Photo from Science in Poland
Brendan Rascius
Fri, July 14, 2023
An ancient city on the coast of India was mysteriously abandoned around 2,000 years ago. Now, after a systematic study of the ruins, archaeologists believe they know why the inhabitants left.
The city of Sopara, located about 60 miles north of Mumbai, was once an important trade hub, connecting Asia to Europe, according to a June 27 news release from Science in Poland.
From as early as 1400 B.C., the maritime metropolis — which was also a religious center — facilitated trade between “Greece, Persia and Arabian settlements,” according to a study published in Current Science.
But, the city’s inhabitants appear to have suddenly skipped town, deserting their clay-brick homes around the third century, according to Science in Poland.
In 2020, archaeologists from Poland and India set out to unravel the mystery of Sopara’s downfall. How did a major trade center become a ghost town?
Using noninvasive techniques, archaeologists methodically studied the ruins, which had previously only been explored haphazardly.
Assisted by drones, they created a three-dimensional model of the ruins, which cover an area smaller than 1 square mile.
They also conducted research at the surface, scanning the ground with metal detectors and drilling narrow holes, known as boreholes, which can help assess geological conditions over time.
An analysis of the boreholes revealed that, around 2,000 years ago, the city’s waterways gradually became filled with silt, a fine sediment carried by running water.
Sopara’s residents likely left town because of silt buildups in the waterway that connected the city to the ocean, the lifeblood of the maritime trade center.
Further information, such as about the city’s layout and building sizes, may be learned during already planned future excavations and analyses, researchers say.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Science in Poland.
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