2. The Harappan culture existed along the Indus River in
what is present day Pakistan. This Indus Valley
“civilization” flourished around
4000-1000 B.C.
About Harappan civilization
It was named after the city
of Harappa. Harappa and
the city of Mohenjo-Daro
were important centers of
the Indus valley civilization.
REGION
3. It was discovered by
numerous scientists and
archaeologists in 1921.
Alexander Cunningham, the
director general of the
Archaeological Survey in
India(ASI), visited the
Harappan ruins to look at the
Buddhist remains along with
the next director of the ASI,
John Marshall
ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM
4. The Indus Valley is on the
border between India Pakistan
and Afghanistan.The main city
may have been Mohenjo-Daro
but it could have been
HarappaTo the West of Mohenjo-
Daro are the Highlands. North
East of Mohenjo Daro are the
Himalayan mountains.
5. Scientists set up an
excavation to investigate the
mysterious ancient ruins.
The dig began in 1920 led
by archaeologist Rai
Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni.
DAYA RAM
SAHNI
TOWN
7. Because of the Indus River which
flows through the valley. It over-
flowed every year leaving soil
perfect for growing crops in. It
could of also been used for
transport and food such as fish.
The Indus Valley was also well
protected by the Himalayan
Mountain Range.
Why did the Harappans decide to live in the Indus Valley?
INDUS VALLEY
8. A citadel is the core fortified area of
a town or city. It may be
a fortress, castle, or fortified center.
The term is a diminutive of "city"
and thus means "little city", so
called because it is a smaller part of
the city of which it is the defensive
core.
CITADEL
CITADEL
10. Streets
There is a road, which runs through
the city, where carts ran down to
transport goods. These where pulled
by camels, oxen and elephants,
which where also used to travel on.
HARRAPAN STREETS
11. BUILDINGS
The Indus tribe lived in houses just
like today. They where built from
bricks and cement and must have
been very strong because lots of
these buildings are still standing
today.
IMAGINED TOWN BULIDINGS
12. They had a very complex city
structure with one to two floors,
to each building, yet there has
been no evidence that the tribe
had doors separating any of the
rooms.
HARRAPA BUILDINGS
13. The great bath was a special place
in the Indus Valley. It was used for
baptizing babies. Like the drains,
the bricks were clay to make it
waterproof so none of the water
could escape. The only way the
water could escape was through a
special system where, if they
wanted to, they can let the water
out if it got to dirty and then they
could fill it up again
Great Bath
14. This is the plug of the
great bath.
It also has a plug hole which was used for
totally emptying out the bath.The bath is
made from tightly fitted bricks which had
tar on the inside of the bath. The tar was
used as a water proof layer so the people
could bath. Archaeologists aren’t sure how
they filled it up but they found a well near
by.
The bath was 12 metres long and 7 metres
wide.
15. There is evidence of very sophisticated
drainage systems in the cities of the
Indus Civilisation. The drainage
systems were so big that a human
would have been able to walk through
the middle of one. This was really
helpful because if the drain was
blocked, the drain could be easily
accessed.
The Drainage system
16. They were also very clever because
they used cement and clay bricks to
make the drains, which always sloped
downhill. There is evidence which shows
lots of small footprints in the bricks.
This may indicate that children helped
to make the bricks.
This drain is about 5 meters deep
17. Town Planning
The Town Planning System of
Indus Valley Civilization
(Harappan Civilization) was
city based. The excellent
drainage and sanitation
systems are remarkable.The
Indus civilization flourished
around cities..
Town plan
18. The ruins of the cities, so far
unearthed, show remarkable
town planning, and excellent
system of drainage and
sanitation of the Indus Valley
Civilization.
INDUS CIVILIZATION
19. The city was the heart of the civilization. The life in
the Indus cities gives the impression of “a democratic
bourgeois economy” like that of ancient Crete
PLANNING
[house]
20. The "granary" of Harappa is
found on Mound F.
It is a brick structure that was
built on a massive brick
foundation over 45 meters
north-south and 45 meters
east-west.
Granary
21. Two rows of six rooms that appear
to be foundations are arranged
along a central passageway that is
about 7 meters wide and partly
paved with baked bricks.
Each room measures 15.2 by 6.1
meters and has three sleeper walls
with air space between them.
Granary
22. A large public well and
public bathing platforms
were found in the southern
part of Mound AB at
Harappa.
GREAT WELLS
23. These public bathing areas
may also have been used for
washing clothes as is
common in many traditional
cities in Pakistan and India
today.
HARAPPAN WELLS
24. It is often said that the ancient
Indus people invented latrines.
Mark Kenoyer writes "Many
urban dwellers may have walked
outside the city wall to the
nearby fields to relive
themselves, as is commonly
done today throughout much of
Asia. But current excavations at
Harappa are finding what appear
to be latrines in almost every
house.
HARRAPA
LATRINES
25. HOUSE PLANNINGVarying types of houses and
buildings are found in both large and
small settlements. Rural areas tend
to have exclusively mud brick
buildings whereas urban areas have
buildings partially or wholly made of
baked bricks. Houses range from 1-2
stories in height, with a central
courtyard around which the rooms
are arranged. Average thickness of
walls was 70cm and average ceiling
height about 3 meters.
PLAN STRUCTURE
26. Stairs led to the upper stories through a side room or the
courtyard and the size of foundations has shown that a
third floor might also have existed at one point.
STEPS
{STAIRCASE}
27. The bathrooms itself were usually a
small square or rectangular room with a
carefully-laid brick pavement sloping
towards one corner. In this corner was
the outlet for the water, which, in some
cases also ran through the latrine. In
some cases the brick floors of the
bathrooms had been polished by the
friction of bare feet, while in others they
show a deep red deposit.
28. Indus valley civilization is the dream of today but shown
yesterday. It is that civilization which laid the foundation of
our culture. Town planning was marvelous. Drainage system
was covered so that there is no pollution. There was food
storage system from which all the people were benefited. They
worship nature which is the need of today….women were
educated. Administration was proper. So, we can say that it is
dream of todays -
• ------------------------------------------------------ Conclusion
