Architecture in Ancient

India - I, Indus Valley

Civilisation

HISTORY

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Architecture in Ancient India - I,

Indus Valley Civilisation
Indus Valley civilisation is a bronze age civilisation and lasted between 3300 to 1300 BC. It flourished in the
basins of the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra river. The cities of this civilisation are known for their urban
planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply system, and metallurgy.

Content
 Phases of the Civilisation
 Early Harappan Phase
 Early to Mature Transition
 Mature Harappan Phase
 Decline
 Elements of Harappan Architecture
 Town Planning
 Citadel and Lower Town
 Large Structures
 Water and Sanitation Facilities
 Plumbing
 Water Management
 Drainage System
 Wells
 Bunds
 Houses
 Fortifications
 Building Materials
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Urban Infrastructure and Architecture

 Mohenjodaro
 Architecture
 Major Buildings
 The Great Hall/ Granary
 The Great Bath
 Residence Building
 Assembly Hall
 Harappa
 Major Buildings
 The Great Granary
 Kalibangan
 Fire Altars
 Lothal
 Dockyard
 Practice Mains Questions

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Phases of Harappan Civilisation

Early Harappan Phase

Source: Wikipedia Commons

 This period roughly spans between 3200-2500 BCE.

 Early Harappan civilisations settled in diverse landscapes, such as mountains and alluvium valleys.

 The largest number of villages occur in this period.

 Evidence of granary and defensive walls exist.

 There isn't much sign of urbanisation during this time period as most Early Harappan cities were of a
small scale and did not expand into public spaces or social stratification.

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Early to Mature Transition

Source: Wikipedia Commons

 There is evidence to show that there was a gradual transition to urbanisation, with rapid development,
geographical and urban expansion.

 This period is characterised by the emergence of large cities, uniform types of bricks, and planned
townships.

 A significant number of settlements were also abandoned, perhaps due to shifting geographical and
climatic conditions.

 The sites of Amri, Nausharo, Ghazi Shah, and Banawali saw the transition between the Early and Mature
Harappan eras.

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Mature Harappan Phase

Source: www.britannica.com

Harrapa

Source: Indus Valley Civilisation

Mohenjadaro with citadel visible

 The mature phase is much more reliably dated than the Early Phase and roughly spans between 2500 -
1900 BCE. Small Early Harapan communities had developed into large urban centres.

 These cities included Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, Lothal, and
Ganeriwala.

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 Its urban development is one-of-a-kind, and it was shaped by the actions and behaviours of a complex
sociocultural network.

 The structures show a social order as well as evidence of widespread trading and farming

Decline
 The Indus Valley Civilization began to decline around 1800 BCE.

 Trade with the Mesopotamian civilisation, which is now mostly in modern Iraq, appears to have
ceased, according to archaeological evidence.

 The big cities' excellent drainage systems and baths were built over by some other structures or
blocked.

 The usage of regular weights and measures for trade and taxation began to fade, and writing began to
disappear.

 There was widespread desertion of sites (both rural and urban) in the core areas and considerable
migrations of people to outlying areas, such as Kathiawad and eastern Punjab.

 The Aryan invasion theory has long been discarded.

 Environmental degradation or climatic change cannot be held responsible for the end of the
Harappan civilization as they cannot be applied to the entire area covered by the Harappan culture.

 The drying up of the Ghaggar/Hakra river resulted in the desertion of sites in the Cholistan Desert.

Elements of Harappan Architecture

 Numerous excavations have revealed the remnants of cities and given historians a rough idea of
civilization and its architecture.

 The architecture of the Indus Valley civilization was entirely indigenous and unaffected by outside
influences.

 Sculpture did not play a central part in the building; it was discovered separately.

 There was an emphasis on the utility of architecture rather than aestheticization and prioritisation on
functionality over ornamentation.

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 The Indus civilization lacked beautiful structures such as palaces, monuments, discrepancies, and tombs;
instead, most structures were large-scale public facilities, comfortable dwellings, or functional
residences, demonstrating that it was the first sophisticated ancient society founded on egalitarianism

Town Planning
 The Harappan cities featured a developed infrastructural city plan, with sophisticated systems to control
the flow of water and waste with public wells and drainage systems.

