The government proposes to set up an –1---under the Ministry of Culture, and develop five archaeological sites as “iconic sites” with onsite museums in Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), --2--(Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu)

Rakhigarhi in Haryana’s Hissar district is one of the most prominent and largest sites of the Harappan civilisation. It is one among the five known townships of the Harappan civilisation in the Indian subcontinent.

Between 2013 and 2016, excavations were carried out at the cemetery in Rakhigarhi by a team of Indian and South Korean researchers led by Vasant Shinde of Deccan College, Pune. In one of their excavations, the skeletal remains of a couple were discovered. Interestingly, of the 62 graves discovered in Rakhigarhi, only this particular grave consisted of more than one skeletal remains and of individuals of the opposite sex together

The excavation yielded 53 burials, six of which were unearthed in 2014-15; the remaining in the 2015-16 digging season. The necropolis, dated to between 2,500 BC and 2,000 BC, or the Mature Harappan Period, sprawls under a 1 hectare patch of land that has long been under cultivation by present-day residents of Rakhigarhi. Some of the graves contained full skeletal remains, and have been classified as primary burials; in others, only a few human bones were found along with votive pots (secondary burials); in yet others, only pots were found (symbolic burials that suggest that the person died elsewhere, and was symbolically interred here).

In all, the excavation unearthed at least 46 sets of complete or partial skeletal remains — 41 in primary burials; five in secondary burials. The researchers subcategorised the primary burials into “typical” and “atypical” cases. Typical cases — single bodies buried in supine position inside a plain pit — outnumber atypical ones, which have brick-lined graves, multiple bodies, or prone-positioned burials

This isn’t the first time that such burials have been found at a Harappan site — the most signficant necropolis was found in Harappa itself; burial grounds have also been discovered in Lothal, Kalibangan (Rajasthan); Farmana (Haryana), Sanauli (UP), and during a previous Archaeological Survey of India excavation in Rakhigarhi in 1997-2000.

It is important to note, however, that the numbers of known Harappan sites are over 2,000, and funerary findings are, therefore, still sparse. While Harappan studies have focused primarily on urban design, crafts and trade, funeral customs say a lot about a community, what its people value, its social heirarchy, gender relations, and how it treats its children. Forensic-anthropolgical studies of remains can reveal much about what a people ate, their longevity, and why and how they died. Studies of funeral customs can reveal links between peoples across space and time.