UNIT 1

WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS THRO

RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATION

INDUS VALLEY
CIVILIZATION
3000 – 1500 BCE

29TH Sept. 2018

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I
 INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
 This earliest known civilization in India,
the starting point in its history, dates
back to about 3000 BC.
 Discovered in the 1920s, it was thought
to have been confined to the valley of
the river Indus, hence the name given to
it was Indus Valley civilization.

Features:
 This civilization was a highly developed
urban one and two of its towns, Mohenjo-
Daro and Harappa, represent the high
watermark of the settlements.
 Spread to a wide area in northwestern and
western India.
 Thus this civilization is now better known
as the Harappa civilization.
 Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are now in
Pakistan and the principal sites in India
include Ropar in Punjab, Lothal in
Gujarat and Kalibangan in Rajasthan.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

 INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Phases of Harappan civilization

Early Harappan civilization.( 3300BC to 2800 BC)
Mature Harappan civilization.
 Late Harappan civilization.

Early Harappan civilization

• Period - 3300BC to 2800 BC
• Related to Hakra phase
• Characterized by centralized authority and increased quality of life
• Trade network was established and domestication of crops kalibhanjan in
India kot daji ,peas, sesame seeds , dates were grown.

Mature Harappan civilization

• By 2600 , IVC entered in this phase
• Early communities were turning into large centers
• Harappa and Mohanjo- Daro in Pakistan
• Lothal in India.
• Introduced concept of irrigation

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD 2600 -1900 BC

 Mohenjo Daro, or "Mound of the

Dead" is an ancient Indus Valley
Civilization city that flourished between
2600 and 1900 BCE.
 Probably abandoned around 1700 BC
due to the alteration of the rivers
course
 It was one of the first world and
ancient Indian cities.
 The site close to 4 Sq. Kms. was
discovered in the 1920s and lies in
Pakistan's Sindh province.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD 2600 -1900 BC

FEATURES:
 The most dominant feature in this city would be the Urban Planning
 Mohenjo-daro was successively destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times.
Each time, the new cities were built directly on top of the old ones. Flooding
by the Indus is thought to have been the cause of destruction.
 The city was divided into two parts,
 Citadel
 Lower City.
 Most of the Lower City is yet
uncovered, but,
 Citadel is known to have the public
bath, a large
 Residential structure designed to
house 5,000 citizens, and two large
assembly halls.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD 2600 -1900 BC

Citadel:
The citadel houses the most important
administrative components of the City
• Granary
• Great Bath
• Stupa
• Assembly hall
• Fortifications
 The Citadel is the smaller component
of the City
 The Streets are not aligned to the
cardinal points as in the lower town
 Consists of ramparts and fortified
structures
 The stupa was a later addition in 500
AD
 The city was divided into two parts,
the Citadel included an elaborate tank or
bath created with fine quality brickwork
and drains; this was surrounded by a
verandah. Also located here was a giant
granary, a large residential structure,
and at least two aisled assembly halls.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD 2600 -1900 BC

Great Bath:
• The bath measures 12m x 7m x 2.4m
• 2 wide staircases lead down from the N
and S and there are 2 small sockets at the
edge of the stairs which might have held
wooden treads or planks
• A small brick edging extends for the entire
width of the bath
• The floor is made water tight by the use
of bricks on edge with gypsum plaster
• Water proofing has been provided by the
use of a thick layer of bitumen or tar along
the edges and the floor too
• A series of rooms are located on the
eastern edge of the building
• In one room is a well that may have
supplied water to the tank
• There are no inlet points

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD 2600 -1900 BC

 Lower Town:
 The Lower Town is organised on a
grid system with 4 avenues running
from north to south and four
running from east to west.
 The avenues are several metres wide
and have drains running down the
middle or side of the road.
 The avenues divide the Lower Town
into many blocks.
 Alleyways and lanes further divided
these blocks.
 it was probably where most of the
people in the city lived and worked

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD HOUSING SYSTEM

GENERAL HOUSING SYSTEM

The houses can be divided into three main groups viz.
1.Dwelling houses,
2.Larger buildings,
3.Public baths.
HOUSING SYSTEM:
 Town dwellers were divided into various
social classes.
 The Rich and the Ruling class lived in the
multi-roomed spacious houses.
 Poorer section lived in small tenements.
 The public building and big houses were
situated on the streets.
 Encroachment on public roads or lanes by
building houses was not permitted.
 The modest houses were situated on the
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I
lanes.
MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD HOUSING SYSTEM

 They were plain, utilitarian and comfortable to live.

 Some of the buildings were probably multi-storied.
 Most of the houses had baths, wells and covered drains connected with
street drains.
 Ordinary buildings had little ventilation arrangements, as doors and
windows were rarely fixed in the outer walls.
 Doors of entrance were fixed not on the front wall but on the side walls.
 One could enter a house by the door facing the side lanes of the house.
 The doors were made of wood.
 Large buildings had spacious doors.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD BUILDING MATERIALS

 No stone built house in the Indus

cities.
 Most of the houses were built of
burnt ricks.
 Unburnt sun-dried bricks were also
used.
 That portion of the buildings where
contamination with water was
possible, burnt bricks were used.
 For other parts sun-dried bricks were
used.
 Most of the bricks were of equal
size.
 The staircases of big buildings were
solid; the roofs were flat and were
made of wood

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD 2600 -1900 BC

STREETS :
 The streets were broad varying from 9
feet to 34 feet.
 They ran straight to a mile.
 They were suitable for wheeled traffic.
 Lanes were joined with the streets.
 Each lane had a public welt.
 Street lamps were provided for DRAINAGE SYSTEM:
welfare of public.  The elaborate drainage system was a remarkable
feature of the civilization.
 No ancient civilization before, had such an
advanced drainage and sanitation system.
 Each house had horizontal and vertical drains.
 House drains emptied themselves into the main
drains which ran under the main streets and
below many lanes.
 There were underground drains for the streets.
 These drains were covered by stone slabs.
 The soak pits were made of bricks.
 The house drains were connected with road
drains. HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I
MOHENJODARO - PLACE /MOUND OF THE DEAD DRAINAGE

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

 HARAPPA 2600 -1500 BC

 Harappa grew on the floodplains of a rich

and life-giving river, the Indus. The original
cities and many of the towns seemed to have
been built right upon the shores of the river.

 The Harappans were an agricultural people

whose economy was almost entirely
dominated by horticulture.
 40,000 people
 Massive granaries were built at each city,
and there most certainly was an elaborate
bureaucracy to distribute this wealth of
food.
 Bricks that they built their cities with
were fired bricks
 In addition, many of the Harappan seals
have pictures of animals that imply a wet
and marshy environment, such as
rhinoceroses, elephants, and tigers.
 The Harappans also had a wide variety of
domesticated animals: camels, cats, dogs,
goats, sheep, and buffalo.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

HARAPPA 2600 -1500 BC

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I

 BY:-
Ar. PRIYA M. NAIR
Assistant Professor
MEASI

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE- I