In July 2025, we led a team of researchers and archaeologists, associated with JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur, and University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, to identify a new Harappan site in the inaccessible Thar desert – called Ratadiya Ri Dheri, close to the India-Pakistan Border. This discovery suggests that archaeologist Sir Aurel Stein’s sudden passing in 1943 and subsequent partition of the Great Indian Desert may have paused the then ongoing archaeological expeditions. Archaeologists since then have hardly attempted to discover Harappan sites in the Thar Desert. This unexpected discovery, however, points to the possibility of more urban-phase Harappan settlements along the Ghaggar-Hakra river-bed in such a sparsely populated, harsh terrain. Understanding its significance requires an examination of previous discoveries.