ela a ARCHITECTURE Indus Valley Architecture a. @ The remains date back to around 5000 years ago, ie. third millennium BC. % Some. important settlements were excavated on the banks of the river Indus particularly at the bends. that provided water, easy means of transportation of produce and other goods and also protection by natural patiers of the river, Unique ere 3 the IVC Town Planning e sites consisted of walled cities which provided security to the people, ei { @ The cities had a rectangular grid pattern of roads that cut each other at right angles, @ in some sites, cities had their own citadels or acropolis (acquired by the ruling class) known as the upper town, @ The lower town consisted of brick houses (inhabited by the common people), Ss @ There is evidence of buildings of big dimensions which perhaps were public buildings, » - administrative or business centers with pillared halls or courtyards, . @ Many thick layers of well baked bricks laid in gypsum mortar were joined together for the __ purpose of making the whole construction very é [Structure of the houses| @ The Indus alley people used standardized burnt mud-bricks as building material for the houses, Jaa ; “.@ Most of the houses had private wells and bathrooms which were connected to a centralized system, _@ Evidence of stairs shows that houses were ofteh double storied ’ =, @ Doors were in the side lanes to prevent dust from entering the houses, Drainage System | First known toilets and ane water in residential ; buildings in the world | crans from the houses, were. connected to larger ones along-the sides of the main roads, The drains were covered and the covers were kept loose ie the purpose of cleaning, eusesae fiyohenjo-daro (Sindh. Pakisfan) @ The aM boca public place of this city was’ The Great Bath which was used for open ritual bathing some of its features are: eltis sil functional as there is no leakage or cracks. in the construction, J @ The tahk was situated in the citadel mound with stairs at either end, e It had rooms for changing clothes and an _ outlet a atthe corner of the Bath led to a drain, * @- Wells were found throughout the city, and nearly every gee contained a bathing area and drainage system, ‘e Gir ORY. es the lirges buing of Moher s (45771m long and 523m wide), some of its features are: © It was used to store grains, which gives an idea of an -— organized procurement and distribution system, “he e The Granary was divided into 27 compartments in three F TOWS,, > @ Post cremation burial was also practiced in this city, Narappa (Punjab, Pakistan) : ‘The citadel of Harappa had ‘as many as six granaries (523m long and 609M wide), Each granary lay within a few meters of the river bank '@ The excavated site of Lothal was the only port-town of the Indus valley Civilization, mC) ~The dockyard had provisions for maintaining regular water level by means of a sluice gate and a spill channel, ae i ¥ Within the: citadel was a large warehouse which was used for storage, It is also known as the ‘Manchester of Indus valley Civilization’, \ Excavation findings include a burial of two people together if a brick-lined grave, g Ten inscriptions having huge signs resembling an eee" board were also found, ‘Water frgin various sources was sourced, stored, in aes stone-cut reservoirs, \ To further access water, rock-cut wells were found in different ars of the city It remefe S the most expansive example of the Harappan town planning system where a three-tier zonation was found, é Tt had upper (citadel, bailey) and middle (having a distinct street -pattern, large scale enclosure and“a~ceremonial s ground) towns enclosed by a’ lower town (with narrower streets, smaller enclosures and industrial area), f= OP RGOKI9RS Rakhigarhi (Daryana) # It is the largest. Harappan site, << The site ‘bas as many as seven huge mounds, Inside the Gitadel,-mud-brick podiums with inbuilt oblong pit cha pssbly for ritualistic purposes were found. A series Of four fire altars were found in north south alignment which were brick-lined with mud plaster, Evidence of burial in a pit, hid ina wooden coffin. was ~ found during the excavations, ,* Other Sites Ropar (Punjab) Banawali Haryana) Sarna and Balathal (Rajasthan) Rangpur (Capra) ‘soni (Gujarat)