B.B. Lal
Topic: Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Bricks, Beads and Bones"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Kinship, Caste and Class - Early Societies"
Meaning
B.B. Lal was a leading Indian archaeologist and later director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). He worked on both Harappan and later sites. After Partition, the major Harappan cities lay in Pakistan, and his work helped show how far the civilisation extended inside India. He is also known for testing the Mahabharata's places through excavation.
Example
From 1960, Lal excavated Kalibangan in Rajasthan, on the Ghaggar, together with B.K. Thapar. The site gave the Early Harappan ploughed field and fire altars. Earlier, in 1951–52, he dug at Hastinapura in the Upper Ganga valley, which he linked to the Kuru capital of the Mahabharata.
Don't confuse with
- B.K. Thapar: Thapar was his co-excavator at Kalibangan. Lal alone is linked to Hastinapura.
Related concepts
- Daya Ram Sahni
- Rakhal Das Banerji
- John Marshall
- Archaeogenetics
- Rakhigarhi DNA study
- Vasant Shinde
- Rakhigarhi icon site
- Harappan-Vedic relationship debate