 Cities were probably oriented based on the rising sun and moon, and certain stars in the sky like the
North star and Aldebaran.

 The cities were divided into grids, encircled with fortifications, with each block containing a network of
houses and public wells.

 Roads, fire pits, kilns, and industrial buildings were also featured.

 Sites were frequently elevated or placed on artificial hills. Probably to prevent flooding in the area.

 Such elaborate town planning and sanitation systems are unique to the Indus valley civilisation and are
not found in contemporary civilisation towns of Ur (Mesopotamia) and other civilisations.

 Harappa utilised a binary system for small measurements and a decimal system for large measurements.

 Urban settlements such as Mohenjodaro and Harappa have a fairly elaborate drainage system that would
have required supervised construction and regular maintenance.

Citadel and Lower Town

 Most cities were divided into two different sections; an upper citadel or acropolis and a lower town.

 The lower town was located on the eastern side of the city and housed the citizens and consisted of
lower-valued residential buildings. The acropolis was on the western side which consisted of higher value
buildings and public buildings and housed the rulers.

 The citadel was built on a high podium of mud brick and may have served as an administrative or ritual
centre.

 The lower city contained residential areas.

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Large Structures
 The Harappan culture was capable of erecting massive structures that necessitated a high level of
engineering expertise:

 Citadels formed the upper part of the area and housed the elite class of the city.

 Public Baths were used for rituals and ceremonies. Along with the bath, there were little chambers.
Stairs are free of leaks and cracks. Bricks are used to construct public baths.

 Large granaries were located in citadels. To simplify import and export, these can also be found in
Lothal Dockyard.

 The Harappan culture had a sophisticated water management system. To clear blockages, large-scale
waterworks, such as drainage pipes, would be covered. Dams were also built to restrict the flow of
water inlets. The Lothal Dockyard had been constructed away from the main current to prevent
deposition of silt.

 Lakes were carved out of the ground to preserve water and rain.

 The Harappans utilised a technique known as corbelling to construct stone arches. In Mohenjodaro,
there is evidence of the civilization constructing enormous arched culverts.

Water and Sanitation Facilities

Source: By Abhilashdvbk - Wikimedia Commons

Drainage system at Lothal

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 Harappa had a complex society built on well-organized and thorough urban planning, which included
sophisticated water management and sewage systems with dams, wells, baths, and fountains. Canals
were absent.

Plumbing
 Aqueducts were constructed in a long-distance system of underground plumbing and sewerage systems
to deliver water from wells or tanks to the city centre.

Water Management

Source: By Lalit Gajjer - Wikimedia Commons

Stepwell at Dholavira

 Dams were created along the Indus River to collect, store, and redirect water for water management
purposes.

 Water cisterns and reservoirs were used in water storage systems such as aqueducts and basins for
agricultural water distribution, with some taking use of topographical height variations to distribute and
store water.

 Households were supplied with water via fountains connected by water conduits for drinking and
bathing.

Drainage System
 The most prominent system of the Indus valley civilization is the drainage system.

 Drains were constructed to allow for the effective disposal of water waste and residual solids.

 Inspection manholes were installed at regular intervals to assure appropriate operation and
maintenance.
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 Smaller drains from households were connected to larger drains which were buried underneath the
main streets.

 Sump pits were found at intervals along the drains to allow heavier solid waste to collect at the
bottom.

 Drains exiting the cities had wooden doors to prevent vagrants or negative elements from entering the
city.

 Corbelled drains have been found at many sites.

Wells
 Along the now dry stretch of Hakra river in Pakistan, the water table must have been high and wells
would have been important.

 Several Harappan sites lie close to natural springs or artesian wells.

 Mohenjodaro alone had an estimated 700 wells for its domestic water supply.

 At Allahdino (a settlement near Karachi) a well with a stone-lined artesian well was used.

Bunds
 In the site of Dholavira in the Kutch area, where there are no perennial rivers, bunds were constructed
across channels of minor rivers to divert the seasonal river water in the city.

Houses

 Varying types of houses and buildings are found in both large and small settlements.

 Structures in rural regions are often built entirely of mud bricks, but buildings in urban areas are created
partially or entirely of baked bricks.

 Houses were 2-3 storeys tall, with a central courtyard that the rooms were organised around.

