HISTORY OF EASTERN ARCHITECTURE

Lecture 1
 INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-
2000)
Introduction

Major historical development of Architecture- famous for

their conception and are supremely distinctive

Examples:
Greek – refined perfection
Roman – remarkable scientific construction
French Gothic – reveals a condition of passionate energy

In the same way, Outstanding quality of Indian Architecture

SPIRITUAL CONTENT
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Introduction
SPIRITUAL CONTENT- Religious consciousness of people –
can be seen in the wall surfaces of structures
Indian Architecture reflects
Religious consciousness 0f people
Mind materialization in terms of rock, brick stone
Wall surface treatment with schematic sculptures which tell ocean of stories (self
narrative story as teaching media of then)

Development in the dawn age of India- found in Indus Valley Civilization

(N-W part of India, presently it is Pakistan)

3 civilizations were flourished in the bank of Indus River

HARAPPA (at Southern Punjab)

MOHENJO-DARO (At Sind) AND

CHANGU DARO
 INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Introduction

3 civilizations were flourished in the bank of Indus River

HARAPPA (at Southern Punjab)

MOHENJO-DARO (At Sind)

CHANGU DARO
 INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Introduction

Found evidences clarify (EXCAVATION DONE IN 1920 AD)

No pronounced aesthetic aspiration

No deep religious conviction (no evidences of religious structure)

STARK UTILITARIANISM

Civilization found buried in the soil of Indus River bank

Found matured state in 3000 BC (more than 5000 years old), so can be
assumed that its origin may be go back to still more remote age
Developed out of farming and herding communities. Later unified
culturally and resulted as one of the meticulously planned cities
CITADEL CIVILIZATION
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Origin and Development
Hindukush
Khyber
Pass

Kandahar HIM
INHABITANTS ??? Bolan
Panjab
RA ALA
NG YA
E N
Pass
Baluchistan
Indus
River
Brahmaputra
SIND
Ganges
river

ARABIAN SEA
Bay of Bengal

GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION AIDED IN OVERFLOW OF PEOPLE FROM

CENTRAL ASIA

Group of nomadic people from Sumeria (present day Iran), deserted direction,
entered through N-W through the valleys of Hindu kush and passes of Bolan
pass and Khyber pass landed on unused Indus River banks richly forested
with abundant alluvial soil
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Origin and Development
INHABITANTS ???
These people found breath taking green valley, richly forested and abundantly
watered land beside Indus river (Sindu by local)
& its tributaries (Jhelum, Chenab, Rabi, Beas, Sutlej >> the
alluvial land conceived as “God’s own gift”
Life supporting
-

The itinerant group of people felt no need of wandering more and settle
there >> begin of Indus Civilization

River acted as trade route and highway, this made a traders

s
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Development process
Alluvial river bank & continuous water supply ideal for cultivation
Forest as abundant source of hunting and timber for fuel and Building
material

Plenty of mud >> idea of baking brick >> permanent building construction

By the first Millennium of the settlement:

Already known to grow Rice, wheat, cotton, and others
Development of irrigation system >> production of agricultural surplus >.
Construction of granaries
growth of industries (pottery, brick making, carpentry & weaving for cotton
textiles)
>> overseas trade with contemporary cities.. Mesopotamia, Iran, Arab,
..
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Development process

Others
Main crops : Rice, wheat, cotton & other
Ox driven carts for transportation
Use of stone and copper tools
Pots and urns of clay, wood in geometric pattern

By the period of a 1000 years, the immigrants and their descendants spread over
half a million square miles along & around the Indus valley
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning

Indus valley civilization has made great achievements in

City planning

Residential architecture

Civic administration in the principal cities

Exhibit outstanding examples of effective town planning

>> comparable to Roman cantonments came almost
2500 yrs later
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Mohenjo- daro and Harappa show similar
planning approaches

Both were nearly a mile square in area with

crenellated defensive walls

Layout of Grid iron pattern of streets N-S

and E-W >> 9 M wide
City divided into 12 blocks by streets >> each
block approx. 365 x 244 M

The central western block allocated for citadel and others mainly
for residential

