Mohenjo Daro Archaeological Sites and Discoveries

Indus Valley Civilization was one of the ancient civilizations, which was built on the bank of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra Rivers and their tributaries. According to the data till 2008, more than 600 sites were discovered in India and more than 400 sites have been discovered in Pakistan. Among the eight major urban sites, Mohenjo-Daro was one of the cities i.e Harappa, Dholavira, Kalibangan, Chanhudaro, Banawali, Ganweriwala, and Rakhigarhi. The Mohenjo-Daro was situated on the right bank of the Indus River. This civilization was developed around 2500 BCE. Mohenjo-Daro was developed due to the presence of the Indus River. The banks of the Indus River were well-fertilized. As in every successive year, there was a flood-related problem that happened at that time. That is why the Mohenjo-Daro was a highly fertilized area. Some historians believe that this civilization disappeared around the 19th century due to climate change. Some historians believe that invasion of Aryans was the main reason behind the destruction of Mohenjo-Daro.

Important Terms:

1. Indus Valley Civilization: This is the civilization which builds at the bank of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra Rivers and their tributaries. This was a highly fertilize area. This whole civilization occupies around 1.5 million square kilometres of the area on the northwest side of the Indian continent.
2. Mohenjo-Daro: The word Mohenjo-Daro is a Sindhi word. The meaning of this word is “Mound of the Dead“. Sir John Marshall first introduced this name.
3. Civilization: The civilization word means a place where humans lived/live due to some advantages of that place. The advantage may include weather, source of water, etc.
4. Aryan: Aryans are one of the Indo-European tribes. They came from present Iran & build a civilization on the north side of India. Some historians believe that invasion of Aryans is one of the major reasons for the destruction of Mohenjo-Daro.

History of Excavation in Mohenjo-Daro:

The probable existence of Mohenjo-Daro was first noted in the book “Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and the Punjab” by Charles Masson. But nobody pays attention to those writings. Later Alexander Cunningham established the Archaeological Society of India. He started discovering many important structures of ancient India like Sarnath, Sanchi Stupa, etc. On 1921 archaeologist Daya Ram Sahni first discovered Harappa city which was a part of the Indus Valley Civilization. Harappa was situated in the Punjab Pradesh of Pakistan. Later, on 1922 archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay also known as R.D. Banerjee discovered the Mohenjo-Daro site southwest of the Harappa site. The excavation was running from 1922 to 1930. During this period, many major excavations have been done in Mohenjo-Daro. These excavations made Mohenjo-Daro an important pillar of eastern civilization.

Periods of Mohenjo-Daro:

1. Pre-Mohenjo-Daro Period: During this period, people started living settled lives. They use to do agriculture mainly at this point. This period started in 3300 BCE.
2. Early-Mohenjo-Daro Period: At this point, people started building urban civilization. They also created massive villages which tends to create a town in the future. This period is between 3300 BCE to 2500 BCE.
3. Mature-Mohenjo-Daro Period: This is the pick point of the Mohenjo-Daro civilization. All the massive structures and improvements had been done at this point. Trading started in this time frame. This period is between 2500 BCE to 1900 BCE.
4. Late-Mohenjo-Daro Period: In this period, the Mohenjo-Daro started declining. Civilization disappeared at this point. This period is between 1900 BCE to 1300 BCE.

Major Excavations in Mohenjo-Daro:

In excavations, many findings are important to note down. Some of them are related to the structure of the building, some of them are related to the planning of the city & some of them are craft findings. Let’s divide them into each groups.

A. Archaeological Excavations:

In archaeological excavations, the most surprising finding was their town planning. Mohenjo-Daro society was divided into two parts. One is high-level people & some are low-level people. This division is made by religion, power, money, etc. They have nicely designed their town in such a way that the high-level people can live on another side of the town & the low-level people can stay on another side of the town.

Also, another notable finding was their Grid System. Grid System is another type of town planning where all streets cross each other at a right angle. This means all the houses are situated in a block-like structure. In the present day also, engineers failed to design such structures. It is very impressive that the people of Mohenjo-Daro can able to do so at that period.

B. Architectural Excavation:

In archaeological excavation, many findings are notable. Like the buildings or houses. These houses were built with backed bricks. This is a new kind of system which was discovered in the Mohenjo-Daro first. Also, their water drainage system was another unique one. In every building of Mohenjo-Daro, there was a water drainage system present. The water drainage system was the same as we can see in present-day houses. Also, there was a feature to trap the water & take out the blocking materials which can block the water drainage system.

Along with that, there are other two important structures present. In between, first is the Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro. It was a brick-made large swimming pull-like structure. It has dimensions of 12 meters in length & 7 meters in width. It was 2.5 meters in depth. Historians believe that this water tank was made for religious festivals. There were two wide staircases in this water tank. One is situated at the north & another is at the south of the water tank.

