Sotka Koh
سوٹکا کوہ · Sotka-Koh
Mature Harappan (2600–1900 BCE)·Harappan (Makran coastal)·🇵🇰 Balochistan, Lasbela District, Shadi Kaur valley near Pasni, Pakistan
About
About Sotka Koh
Sotka Koh is the southern Makran Harappan port (2600–1900 BCE), a 4.7-ha hilltop citadel on the Shadi Kaur 5 km from the Arabian Sea, with 8-m stone–mudbrick walls enclosing a lower-town grid. Mapped by Dales (1962) and Stein's 1927 traverse, it shows Harappan weights, shell middens (Turbinella pyrum), and a rock-cut cistern (6×4 m). At 20 m coastal hill, it guarded the Shadi Kaur estuary—the second Makran Harappan after Sutkagen Dor—forming the Harappan–Baloch coastal chain to Sutkagendor. Its 5-km inland paradox suggests shoreline retreat since Harappan times.
Why it mattersSecond Makran Harappan proving 200-km coastal port chain (Sutkagen Dor ↔ Sotka Koh) for Gulf trade.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Hilltop not waterfront—defensive vs tsunami record
Theories
- 01Shell bangle manufacture for Harappan hinterland (Mohenjo-daro imports)
- 02Shoreline 5 km closer in Harappan period—mid-Holocene sea-level argument
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.2600–2500 BCE (Mature Harappan)
- Period
- Mature Harappan (2600–1900 BCE)
- Culture
- Harappan (Makran coastal)
- Builders
- Harappan Makran colonists
- Purpose
- Harappan coastal port controlling Shadi Kaur–Ormara fishery and shell trade
- Abandoned
- 1900 BCE (Harappan coastal withdrawal)
- Rediscovered
- 1927 Stein; 1962 Dales; 1990s Besenval survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
2600–2500 BCE
Hilltop citadel and cistern construction
2500–2000 BCE
Shell workshop (Turbinella bangle) trade
1900 BCE
Abandonment
1962
Dales mapping and weight finds
On the ground
Structures & features
25.3122° N · 63.9056° E · 20 m · 3 mapped features
Hilltop Citadel Wall
fortification8-m stone wall with gateway and cistern overflow, commanding Shadi Kaur estuary
25.3125° N · 63.9059° ELower Town Shell Workshop
workshop200×180 m grid with Turbinella pyrum bangle debitage and Harappan cubical weights
25.3119° N · 63.9053° ERock-Cut Cistern
hydraulic6×4×3 m cistern cut in bedrock with Harappan plaster and shoreline shell midden adjacent
25.3122° N · 63.9056° E