Guj: ધોળાવીરા dhōḷāvīrā
‘White Well Settlement’ – Archaeological site, Gujarat
From Guj: from dhōḷo ‘white’ + vīrā/virā ‘well or water source’, referring to the pale stone reservoirs of the ancient settlement.
Dholavira is one of the largest known cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 2600–1900 BCE). Located on the island of Khadir in the Rann of Kutch, the city was built around an advanced system of reservoirs, channels and dams designed to capture seasonal rainfall in an arid environment.
The site is particularly notable for the discovery of a large Indus-script signboard, once mounted above a gateway. The inscription, composed of ten massive characters, is one of the longest known examples of the undeciphered Indus writing system and suggests that urban centres already displayed place-identifying signs over four thousand years ago.
Dholavira was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021.
For related place names see Indian Place names and Gujarat place names.
