2b TP Indus Valley

The Indus Valley Civilisation

DiscoveryIn 1856, in the foothills of the Himalayas, railway construction workers came upon a small crumbling hill of fire-baked bricks.

Along with the bricks, certain steatite (soapstone) seals were found. Archaeologists, notably Sir John Cunningham, quickly confirmed their antiquity.

Extent - as far west as Baluchistan in Pakistan and well down into the Gang tic plain in India.

New discoveries are still being made

Major sitesHarappa in 1921Mohenjo daro in 1922

Other important sitesChanhu daro PakistanLothal - GujaratKalibangan RajasthanRopar - PunjabExtent 1600 km E to W, 1100 km N to S Period - Earlier 3000 2000 BC - Present 2500 1500 BC ( Carbon dating)Script Pictographic, undeciphered, left to rightReligion Worship of Mother Goddess, trees ,animals

Economic Activity: Agriculture-domestication of animals-crafts and trade. Sculpture: Stone Images: Statue of yogi-torso of a human male.Metal Images: Figurine of a dancing girl in bronze-figure of a buffalo-a humped bull.Terracotta Images: human figuresPottery: Use of potters wheel-pottery painted with figures of animals, birds and men.

Seals Made of terracotta, copper and steatiteSeals of Pashupati, Bull and Unicorn

Indus Valley citiesThrived for nearly 1000 years. Numerous well defined strata - evidence of building several times over previous foundationsHigh standard of building, town planning and sanitary engineeringAll techniques and activities followed strict standardsAll cities almost identical in spite of varying environments

Town Planning principles Mohenjo daro & HarappaFollowed practically without change at all other sitesBoth cities were a mile square Defensive outer wallsOrthogonal street layoutStreets oriented toward the cardinal directionsThe street layout shows understanding of the basic principles of traffic, with rounded corners to allow the turning of carts easily

Town Planning

- Nearly a square mile layoutCity divided into 12 blocks by streetsEach block roughly 1200 x 800Central western block reserved for public architecture - Citadel- Dominating structures - Public buildings including granaries, great Bath

- Other blocks mainly residentialExcept for the west-central blocks, the basic unit of city planning was the individual house

Construction, materialsWalls of houses and public buildings had pronounced batterFoundations similarly builtUpper stories woodRoofs flat. Wooden beams covered with brick tile soft planking finished with beaten earthOpenings spanned by wooden lintels, corbelled brick arches also foundBurnt brick of standard sizes main material

HousesVarious sizes and stories adjacent to each otherApproach through irregular, narrow, shaded walkwaysNo entrance directly to main streetsNo windows even to subsidiary walkwaysLight and ventilation entirely from open central courtSeveral units shared common wellHowever each house had separate bathing area

House

Planned as a series of rooms opening on to a central courtyardCourtyard served the multiple functions lighting the roomsacting as a heat absorber in summer and radiator in winterproviding an open space inside for open air living and community activities

House

No openings toward the main street, thus ensuring privacy for the residents The only openings in the houses are rather small - this prevented the hot summer sun heating the insides of the houses

House

Town Planning Harappa

Town PlanningRoads - Grid iron pattern - Paved with fire burnt bricks - Straight up to 1.5 km - Width 4 - 10 m

Drainage systemDrains started from the bathrooms of the houses and joined the main sewer in the street, which was covered by brick slabs or corbelled brick arches, depending on its width.

Buildings

Absence of temples and shrinesLarge structures were found in the citadel area Market halls, store rooms, offices, granariesSeveral halls possibly for religious purposesGreat BathBasic style of construction stark utilitarian ie very practical form of building constructionWithin citadel ruins of a vast hall 70 x 24 m

Great Bath Mohenjo daro

Great BathTank for ceremonial bathing 7 x 2.1 x 2.4 mWater proofed with asphaltProvided with an adequate system for filling and drainingSurrounded by series of cellsPrototype of ritualistic bathing tanks which are inevitable part of later Hindu temples

Great Bath Mohenjo daro

Public Well

Wells

Stupa

Granary

Granary

Storage of grain of utmost importance to economyPlatform of baked bricks 15 m height27 massive blocks of masonryVentilating ducts running at base of shedCircular brick paved flour making platformsRow of two room barracks possibly for labourers

Reconstructions of the Warehouse at Mohenjo-daro

Circular working Platforms

Artists impression

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