 Openings are restricted to side streets to maintain privacy.

 There were also groups or clusters of dwellings that likely housed many families together and had their
own amenities such as latrines and bathing spaces rather than relying on community services.

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Fortifications
 Fortifications or walls around the cities could have served as defensive structures to intimidate potential
attackers and to show the city as strong and powerful.

 The fortifications also provided protection from floods. There is evidence of tapering of walls at the
bottom to guide the water away from the cities.

 In Harappa and Mohenjodaro, the citadel was surrounded by a brick wall. While at Kalibangan, both
the citadel and the lower town were surrounded by a wall. This feature was also seen in Surkotada.

Building Materials
 The building materials depended on the location of the construction.

 In rural areas, mud bricks would be used and in urban areas, the use of baked bricks was common.

 The main materials were sun-dried and burnt bricks which were mainly in the ratio of 1:2:4.

 Mud mortar and gypsum cement were also discovered.

 The doors and windows were most likely framed in wood, which has now rotted away.

Urban Infrastructure and Architecture

Mohenjodaro

Mohenjodaro Citadel gateway

Map by Mortimer Wheeler

Source: Wheeler's Mohenjodaro 1950
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 The city is seemed to have been built around the 26-25th century BCE.

 Literally meaning “Mound of the Dead Men”, it is located in the present-day Larkana district of Sindh
province of Pakistan.

 It was excavated in 1922 by R.D Bannerjee.

 The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

Architecture
 The layout of Mohenjodaro is planned, with rectilinear (in straight lines) buildings placed in a grid pattern.

 The majority were made of fired and mortared brick, with some sun-dried mud-brick and wooden
superstructures thrown in.

 Mohenjodaro’s area is estimated to be 300 hectares.

 The city is divided into two parts, the Citadel, and the Lower City.

 The citadel supports public baths, a large residential structure, and two large assembly halls.

 The city also has a central marketplace-like structure and a large central well.

Major Buildings

Source: Plan of the Granary, Mohenjodaro

The Great Hall/ Granary

 The Great Granary was identified in 1950 by Sir Mortimer Wheeler

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 The huge structure, which is made up of 27 blocks of brickwork crisscrossed by ventilation channels.

 It also contains brick loading bays from which grains were lifted into the citadel for storage.

 However, the complete lack of evidence of grain at the structure, makes historians believe that this
structure might be a Great Hall for holding some uncertain function.

Source: Mohenjodaro Granary "Loading Dock" [177]

Loading Dock of the Granary

 The Great Bath

 Close to the Great Granary is the public bath, also called the Great Bath.

 It is a large and elaborate bath and without doubt the earliest public water tank in the ancient
world.

 Two wide staircases lead down into the tank from the north and south.

 There exists a brick edging across the entire width of the pool for people to move along the
width without actually stepping into the pool.

 The floor of the tank is water-tight due to finely fitted bricks with gypsum plaster, and a thick
layer of bitumen (natural tar) laid along the sides and the floor. The use of stone is not present.

 A massive well in a neighbouring room provided water.

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 This bath would have been used for special religious functions or rituals.

 Residence Building

 At another side of the Great Bath is a long building (230 x 78 feet) which has been identified as the
residence of a high official.

 It includes an open court of 33 feet square on which three verandas are open.

 Assembly Hall

 Another significant building was an assembly hall.

 It has four rows of five brick plinths on which were placed in wooden columns.

 A sitting male statue was discovered in a row of apartments to the west of it.

Harappa

Mysterious Circular Platforms, often called Workmen’s

Central Mound at Harappa
Platforms at Harappa

Large Drain at Harappa

Source: Harappa Granary Area Corbelled Drain

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 This site is located near the river Ravi in the present-day Sahiwal district of Punjab province in Pakistan.

 Harappa was the first site to be excavated, with excavations carried out in 1921 by Dayaram Sahni, M.S.
Vats, and Mortimer Wheeler.

 The site occupies around 370 acres, and like Mohenjodaro it is characterised by flat-roofed clay brick
houses and a fortified citadel.

 The ancient city was heavily damaged under British rule when bricks from its ruins were used in the
construction of the Lahore-Multan railway.

 Like Mohenjodaro, it was divided into two sections: the upper citadel and the lower town.

