Gilund Archaeological Site

Gilund is an archaeological site and village in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, India. It is the largest known settlement of the Ahar-Banas Cultural Complex, a Chalcolithic agropastoral society that thrived from approximately 3000 to 1700 BCE. The site features two mounds with excavated housing structures, workshops, and evidence of early craft production. Notable discoveries include a cache of over 100 seal impressions dating to 2100-1700 BCE.

Visitors can explore the partially excavated archaeological mounds located near the modern village of Gilund. The site reveals ancient habitation remains including mud brick structures, defensive walls, and workshop areas from the Chalcolithic period. The surrounding semi-arid landscape in the Banas Basin provides context for understanding the ancient agro-pastoral community that once inhabited this region.

Gilund was occupied from approximately 3000-1700 BCE as the largest Chalcolithic site in the Ahar-Banas Complex. First excavated by B.B. Lal of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1959-60, the site was later re-excavated by a team from the University of Pennsylvania and Deccan College from 1999 to 2005. The excavations revealed two mounds with evidence of sedentary agro-pastoral communities, craft production workshops, and defensive structures. A significant discovery in 2003 was a cache of over 100 seal impressions dating to 2100-1700 BCE.

Gilund represents one of the most important Chalcolithic settlements in southeastern Rajasthan, providing insights into the Ahar-Banas Cultural Complex. The site demonstrates early social complexity through specialized craft production, grain processing tools, and extensive inter-regional trade networks. The artifacts found here, including terracotta figurines and distinctive pottery, link Gilund to other contemporary sites in the region.