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Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology has said that Mohenjo-daro might be removed from the world heritage list if urgent attention to its conservation and restoration is not given.
Key Takeaways
- Recent heavy rains and floods that have devastated large parts of Pakistan’s Sindh province have also taken a heavy toll on the archaeological site of Mohenjo-daro.
- Calamity has pushed the archaeological site on the bank of the Indus river to the “brink of extinction”.
Mohenjo-daro
- Mohenjo-daro, a group of mounds and ruins, is a 5000-year-old archaeological site located about 80 km off the city of Sukkur.
- It comprises the remnants of one of two main centres of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, the other one being Harappa, located 640 km to the northwest, in Punjab province.
- Mohenjo-daro, which means ‘mound of the dead’, was one of the oldest cities of the world.
- The ruins of the city remained undocumented for around 3,700 years, until 1920 when archaeologist RD Banerji visited the site.
- Its excavation started in 1921 and continued in phases till 1964-65. The site went to Pakistan during Partition.
Architecture and Urban Infrastructure of Mohenjodaro
- Mohenjo-daro has a planned layout with rectilinear buildings arranged on a grid plan.
- Most were built of fired and mortared brick; some incorporated sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures.
- The covered area of Mohenjo-daro is estimated at 300 hectares.
- The sheer size of the city and its provision of public buildings and facilities, suggest a high level of social organisation.
- The city is divided into the so-called Citadel and the Lower City.
- The Citadel – a mud-brick mound around 12 metres (39 ft) high – is known to have supported public baths, a large residential structure designed to house about 5,000 citizens and two large assembly halls.
- The lower town had enormous courtyard buildings, indicating a significant middle class.
- The city had a central marketplace with a large main well.
- Waste water was channelled to covered drains that lined the major streets.
Major Buildings
- The Great Bath is the most well-known structure of Mohenjo-Daro.
- The water for the bath was provided from a well in an adjacent room.
- The floor was made up of bricks.
- The floor and outer walls were bituminised so there was no water leakage.
- “Great Granary”: A granary has been found, which is the largest building of the Mohenjo-Daro.
- This granary is divided into 27 rooms of different sizes and shape.
- Assembly Hall : A square pillared hall with 90X90 ft is another important building found at Mohenjo-Daro.
- The scholars agree that this pillared hall was a site for social gatherings.
Major Artefacts
- ‘Mother Goddess’: One of the most fascinating figures of the Indus Valley Civilization is made up of terracotta.
- Dancing Girl is a prehistoric bronze sculpture created in lost-wax casting around 2300–1750 BC at Mohenjo-daro.
- The Priest-King is a steatite sculpture of a tiny man figure discovered at Mohenjo-daro.
- Pashupati seal: A seal discovered at the site bears the image of a seated, cross-legged and possibly ithyphallic figure surrounded by animals.
- Some scholars have interpreted the figure as a yogi, and others as a three-headed “proto-Shiva” as “Lord of Animals”.
Decline of Mohenjo-daro
- Many scholars believe that the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization was caused by climate change.
- Some experts believe the drying of the Saraswati River, which began around 1900 BCE, was the main cause for climate change, while others conclude that a great flood struck the area.
Content Source: Indian Express