The excavations at Ropar, situated near the confluence of Sutlej, some 25 km east of Bara (Punjab), have yielded five-fold sequence of cultures (Harappan, PGW, NBP, Kushana, Gupta and Medieval).
Incidentally it was the first Harappan site to have been excavated in India after Independence. It was excavated by Y. D. Sharma (1955-65). The habitation began at the site prior to the Indus phase as is evident from the discovery of pottery tradition related to the Kalibangan-I, as a small settlement.
In the next sub-phase, Ropar developed into a township related to the Mature Indus civilization as evident from typical Harappan pottery, chert blades, beads, faience ornaments, bronze Celts, terracotta cakes and one inscribed steatite seal with typical Indus pictographs. On the north-west corner of the site several burials, interned in oval pits, were excavated and one example of rectangular mud- brick chamber was noticed.
The grave goods included 2 to 26 pots in various models. There were also some graves devoid of any goods. These might have been the graves of middle or lower class people. In the graves were also found faience and shell bangles, agate beads, copper rings, etc. The evidence of burying a dog below the human burial is very interesting in the Harappan context not found at any other site. This practice was, however, prevalent at Burzahom (Kashmir) in the Neolithic age.