City served by extensive drainage system and better street networks

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Citadel (raised and fortified place)
Placed important structures and for
conducting rituals

Built over a platform of baked brick 15m

above general city level

Citadel had terraces at various levels

approached by ramps or staircases

Palace
Great Bath CITADEL
Massive granary
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Citadel (raised and fortified place)
Placed important structures and
for conducting rituals

Built over a platform of baked brick 15m

above general city level
Citadel had terraces at various levels
approached by ramps or staircases

CITADEL
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Citadel (raised and fortified place)
Bathing tank probably for ritual public bath(7x12.1x2.4)m
waterproofed with asphalt and had filling / draining system

surrounded by living
quarters for Priests

Fig. Bathing tank

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Citadel (raised and fortified place)
Granaries (as storage chambers of grains)
provided with Loading/ unloading platforms and
cross ventilation

Circular brick paved Flour making

platforms next to granaries

Ruins of vast halls (70x24) M >> as part of

palace / worshipping place ??
A row of two roomed cells probably
for labours

Sleeper wall in Granary

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Residential architecture
• Residences arranged around open to sky central courtyard.
• No Direct entry and window in the main street >> through
irregular, narrow & shaded walkway >> maintaining privacy
• Depend , for light & Ventilation on central open court
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
A small residential block
within the grid of main and
subsidiary streets
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Residential architecture
The basic unit of residential block
is of varying size and two or more
stories in height
Group of housing units share a
common well for water supply
each house had a separate bathing
area >> connected to drains >> joined
with main street sewerage with
manhole at regular interval

EXTENSIVE DRAINAGE SYSTEM IN THE CITY

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Construction method
The houses constructed of burnt brick in mud mortar
>> Bk. Size : 12x12x27 cm

Upper stories made largely of wood, roofs being flat and

built of stout beams covered with planking with top
dressing of beaten earth
Foundations and walls found to use English bond

No instances of true arch, openings being spanned by wooden

lintels
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Town planning
Construction method
Drains covered with brick slabs, larger main sewers
spanned by corbelled brick arches

Corbelled arch formed by over sailing bk. courses

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Arts & artifacts

• Numerous artifacts discovered form the period

• Use of Unidentified pictorial scripts (around 400 no.)
• writing from left to right
• Steatites (soap stone) seals with humped bull - sqaure /
rectangular , 2-3 cm >> used for security and ownership
signs
• Jewellery such as ear rings, pendants, belts & bangles of
gold, silver , jade
• Sculpture of dancing girl in bronze
• Statues of priestly king
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (C. BC 3000-2000)
Decline and decay
Over 1000 years,
• little technological progress
• People Lived without experiencing wars
• No progress in armaments/weapons
• The recurring floods and change of river courses:
>> devastated portions of the cities time and again
>> the limited rebuilding ultimately could not sustain for long
• Around 1600 BC, nomadic invaders from the west ( Aryans) attack
the cities
• The cities became virtually sieged under constant threat from
marauding tribes >> cities defensive but not well equipped
• New building activity came to be standstill, additional spaces to be
created by encroaching upon courtyards and streets
• Brick kilns ... constructed on the streets
>> not safe to go beyond city limit
Indus Valley civilization
Decline and decay ….
• Uncertainty & Difficult to enforce rules and regulation
• Walled up western gate for defence but could not help
• And finally flee from the cities for life
>> move to Chanhu-daro (S-E of Mohenjodaro) and
tried to build new town but not succeeded.
• On the other hand the cities offered no attraction to the Aryan
nomads
>> aroused their contempt and wrath
>> destroyed the cities and moved further east towards
Gangetic plains >> restart with wood and bamboo
• The cities were totally abandoned and fragile >> converting it to
“a city of dead” ( Mohenjo-daro)
• The entire civilization built over thousand of years collapsed,
declined >>remained buried under earth for thousand of years
Indus River with alluvial
river bank
Citadel ......Stupa of Kushan
Dynasty (2nd c. AD)

Main street of residential

area
 Great Bath in the
Citadel

House bathroom

Bk. Size : 12x12x27 cm

Wells- different Shapes
Use of Wedge shape Brick
 Latrine

Well

Drainage
Thank You