Beyond Heritage — Welcome to Lothal
Where History Meets the Future .
Lothal — 76 km from Ahmedabad — is home to the world's oldest known dockyard, built around 2400 BCE. Now at the centre of India's most ambitious heritage project: the ₹4,500 crore National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC), expected to draw 25,000 visitors daily by 2028. And your plot in Dholera sits just 30–35 km away.
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2400 BCE —Ancient Maritime Civilisation
The world's first planned port city
Lothal was a thriving Indus Valley city featuring the world's first man-made dockyard — 218 m long — plus a grid-planned city, advanced home drainage, and trade links reaching Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt. More sophisticated than most cities that would follow for thousands of years.
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1955–60 — Discovery of the Ancient Dockyard
The excavation that shocked the world
The Archaeological Survey of India under S. R. Rao recovered over 900 artefacts — Indus script seals, trade weights, a compass-like navigation tool, fire altars, and evidence of a bead factory and copper foundry. Artefacts made here have been found as far as Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf.
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Ancient Era - Global Maritime Trade
India's ancient trading capital
Carnelian beads, copper tools, cotton textiles, ivory ornaments, and shell jewellery flowed from Lothal across the ancient world — to Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and the Far East. Lothal was not just a city. It was the world's trading capital of its age.
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Today — National Maritime Heritage Vision
The National Maritime Heritage Complex — India's ₹4,500 crore transformation
PM Modi laid the foundation stone on 4 March 2019. Built across 400 acres by Tata Projects Limited, designed by Hafeez Contractor — Phase 1A is 65%+ complete, targeted for 2025. The full complex opens 2028: 14 galleries, the world's tallest lighthouse museum, coastal state pavilions, eco-resorts, theme parks, and 22,000 jobs.
Discovering Lothal
01. A journey into the Harappan civilisation
At the heart of NMHC sits a living recreation of ancient Lothal — a full physical reconstruction of the city as it stood in 2400 BCE, surrounded by a water feature recreating the original port. Visitors step into Harappan-style streets, homes, and civic spaces built to archaeological accuracy.
02. A waterfront reflecting ancient maritime life
The recreated township is surrounded by an Open Aquatic Gallery — a water installation bringing the ancient dockyard alive. The Lothal Jetty Walkway extends over water, giving visitors the sensation of standing at the world's oldest port.
03. 14 galleries. India's complete maritime story.
NMHC houses 14 world-class galleries from Harappan era to present. Phase 1A delivers the first 6, including a dedicated Indian Navy and Coast Guard Gallery displaying INS Nishank, a Sea Harrier aircraft, and a UH3 helicopter. Phase 1B adds 8 more galleries plus a 5D-dome immersive theatre.
04. A world-class destination with global partnerships
NMHC has signed MoUs with 10 nations including Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, and UAE. India's coastal states have each committed to building their own Pavilion here. Phase 2 adds eco-resorts, theme parks, a maritime research institute, and a walkable real-time recreation of ancient Lothal.