Key Facts about Mohenjo Daro

About Mohenjo Daro

• Mohenjo Daro, or "Mound of the Dead" is an ancient Indus Valley Civilization city that flourished between 2600 and 1900 BCE. 
• It lies in Pakistan's Sindh province, on the bank of the Indus River.
• It was discovered in 1922 by R. D. Banerji, an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India.
• At about 3 mi (5 km) in circuit, it was the largest city of the Indus civilization, and it probably served as the capital of an extensive state.
• It was built around the same time as the Great Pyramids of Egypt. 
• The ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
• Laid out in a rectilinear grid and built out of baked bricks, the city featured a complex water management system, complete with a sophisticated drainage and covered sewer system, and baths in nearly every house. 
• The city included a 900-square-foot Great Bath and about 700 wells. The Great Bath is a rectangular public pool situated in the citadel. These were part of a water system that enabled homes to have their own baths and toilets.
• Mohenjo-Daro, like its contemporaries (Kalibangan and Harappa), was also divided into two parts: the citadel and the lower town.
• Citadel:
  • The western mound, or Citadel was built on a raised platform of mud brick and consisted of all the important administrative structures like The Great Bath, granaries, and the College of Priests.
  • It was fortified by a thick mud-brick retaining wall.
• Lower Town:
  • The eastern or low-lying part of the town was also fortified and was meant for the settlement of commoners.
  • Numerous streets and small alleys ran across this part of the city.
  • Within this section, many sub-parts were built according to the guild systems.
  • As people settled here, a large number of artifacts and information regarding the burial practices were found in this area.
  • Multi-storey buildings:
• The people of Mohenjo-Daro lived in houses that had similar features throughout the town.
• They consisted of a central courtyard surrounded by rooms.
• Almost every household had individual toilets and bathrooms.
• The doors and windows always opened in the alleys.
• The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few can be seen through the dimensions of their houses. For instance, the commoners lived in single-storey houses while the rich lived in double or sometimes treble-storey houses.

Q1) What is the Indus Valley Civilization?

It was the first urban civilisation in South Asia, contemporaneous with the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. It forms a part of the proto-history of India and belongs to the Bronze Age. While it is classified as a civilisation that is older than Chalcolithic civilisations, in many ways, it was far more developed than settlements in the Chalcolithic Age. Also, it has come to be called the ‘Harappan Civilization’ after the name of its first discovered site. 

Source: 2000-year-old Copper Coins Discovered At Ancient Site Of Mohenjo Daro