Luminescence Dating of the Sediments from a Buried Channel Loop in Fatehabad Area, Haryana: Insight into Vedic Saraswati River and its Environment

Abstract

Geomorphology and sedimentary composition of an archeologically important palaeochannel segment of the Vedic Saraswati River in northwestern Haryana have been evaluated and its temporal relation with the surrounding upland examined with the help of OSL dating. Sediment composition and OSL ages suggest that the channel received enough water supply between 5.9 and 4.3 ka ago, and even before. Several lakes and ponds had developed during this period in the surrounding areas. It was a wet phase in this area as well as in Rajastahn. After ~4.3 ka, the river got starved of regular water supply, became sluggish and finally dried up. Reduced water supply, indicative of decreased rainfall, occurred between 4.3 and 3.4 ka ago. The environmental history of the channel might have influenced the Harrapan archeology of the area.