An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s18.52

v1.c9.s18.52

The houses in these open towns and villages were mostly of mud or split bamboo. The political condition during the period seems to be changing from the status of an independent state, ultimately merging into the Mauryan empire, after the collapse of which political struggle is intermittently observed through the period, necessitating fortifications at such sites as SHAMALAJI. But periods of peace, sometimes long, helped in the growth of settlements and commerce. NAGARA, KAMREJ and BHARUCH, established earlier, seem to be expanding as centres of trade, while towns like VALA, VERAVAL, SOMNATH, AKOTA and VADNAGAR seem to have been established in the later part of the period. This twofold phenomenon of the development of old settlements and the establishment of new ones indicates the progress of culture.