The museum is expected to throw light on the second wave of urbanisation that took place in India after the Indus Valley civilisation flourished here. It will also pave the way for the exploration of several ancient ports which are buried under the Yamuna and Saraswati due to the changing course of these rivers.

Noted marine archaeologist S R Rao told UNI here that if the project was implemented, it would be a landmark in marine archaeology. Execution of the project would be based on reports from world renowned marine archaeologists. There was also another proposal, awaiting clearance, with regard to setting up of a marine archaeology museum of Dwarka antiquities found in the sea.The findings, which were of immense cultural and religious importance to India and Hindus in particular, would show that Krishna, thetowering personality of the epic Mahabharata, actually existed. The project proposal, submitted by the Marine Archaeology Centre (MAC) of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, involved the laying of a submarine acrylic tube through which visitors could pass and view the remains through glass windows. An alternative suggestion was to have acrylic walls, to be accessed through boats, from which the remains could be viewed by tourists.

Dr Rao said the project involved an investment Rs 20 million to be borne by the Gujarat Government and its Tourism Department. Although the proposal was submitted a few weeks ago, the Gujarat Government had not taken any decision in this regard.

Dr Rao said the NIO marine archaeologists had unearthed the well-fortified township of Dwarka, that extended over one km from the shore, built in six sectors on the two banks of the Gomti river.

He said models of structural remains of Dwarka town and its suburbs namely moat, park and antardwipa (Bet Dwarka) mentioned inthe epic would be exhibited at the proposed museum. He said the ancient port city was built on reclaimed land. The mainland city was well planned and boasted of a good harbour. The full plan of the submerged city on mainland had been ascertained and plotted on the basis of the individual structures discovered in the six fortified sectors, he added.The harbour of the ancient port consisted of a rocky ridge modified into an anchorage for berthing large vessels. This was a unique feature achieved in harbour technology even before the Phoenicians attempted in the Mediterranean Sea much later, he added. He said the Marine Archaeology centre in the last season had explored the Okhamandal coast and western shores of Bet Dwarka and found pottery and eight triangular three-holed stone anchors of the protohistoric period besides dressed blocks of a submerged structure.