Vadnagar Market

Walk southwards from Pattharwali Haveli, turn left at the Mator Mata temple. This is the Vadnagar market.

You are now standing in Vadnagar’s bustling market, the living heart of the town. Even today, it sits within easy walking distance of key landmarks like the Kirti Toran and Sharmishtha Lake, just as it would have centuries ago.

Look around, and you’ll notice that pockets of this bazaar are still organised by trade: Choksi Bazaar is where the jewellers operate, Kansara Bazaar sells metalware, Mochi Bazaar sells footwear, and the cloth markets continue a long tradition of textile trade. Often, there would be a shop on the ground floor and the owner would reside upstairs. This way of organising a marketplace isn’t new. Vadnagar has been a trading town for a very long time. In fact, it sat at the meeting point of two important ancient trade routes; so goods, people, and ideas have been passing through this town for well over 2,000 years.

Inside the Vadnagar Archaeological Experiential Museum that you will visit later on this tour, you’ll see evidence of this busy trading past. Excavations have uncovered rings, bangles, pendants and other ornaments, crafted from materials like lapis lazuli, amethyst, and garnet. What’s fascinating is that many of these stones are not local to this region. Their presence here tells us that Vadnagar was part of a larger trade network, connecting it to regions as distant as Afghanistan, Rajasthan, and peninsular India.

But Vadnagar was not just a stop along a trade route. It was also a centre of craftsmanship. One of the most remarkable discoveries from excavations is that of shell bangles, dating back as far as the 1st century CE. These bangles, now displayed in the museum, show a clear evolution in design over time; from simple, smooth forms to intricate patterns with ridges, floral motifs and geometric designs. Studies suggest that Vadnagar may have been an important centre for shell bangle production for over a 1000 years. Since shells had to be brought here from the coast, this another pointer to the long-standing trade links between this inland town and Gujarat’s shoreline.