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These state-funded asylums were intensely overcrowded and often housed patients in nightmarish conditions in the 20th century.

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While intellectual interest in ruins has been recorded for centuries, the popularity and controversy of contemporary ' ruin porn' can be traced back to somewhere around 2009, when photographer James Griffioen’s feral houses series sparked a conversation about the potential harm in the aesthetic appropriation of urban collapse.Ī favorite subject within this field is the American insane asylum, whose tragic remains carry echoes of the unsavory history of mental illness treatment in the United States.

Eastward ancient ruins cracked#

The Archaeological Survey of India is currently responsible for protecting Dholavira and preserving its ruins.With cracked paint, overgrown vines, rust, and decay, abandoned buildings have carved out a photographic genre that plays to our complex fascination with the perverse remnants of our past. Dholavira, being located in a protected area in Gujarat, also is safe from other forms of human interventions. Bisht, the man behind the excavations of the ancient city, decided to stop further extensive excavations at the archaeological site in order to preserve the remaining ruins in their original state. The ruins of Dholavira do not face significant threats from weathering unlike other Harappan sites, largely because Dholavira is primarily constructed from stone, which is quite resistant to nature’s elements. For all these reasons and more, the level of sophistication achieved by the people of Dholavira amazes the modern world to this date. The ability to conserve every drop of water in the parched landscape speaks volumes about the engineering skills of the people of Dholavira. The wisely planned and constructed network of reservoirs and water channels allowing the successful harvest of rainwater and diversion of rivulets, exemplifies the ingenuity of the Harappan people inhabiting the city. Another striking feature of the ancient city was its sustainable use of water resources. One of unique features of Dholavira is that, unlike other Harappan cities like Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, the city is built almost exclusively of stones instead of bricks. Other objects found at Dholavira include seals with animal figures, grave like structures, stone sculptures, gold and bead jewelry and several hemispherical structures. Stepwells leading to large public baths have also been discovered here. The water system of the city was also very well planned with 16 reservoirs and water channels that stored water or diverted water from nearby rivulets. The lower city was primarily inhabited by the ordinary workers of Dholavira.

The middle town was again divided into various strata with hierarchical division of population. A grand gateway to the north of the citadel opened into an area fashioned as a stadia, or a ceremonial ground, which then transitioned into the middle town. This was also the place where the higher ranking officials and governing bodies of the city lived. The entire layout was well fortified with the citadel having the best fortification system as compared to the middle and lower towns. The city of Dholavira was found to be very well-planned, divided into three stages to form a layered city with a lower town, a quadrangular middle town and a citadel. Bisht, an expert archaeologist from the Archaeological Survey of India, and his team conducted a series of excavations at the site between 19.

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The excavations of Dholavira came into full swing in 1989 when R.S. The reason for the abandonment of Dholavira still continues to puzzle historians, but it is possible that the population underwent an eastward migration when harsher climate conditions on Khadir Island made life more difficult in the ancient city.

There is also a possibility that the citizens of Dholavira had easy access to the sea which, however, was lost when sea levels fell and desertification ensued in the area. The high levels of architectural mastery and skills achieved by the people of this ancient city also baffle the world today. As evident from the archaeological discoveries of several items here, it appears that the city dwellers were engaged in active trade with other civilizations of the time. It provides an idea of the way of life of people of the Indus Valley Civilization 5,000 years ago. Dholavira is of great historical significance as it represents the history of one of the world’s oldest civilizations.