Lothal, the Harappan site in Gujarat famous for its dockyard, was discovered by:

• Rao. Lothal was discovered in 1954 by the archaeologist Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao (S. R. Rao), and he led its excavation from 1955 to 1960.

About Lothal:

• It is located in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat, near the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay), on the Bhogavo river, a tributary of the Sabarmati.
• "Lothal" means "mound of the dead" in Gujarati, similar in meaning to the name of a famous site in Sindh.
• It was an important trading town and port of the Harappan civilisation.

Its main features:

• A large rectangular basin made of burnt bricks, about 219 metres long and 37 metres wide, on the eastern side of the town; Rao identified it as a dockyard, connected to the river by a channel.
• Some scholars have suggested it was a water reservoir instead, but the dockyard theory is widely accepted.
• A warehouse built on a high platform.
• Bead-making workshops and copper-working areas.
• Seals of the Persian Gulf type, which suggest trade with West Asia.
• Evidence of rice husk, which shows that rice was known.
• A terracotta model of a ship, and a terracotta figure of a horse-like animal (debated).
• Joint (double) burials of a man and a woman.

About S. R. Rao:

• He was born in 1922 and died in 2013.
• He also explored the underwater remains off Dwarka, in the sea near Gujarat, and founded the field of marine archaeology in India.
• He wrote books such as "Lothal and the Indus Civilization" and "The Lost City of Dvaraka".

National Maritime Heritage Complex:

The Government of India is developing a National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal to showcase India's maritime history.

Why not the other options?

• ✗P. Joshi is linked with other sites in Kachchh.
• ✗S. Bisht excavated sites in Haryana and Kachchh.
• ✗S. Vats continued the excavations at Harappa.