An inscription of ten large Harappan signs, often called the world's earliest 'signboard', was found at:

A large inscription made of ten big Harappan signs, sometimes described as the world's earliest "signboard", was found at Dholavira in Gujarat.

About the signboard:

• It was found near the northern gateway of the citadel.
• Each sign is about 37 cm high, and the signs were made of pieces of white crystalline material (gypsum) set into a wooden board.
• The wooden board decayed over time, but the signs were found lying on the ground in their original order.
• It is believed that the board was once fixed above the gateway, where everyone entering the city could see it.
• Like other Harappan writing, it has not been deciphered.

About Dholavira:

• It is located on Khadir Bet, an island in the Great Rann of Kachchh, in the Kachchh district of Gujarat.
• It is one of the five largest Harappan sites, and one of the two largest in India.
• It was excavated from 1990 to 2005 by the Archaeological Survey of India.
• In July 2021, it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site ("Dholavira: a Harappan City"), the first Indus site in India to get this status.

Features of Dholavira:

• Unlike most Harappan cities, which had two parts, Dholavira was divided into three: a citadel (with a "castle" and a "bailey"), a middle town and a lower town.
• It had an excellent system of water management, with many large reservoirs cut into rock, dams and channels, to store rainwater in this dry region.
• It had a large open ground, perhaps used for ceremonies or games.
• Stone was used extensively for building, unlike the brick cities of the Indus plains.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Lothal is famous for its dockyard.
• ✗Kalibangan and Banawali are other Harappan sites.