Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

Harappa

Harappan metropolis is located on the left bank of the present dry course of the river Ravi in Punjab, covering about 800,000 square miles. The earliest cultural level at Harappa dates back to 2300 B.C. Its influence has been marked up to Makran coast in the east, Alamgirpur on the west, and Rajasthan in the south, Vindhya Mountain being its southern limit.

Mohenjo-daro

Mohenjo-daro is situated in the riverine fertile plains between the main-bed of the Indus River and the western Nara canal. The surrounding area is known as Nakhlistan or the ‘Garden of Sind’.

This ancient citadel of urban civilization at Mohenjo-daro was successively destroyed and rebuilt no less than seven times, the inundation of the Indus being the probable cause of destruction. The re-building did not always follow immediately after destruction, but sometimes remained in ruins for a considerable period before a new city rose upon them. About five thousand years ago, this metropolis was founded, inhabited and after the lapse of many centuries it was finally deserted and abandoned.

Harappa and Mohenjo-daro Civilization

Cities: The cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were fairly big. They contained many dwelling houses of varying sizes, ranging from small buildings with two rooms to big palatial constructions having a frontage of 26 meters and a depth of 20.5 meters. The thickness of the outer walls has been estimated as 1.25 to 1.5 meters. They were made by well-burnt bricks having the measurements of 51’5 centimeters in length and 21.5 centimeters in breadth and 9 centimeters in thickness.

Some of the big dwellings are found to have two or more stories and to contain paved floors, courtyards, doors, windows and narrow staircases. Almost every residential building had wells, drains, and bathrooms. The ruins of some especially spacious buildings have been excavated which are found to possess elaborate structure and design. Some of such buildings contain large central halls, each measuring about 24 meters x 24 meters. The roofs of such halls rest on large number of pillars. The exact purpose of such halls has yet to be ascertained. They could have been used as temples, palaces or municipal halls.

Great Bath: The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro is 55 meters long and 33 meters wide.

Streets: A net-work of streets is found to connect the different corners of these cities; most of the sweets were wide and straight.

Drainage System: An elaborate underground drainage system along with soak-pits speaks highly about hygienic notions and civic taste of Indus valley people. Moreover, the architectural designs have reached a superlative order of perfection.