Revitalization of spatial cultural heritage using Virtual Reality: Dholavira

Abstract

The Indian subcontinent is considered to be one of the cornerstones of ancient civilizations. It is within here that true urban cities started coming up and the techniques used by people within those spaces were later adapted to form the basis of modern settlements. One of the more famous ones was the Indus valley civilization which developed in north western India from about 2600 BCE. It was this year that marked the beginning of something sophisticated in the history of human civilization. The name India itself was derived from Indus River which sustained this ancient kingdom. The Indus valley civilization is one of the most influential but often overlooked piece of the puzzle that might one day lead us to decipher the complete human history. The inventions and innovations that modernists take for granted today such as drainage, sewer systems, public pools, etc were developed in those times by intense permutations and combinations. The impact which these techniques had on the society were immense and unarguably ahead of their time. The culture and knowledge developed by them spread far and wide. The ancient texts, scriptures and modern excavations give us a hint as to how sophisticated these techniques were even for such ancient times. After about 700 years i.e., 1900 BCE was what saw the fall of this ancient marvel. It is a topic of debate till date, as to what led to their downfall. Some speculate floods while other believe in political upheaval or possible external influences. But it is an unarguable fact that the techniques developed by them acted as the foundation on which modern human cities stand. This dissertation intends to narrate the story of a long-lost kingdom of Dholavira moving through the early and medieval to its downfall phase. Dholavira was a part of the Indus valley located in Gujarat. Over the years there have been many excavations and recreations of how the city functioned but all theoretical. Within this thesis we will try to recreate the ancient city by technique of Anastylosis and analyze its scope in context of rich cultural heritage that India possesses.