of rhinoceroses, wild goats, ibexes, unicorns, and a composite animal with a tiger’s body.
Economic Role and Craft Production
Banawali’s houses reveal different forms of economic activity. A multi-room house containing seals and weights may have belonged to a merchant. Another larger house yielded gold beads, lapis lazuli, carnelian, tiny weights, and a stone marked with streaks of gold. This object was probably a touchstone used to test gold purity, a technique that is still practised in the region.
The settlement also produced evidence of copper, bronze, gold, silver, shell bangles, ivory, ovens, tandoors, cooking vessels, and storage facilities. One weight measured 87.855 grams, approximately 100 times a more common Harappan weight of 0.857 grams. Earlier bricks followed a 3:2:1 ratio associated with Kalibangan, while later bricks used a 4:2:1 ratio.
Notable Finds
Among the distinctive discoveries are a burnished greyware vessel decorated with two bucranian, or bovine-head, motifs in appliqué. Similar bovine forms appear on pre-Harappan pottery from Kot-Diji and Kalibangan. Another unbaked clay figure has deep criss-cross incisions on its back and neck, giving it an appearance that may suggest a horse, with one feature interpreted as a possible saddle and another as a mane.
Other finds include an ivory comb, a terracotta cake engraved with an ass, male and female human figures, a tortoise shell, a terracotta plough model, seals, weights, and numerous ornaments.
Decline and Preservation
Urban life at Banawali appears to have declined abruptly. The wall may have collapsed after water damage, possibly linked to flooding, but the precise causes of the settlement’s decline are not fully established. Most excavated objects have since been reburied. A Harappan-era well, however, has been preserved and remains a visible testimony to the antiquity of the settlement.
Timeline
Pre-Harappan settlement
Banawali develops as a planned settlement with brick houses and pottery related to Kalibangan I.
Fortified town
A Mature Harappan town with organized streets and substantial defences is established.
Bara culture phase
The settlement enters a post-Harappan or late contemporary phase.
Excavation
R. S. Bisht and the Archaeological Survey of India excavate Banawali.