 The streets were in a North-south direction and cut at right angles.

Major Buildings

Source: Harappa Granary Area

 The Great Granary

 It consisted of a series of brick platforms forming the base of two rows of six granaries.

 Rows of circular brick platforms may be observed to the south of the granary.

 The fact that chaffs of wheat and barley were found in the fissures of the floor indicates that
they were utilised for threshing grains.

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Kalibangan

Source: :Kalibangan
Ovens at Kalibangan

 The name Kalibangan translates to “Black bangles” derives its name due to the dense distribution of
bangles that were found in its excavation.

 The site is located in Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan, in India on the now dried Ghaggar-Hakra river.
It was a smaller city compared to Harappa and Mohenjodaro.

 A. Ghosh was the first to discover it in 1953.

 Kalibangan is also attested by the world’s earliest attested plowed field.

Fire Altars

Source: Kalibangan
Fire Altars at Kalibangan

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 Pits with evidence of burning, sometimes associated with animal bones, were found from Kalibangan
and Lothal and have been interpreted as fire altars.

 A row of seven fire altars, as well as a pit holding animal bones and antlers, were discovered on one of
them.

 Fire altars have also been found in residences, in a special room.

 These altars suggest fire worship or sacrificial ritual practices.

Lothal

Source: Ancient Lothal

An artist’s rendition of Lothal, with dockyard visible in front

Source: A Walk Through Lothal

Drainage System at Lothal
An old Well in Lothal

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 Lothal is situated in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat, in India.

 It was first excavated by S.R. Rao.

 The urban design at Lothal is of a different kind.

 This city was split into six sectors, each with its own drainage and mud-brick platform. In terms of town
layout, Lothal differs from other Indus Valley Civilization sites in that it has admission to the homes on
the main street, whereas other sites have lateral entry.

 When a flood destroyed the city in the Early Harappan phase, the acropolis was levelled and houses
were rebuilt.

 In the excavations of 1961, findings included a mound, a township, a marketplace, and the dock.

Dockyard

Source: Dockyard at Lothal in summer and Dockyard at Lothal after the rains

The dockyard at Lothal in Summer and after rains

 Lothal is known for the world’s earliest known dock that connected the city through the Sabarmati river
to other Harappan cities in Sindh and Saurashtra regions.

 The dock was used to carry out trade, and Lothal became a thriving trade centre.

Dholavira
 Dholavira is a Harappan site located in the present-day Kutch district of Gujarat, India.

 It was discovered by Indologist Luigi Pio Tessitori.

 It is one of the five largest Harappan sites and is located on the Tropic of Cancer.
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 It was discovered by J.P. Joshi, of the Archaeological Survey of India and was named a UNESCO World
Heritage Site on 27 July 2021.

Architecture

Source: Dholavira

North Gate in Dholavira

 The city is believed to be older than the port city of Lothal.

 Unlike Mohenjodaro and Harappa, the city consists of three divisions - the citadel, the middle town, and
the lower town.

 The citadel is heavily fortified and has a towering castle. Next to the castle stands the bailey where
important officials might have lived.

 A stone cut water reservoir has been found.

 The striking feature of Dholavira is that all of its buildings are built of stone, whereas buildings in other
Harappan sites are mostly built of brick.

Chanhudaro

Source: https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/cover-story/chanhudaro/

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 Chanhudaro is located just south of Mohenjodaro, in the Sindh province of Pakistan.

 It was first excavated by N. G. Majumdar in 1931.

 For building houses baked bricks were used.

 It is the only Indus site found without a citadel.

 It is considered to be the biggest industrial site of the Indus valley civilization with the discovery of a
bead making factory (carnelian beads were found) and a centre of shell making.

Mains Question for Practice:

Q1. Briefly describe the town planning in the Harappan civilisation. (10 marks, 150 words)

Q2. In Harappan architecture, there was an emphasis on the utility of architecture rather than
aestheticization. Comment. (15 marks, 250 words)

Q3. Elucidate the water and sanitation facilities in the Indus valley civilisation. (15 marks, 250 words)

Q4. Discuss the water management and its conservation planning in the Harappan (Indus-Saraswati)
cities. (CSE 2013) (10 marks, 150 words)

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