Another important structure was Mohenjo-Daro’s Granary. It was the storehouse of the Mohenjo-Daro. It has a dimension of 15.2 meters in length & 5.9 meters in width. It was made to keep the grains secure. As these regions were disturbed by a flood problem. To save the grains from the flood, they built this granary. Also, historians believe that Mohenjo-Daro was the economic capital of the Indus Valley Civilization. Granary is used to keep the grains that were collected in form of taxes. Mohenjo-Daro has a trading relationship with Mesopotamia.

C. Craft Excavation:

Along with the major structures, from Mohenjo-Daro some important Craft also discovered. Some of the important discoveries are the statues. Like the dancing girl statue. It was a bronze-made structure. It was 10.5 centimetres in length. But in this small dimension, the statue was nicely made. It was discovered on 1926.

Along with this, the Priest Statue is another important discovery. It was made with Soapstone. It was 17.5 centimetres long in size. Though historians are not sure whether this priest was ruled on Mohenjo-Daro or not. But still, it is called the statue of “Priest King“. In this statue, a breaded man image is displayed.

Location of the Indus Valley Civilization & Mohenjo-Daro:

At present, Indus Valley Civilization is spread across India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the present day, a major part of this civilization spread in the various states of India i.e Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Western Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, evidence of Indus Valley Civilisation is found in Sindh, Balochistan & Punjab Pradesh of Pakistan. Even some parts of Afghanistan were a part of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Shortugai and Mundigak were the cities which were discovered in Afghanistan. Though Shortugai was not considered the trading point still civilization was also built up there. The east end of this civilization extended up to Alamgirpur of Western Uttar Pradesh of India. The northern end of this civilization extended up to the Shortugai of Afghanistan. The southern end extended up to Daimabad of Maharashtra, India. And the western end extended up to the Sutkagendor of Makran coast of Pakistan.

Mohenjo-Daro is a group of mounds & ruins, situated at the bank of the Indus River.  Mohenjo-Daro is located in the Larkana district of Pakistan. It is the base city where Mohenjo-Daro is currently situated. The exact location is latitude 27°19′45″N & longitude 68°08′20″E. It is a district of Sindh Pradesh of Pakistan. It is situated in the Northern Sindh Province, South Pakistan. Mohenjo-Daro lies on the flat alluvial plain of the Indus River. The plain land extends around 50 miles which is southwest of Sukkur. As Mohenjo-Daro was situated at the bank of the Indus River, trading was the major economic base for Mohenjo-Daro. Mohenjo-Daro is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Indus Valley Civilization

Related Frequently Asked Questions and Solutions:

Q1: Explain the Probable Causes of Mohenjo-Daro was built at the bank of the Indus River.

Indus River area was much fertile at that time. Every year there was a flood-like situation in the valley of the Indus River. That is why this civilization was built at the bank of the river. Also, at that time, the water crisis was another problem. So, ancient people prefer to stay near to the river. Moreover, trade was another advantage of staying near to any river. For these reasons, Mohenjo-Daro was built at the bank of the river.

Q2: Write down some unique features of Mohenjo-Daro.

Mohenjo-Daro was different from any other Indus Valley Civilisation city. It is not only a city that was the economical capital of the Indus Valley Civilisation but is also known for its:

Canal System: In Mohenjo-Daro, there was a modern cannel system that was available at that time. There was a trapping system, by which the materials which can block the canals can be removed easily.

Great Bath: This was a huge chamber situated in the Mohenjo-Daro. But historians are not sure about its purpose of use. Some historians believe that it is used only for religious purposes. It was likely used for religious baths.

Q3: Write about two special findings from Mohenjo-Daro.

In Mohenjo-Daro, there were unique findings that can be listed down here.

Dancing Girl Statue: This was a statue that was made with bronze. This is a nice sculpture that has a dimension of only 10 cm x 5 cm. In this small size, the making of a sculpture was a great work at that time.

Priest Statue: It is a small statue where a bearded man is in a standing position. It is made with soapstone material.

Q4: State the location of Mohenjo-Daro.

Mohenjo-Daro is currently situated in the Larkana district of Pakistan which is situated in the Sindh Pradesh of Pakistan. Mohenjo-Daro is situated on the bank of the Indus River.

Q5: Which is the first civilization where the raise of the cotton crop was visualized first?

Archaeologists believe that Indus Valley Civilisation was the first civilization where the cotton crop was raised for the first time. They found some cotton crops in the Indus valley Civilisation cities. Among all the cities, a huge amount of cotton is found in the Mohenjo-Daro. Not only that from the houses of Mohenjo-Daro, but Archaeologists also collected spindle whorls.