Rakhigarhi icon site
Topic: Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
In the Union Budget of 2020, the government named five archaeological sites to be developed as "iconic sites", each with an on-site museum. Rakhigarhi in Haryana was one of them. The aim was to protect these sites, display their finds and draw visitors. Rakhigarhi was chosen because it is the largest Harappan site, at about 550 hectares.
Example
The five iconic sites named in 2020 were Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Shivsagar (Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu). Rakhigarhi is also where Vasant Shinde's ancient DNA study of the Harappans was carried out.
Don't confuse with
- UNESCO World Heritage Site: this is a separate international listing. Dholavira received it later, but the 2020 "iconic site" status was an Indian Budget plan.
Related concepts
- Daya Ram Sahni
- Rakhal Das Banerji
- John Marshall
- B.B. Lal
- Archaeogenetics
- Rakhigarhi DNA study
- Vasant Shinde
- Harappan-Vedic relationship debate