Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilisation: Origins, Features and Decline — Part 2: 3. Major Sites: Key Features
Part 2: Major sites table (Rakhigarhi to Sutkagendor); town planning — grid streets, drainage system, Citadel vs Lower Town, Great Bath; standardised bricks (4:2:1), weights (binary-decimal), four million person-days for Mohenjodaro platforms.
Ancient India — Part 2 of 5
3. Major Sites: Key Features
| Site | Location | Notable Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Rakhigarhi | Hisar district, Haryana, India | Largest Harappan city (550 hectares); 2019 DNA research confirming indigenous continuity |
| Mohenjodaro | Sindh, Pakistan | Best preserved (125 ha); Great Bath; approximately 700 brick wells |
| Harappa | Punjab, Pakistan | First site discovered (1920-21); badly damaged by brick robbers |
| Dholavira | Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India | Three distinct zones; at least 6 large reservoirs (one 73 m long); unique large-sign signboard |
| Ganweriwala | Cholistan desert, Pakistan | Major city; largely unexcavated |
| Kalibangan | Rajasthan, India | Fire altars; ploughed field with two crops at right angles |
| Lothal | Gujarat, India | Large dockyard (217 m x 36 m); near carnelian and steatite sources |
| Chanhudaro | Sindh, Pakistan | Less than 7 hectares; devoted to bead-making, shell-cutting, metal-working, seal-making |
| Shortughai | Afghanistan | Near lapis lazuli source; evidence of canal irrigation |
| Banawali | Haryana, India | Terracotta model of plough found here |
| Nageshwar | Gujarat coast, India | Specialised shell-object manufacturing centre |
| Balakot | Sindh coast, Pakistan | Specialised shell-object manufacturing centre |
| Sutkagendor | Balochistan, Pakistan | Coastal outpost on trade route to Mesopotamia |
4. Town Planning and Urban Features
Perhaps the most unique feature of the Harappan Civilisation was the development of planned urban centres.
4.1 The Grid System and Drainage
Roads and streets were laid out along an approximate grid pattern, intersecting at right angles. Streets with drains appear to have been laid out first, with houses built along them afterwards. Every house needed at least one wall along a street so that waste water could flow into the street drains.
The drainage system is described by Ernest Mackay as the most complete ancient drainage system yet discovered. Main drain channels were made of bricks set in mortar and covered with removable loose bricks — or in some cases limestone — allowing for regular cleaning. House drains first emptied into a sump or cesspit where solid matter settled, and waste water then flowed out into the street drains. Very long drainage channels were provided at intervals with sumps for cleaning. At Lothal, while houses were built of mud bricks, drains were made of burnt bricks. Significantly, drainage systems were not unique to large cities; smaller settlements had them too.
4.2 Citadel and Lower Town
Most Harappan settlements had two sections: a smaller but higher western part (the Citadel) and a larger lower eastern section (the Lower Town). The Citadel's height owed to buildings being constructed on mud brick platforms; it was also walled, physically separating it from the Lower Town.
The Citadel at Mohenjodaro contains the famous Great Bath — a large rectangular tank (approximately 12 x 7 metres) in a courtyard surrounded by a corridor on all four sides. Two flights of steps on the north and south led into the tank, which was made watertight using bricks set on edge with a mortar of gypsum. Water flowed into a huge drain. Across a lane to the north lay a smaller building with eight bathrooms. The Great Bath is widely interpreted as having been used for ritual bathing. Also on the Citadel was a massive warehouse, of which only the lower brick portions survive.
Dholavira is unique in having three distinct zones rather than the standard two. At Lothal, the Citadel was built at a height but not separately walled. The entire settlement at both Dholavira and Lothal was fortified, with sections separated by walls. Dholavira also has a unique large-sign signboard — possibly the earliest such signboard found anywhere.
4.3 Standardisation
A remarkable feature of the civilisation was standardisation across a huge area. Bricks — whether sun-dried or baked — had a standardised ratio throughout the region from Jammu to Gujarat: the length and breadth were four times and twice the height respectively. Weights made of chert stone (generally cubical) followed a binary system for lower denominations (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32) and a decimal system for higher denominations (160, 200, 320, 640). Pottery, seals, and other artefacts show extraordinary uniformity. Constructing the Mohenjodaro platforms alone is estimated to have required four million person-days of labour, indicating large-scale, centrally planned mobilisation.