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Archaeology in space and time
Click a site to inspect its period, type and significance. This foundation map uses public coordinates for orientation; excavation boundaries and political claims are deliberately excluded.
Timeline v1
A connected chronology
Broad phases are shown with explicit uncertainty rather than false precision.
c. 2600–1900 BCE
Mature Harappan urban phase
Large cities, standardised material systems and long-distance exchange across north-western South Asia.
c. 1200–300 BCE
Iron Age transformations in peninsular South Asia
Regional burial traditions, iron technology and changing settlement systems.
Early centuries BCE
Expansion of writing and early historic settlements
Brahmi and Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions become central evidence for language and social networks.
Early centuries CE
Indian Ocean trade intensifies
Ports and interior craft centres connect South India and Sri Lanka with wider maritime networks.
First millennium CE
Anuradhapura and regional state systems
Urban, monastic and hydraulic landscapes develop through long-duration political change.