Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan

and Mohenjodaro Civilization)

Town Planning System and architecture
 Introduction

 Mohenjodaro became more well known because it was the one of the largest
settlement of the Indus civilization.
 Town Planning Concept
 Sophisticated and advance urban culture
 Street in perfect grip patterns in both Mohenjodaro and Harappan
 World’s first sanitation system
 Individual wells and separate covered drains along the street for waste water
 Houses opened to inner courtyards and smaller lanes
 Impressive dockyards, graneries, warehouses, brick platform, and protective
walls
 Massive citadels protected the city from floods and attackers
 City dwellers-traders and artisan
 All the houses had access to water and drainage facilities
 Town planning
 Large cities divided into two parts, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The city was
divided into two main parts. The higher and upper portion of the city was
protected by a construction which looks like a fort. The ruling class of the
towns perhaps lived in the protected area.
 The other part of the towns was lower in height than the former and common
men lived in this area. The lower area of the towns generally spread over one
square mile.

 Streets
 The main streets of Indus Valley ran from north to south and east to west
intersecting one another at right angles. 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 welfare of public.

 Systematically built buildings and houses

 The nature of the buildings at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro shows that the town
dwellers were divided into various social classes. The rich and the ruling
class lived in the multi-roomed spacious houses and the poorer section
lived in small tenements. The public building and big houses were situated on
the streets. The modest houses were situated on the lanes.
 Architecture
 Encroachment on public roads or lanes by building houses was not permitted. The houses can be
divided into three main groups.

 Dwelling houses,
 Larger buildings,
 Public baths.

 Smaller houses had two rooms, while larger houses had many rooms. There were courtyards
attached to big buildings. There was little artistic touch in the architectural design of the
buildings belonging either to the rich or the poor. 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.

 Building Materials

 There was no stone built on the house in the Indus cities. Most of the houses were built of burnt
bricks. But 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 from wood.
 architecture
 Drainage System
 The elaborate drainage system was a remarkable feature of the civilization. the
drainage plans of the Indus cities definitely establish the separate identity or
independent character of the Indus civilization. No ancient civilization before
the Roman civilization had such an advanced drainage and sanitation
system. Each house had horizontal and vertical drains. 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.

 Great Public Bath and Granary of Indus Valley Civilization

 The Granary is another interesting architectural feature on the Stupa Mound is
the podium of the great Granary situated on the western flank.
 There is an impressive building which was used as a public bath. The overall
dimension of the Bath is 180 feet by 108 feet. The bathing pool is 39 feet by 23
feet with 8 feet depth.
 There is a device to fill and empty the water of the bathing pool. There are
galleries and rooms on all sides of the bathing pool.
 Men used to bathe in the tanks as a ritual for the mother goddess to whom the
citadel belonged.
 This public bath was attached to the Mohenjo-Daro fort where upper class
people lived.
 Among the other large buildings there was a big hall which was perhaps used
for public meeting.
 Declining Stage of the City
 The advanced style of the Indus city life found in the earlier layers is absent in
the later layers. In later layers there was a marked decline in civic discipline.
Buildings encroached on the roads. Lanes were chocked with klins. Slums
grew around. At Harappa and more clearly, at Mohenjo-Daro excavation has
revealed the general shape of town planning system of the Indus Valley
Civilization.

 Conclusion
 Modern archaeologists have been impressed by the perfectness of the town
planning system of the Indus Valley civilization. The systematic construction
of residential houses and public buildings, laying down of principal streets,
etc. are comparable with the modern day city planning.