that many of the items that have been identified as artifacts by the NIOT investigators are actually man-made. Instead their artificial nature is contested and they are argued to be stones of natural origin. Researchers report finding shards of pottery as indicative of hand-made and wheel-turned pottery traditions. The reported shards have simple rims with small incised lines. All of the pottery fragments found so far are small or miniature shards. Part of the controversy is that some of the "shards" are natural geofacts and others lack any proof of any connections, as with the dated pieces of wood, with the purported "ruins" found by NIOT researchers. In addition, their small size also raises the possibility that the real shards have been transported from elsewhere by local, strong tidal currents. But if the pottery is genuine, researchers say it should show some similarities to Harappan pottery, which is typically red and black and stamped with seals. Based on the current pottery collection, a stylistic continuity of Harappan civilization isn't evident. The small size of the artifact collection makes it difficult to analyse the pottery conclusively. Geography The Gulf of Khambhat was formed by a major rift that resulted in a down sliding of the Khambhat region. The area is very tectonically active today, and several faults can be found in the gulf. Periodic earthquakes also occur here. This knowledge has led several archeologists to state that the site is not in a secure enough context to be reliably dated. Because of the tectonic activity and strong currents, these archeologists claim that there is not sufficient stratification to be sure the recovered artifacts can be associated with the site. Collection methods Complaints have arisen because NIOT recovered artefacts by dredging the sea floor of the site. This method might allow errant artefacts to be collected along with those that actually correlate with the site. Analysing stratification is virtually impossible with this method as well. See also Dwaraka Kingdom Archaeological Survey of India Mahabharata Indology References External links National Institute of Ocean Technology (India) National Institute of Oceanography (India) Heinrich, P. V. (2002) Artifacts or Geofacts? Alternative Interpretations of Items from the Gulf of Cambay., Hall of Ma'at (May 2002) Gulf of Khambhat Archaeology of India History of Gujarat Maritime history of India Maritime archaeology Fringe theories