Saturday, July 23, 2011

UNDERWATER WALL OFF THE KONKAN COAST IN INDIA

8000-YEAR-OLD ADVANCED
CIVILISATION IN KONKAN COAST?
India - Did the Konkan coast from Shrivardhan in Raigad to Vengurla in Sindhudurga host a human habitat around 8000 years ago? Did that population have well-developed engineering skills? Was there a unique Konkan culture in existence in 6000BC?  A new archaeological discovery, below sea level along the Konkan coast, could give answers to these questions. And explorers say the answer could well be a big ‘Yes!’  Researchers have found a wall-like structure that is 24 kilometres long, 2.7 metres tall, and around 2.5 metres wide. The structure shows uniformity in its construction.  “The structure is not continuous throughout the 225 kilometres from Shrivardhan to Raigad, but it is uniform,” said Dr Ashok Marathe, professor, department of archaeology, Postgraduate and Research Institute, Deccan College, Pune.

“It has been found three metres below the present sea level. It has been constructed on the ancient sand beach, which was taken as the base for the construction. Considering the uniformity of the structure, it was obvious that the structure is man-made and not natural.”  Marathe added that, the uniformity also shows that the people who built it belong to the same culture from Shrivardhan to Vengurla.  According to him, the sea was away from its present coastline in 6000 BC and this wall could have been an effort to prevent the sea water from coming inside the human habitat.  The discovery has raised a number of questions.  How were these huge stones of Laterite and Deccan Trap variety transported to the coast?  What exactly was the purpose behind building the wall?  If the date of the walls is true then is it from around the same time as the Indus Valley Civilisation?  Why has there been no mention of this civilisation till now?

The remains of an advanced ancient civilization - one stretch of underwater wall - have been discovered off the Konkan Coast, western India.  Archaeologists along with scientists from underwater excavation projects have pointed that the submergence of the mythical city of Dwarka, founded by Lord Krishna in the sea provided a clear indication that in the last 3,600 years, the sea level along the Gujarat coast had risen by as much as 30 feet and that it was continuing to rise.  Many evidences were revealed about the ancient submerged city, so it is not surprising that new evidences of underwater settlements are coming to light.  

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?
Krishna therefore decided to construct a formidable fort where no two-legged animal, either man or demon, could enter. He decided to keep His relatives there so that He would then be free to fight the enemy. It appears that formerly Dvārakā was also part of the kingdom of Mathurā. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that Krishna constructed the fort in the midst of the sea. Remnants of the fort Krishna constructed still exist in the Bay of Dvārakā.  Krishna first of all constructed a very strong wall covering ninety-six square miles, and the wall itself was within the sea. It was certainly wonderful and was planned and constructed by Visvakarmā. No ordinary architect could construct such a fort within the sea, but an architect like Visvakarmā, who is considered to be the engineer among the demigods, can execute such wonderful craftsmanship anywhere in the universe.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead”
Chapter Fifty:  “Krishna Erects the Dvārakā Fort”
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase

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