The Harappan Civilization

 The Harappan Civilization

A railway track was being laid at Harappa on the banks of the Ravi in the Punjab when ancient bricks were found . In 1921 , archaeological excavations began in that area when ancient bricks and certain seals bearing pictorial inscriptions were found . In 1922 , seals bearing pictographs were excavated at Mohen - jo - daro in Sindh . These finds led to the discovery of an ancient and advanced Indian civilization which was about five thousand years old . Today , Harappa and Mohen - jo - daro are in Pakistan . Remains of this civilization have. also been found in many places in India . Important among them are Rupad , Rakhigarhi , Lothal , Surkotada , Dholavira , Kuntasi , Rangpur , Alamgirpur , Kalibangan and Daimabad . All these places were situated in river basins . Settlements belonging to this civilization had spread in the basins of the Ravi and the Indus . This civilization is known as Harappa civilization.

Excellent town - planning , well - laid roads , houses , drains for sewage disposal , baths , ornaments , toys , terra - cotta pots , seals and the use of the metals copper , silver and gold are some of the characteristic features of Harappa civilization .

Town - planning

Remains of entire towns have been found in some excavations . They show that a big wall was built around the town for protection . There were watch - towers at regular distances on these walls .

Roads

Roads in the towns were straight and long , intersecting one another at right angles .

Houses

The intersecting roads divided the town into rectangular sections . Each section had twenty - five to thirty houses . Houses were built along both sides of the roads . Both types of bricks - baked and unbaked - were used in the construction of houses . There was sufficient distance between two houses to ensure proper ventilation . The houses were built on raised plinths as a precaution against the frequent flooding of the rivers .

Sewage disposal

There were closed drains that ran about one metre beneath the ground on both sides of the roads . Special arrangements were made to ensure that they did not get choked . This system of sewage disposal was ideal from the point of view of cleanliness and hygiene .

The Great Bath

A spacious bath has been excavated at Mohen - jo - daro . One of the tanks there measures 12 m long , 7 m wide and 2.5 m deep . The inner side of the tank was built with baked bricks to prevent seepage of water . There were steps leading down to the tank . Provision was made for draining , cleaning and re - filling the tank from time to time .

The Great Bath

It was observed in the excavation at Mohen - jo - daro that the settlement there was destroyed due to floods again and again , and each time a new settlement was built again in the same place . Remains of seven such settlements situated one on top of the other have been found there .

The characteristics of the civilization show that it was an urban civilization . The people gave a lot of importance to cleanliness and hygiene . Their town - planning was very systematic . It seems that these towns had an administrative system like the modern local self - governments for strict implementation of rules and regulations .

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