Mohenjo Daro History — A mysterious archaeological place to visit

Mohenjo Daro is one of the most mysterious places located in Pakistan to visit and going to discuss about Mohenjo Daro History. From the travel and tour point of view, it is a very interesting place to be seen. You can learn harmony, sense of responsibility, interdependence and the importance of preserving natural resources. Architects and structural engineers must visit the site and try to find out how in the world was an amazing structure built almost five millennia back in time. I am sure after visiting, you would wish to have a time machine and see everything happening live.

There is also a museum located just near the site that displays the pottery, weapons, kitchen utensils and many other historical things that the people of the city used. Restrooms are built near the site to accommodate tourists.

The Mound of the Dead

Mohenjo Daro is a word of Sindhi language which means “the mound of the dead”. The name was given to the site when during excavation of a mound the archaeologists found out that these mounds accommodate the remains of a city that was once the largest settlement of Indus valley civilization

Weather and atmosphere

If you are afraid of hot summer season, you must go to this place in winter season because of the melting temperature of the region.

Starting from May and August, temperatures frequently increase beyond 46 °C (115 °F) and during December and January, usual temperature is of 2 °C (36 °F).

Discovery

According to harappa.com, Mohenjo Daro was discovered in 1922 by R. D. Banerji, an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India, two years after major excavations had begun at Harappa, some 590 km to the north.

Mohenjo Daro is a site of ancient ruins in Sindh, Pakistan, engineered just about 5000 years ago. It absolutely was discovered in 1922 and has become a very important and yet a mysterious archaeologic discovery, as a result, it once housed the Indus valley civilization, one among the earliest settlements within the world’s history.

In 1980 the site became the primary UNESCO world heritage site in South Asia. Today, owing to improper tries at restoration and erosion the location is vulnerable. Excavations were declared illegal in 1965 owing to the weathering effects on exposed structures.

Recent core drilling has shown that the location is even larger than what has been unearthed to this point. According to some sources the city might totally get demolished by 2030 due to poor preservation and flooding.

Location

It is situated in Sindh (Larkana district) a southern province of Pakistan, the largest settlement of the Indus valley civilization accommodating 40,000 people in that time. Mohenjo Daro lay on the bank of river Indus. More than 1000 cities have been discovered ever since, spread out in the area twice as France.

Historical facts

The city was built in 2600 BCE and was the largest city of Indus valley. It was the most developed part of the civilization, with the most advanced civil engineering techniques and remarkable urban planning. Main source of income was trade. Crops mainly were grown like wheat, barley, rice, peas and millet. The city was abandoned in 1900 BCE due to unidentified reasons.

Architecture & Facilities

The mastermind of their structures is revealed by alignment and positioning of the streets. The entire city has an intricate water management system. It has 80 community toilets. There was built a great bath for the daily ablution, people of Mohenj-Daro came to this pool for bathing. Round about the great bath was a walkway with fountains. The houses and streets were very well managed. The interconnected drainage system clarifies that the whole city was precisely planned before its construction. The city was divided into two parts the Citadel and the Lower town. The citadel was built on a mound of baked bricks. It accommodated all the state buildings. The Great Bath is also situated on the citadel. The Lower town was the residential area.

The science and mastery

The remains clearly show their mastery in science and technology. Their buildings show their impressive knowledge of Civil engineering. Most of the constructions are built of well baked bricks. Only some structures use sun dried bricks, there are some wooden structures as well. They also were the first people to introduce measurement. The weights and seals indicate their very precise measurement system. They had toilets and bathing area in almost every house. The sewerage system was very well plumbed and managed throughout the city.

Some interesting facts

• This valley is an endless source of questions, that how people so old were so organized and possessed with such a level of knowledge. Knowledge that is reflected in their construction work, impressive buildings, well managed sewerage system and perfectly arranged streets.
• There are no temples, palaces or castles found in the other cities of the Indus valley. Which shows that there was no political leader, king or any religious leader of the city. However, there must have been an elected representative to represent them in the major government.
• There is a great mystery that how were these valleys built? But how they were abandoned is even a greater point to ponder. Some of the archaeologists believe that the river Indus changed its course and devastated the city but this doesn’t explain the destruction of the whole Indus valley civilization. Others say there was some great war brought by the Aryas that resulted this ruination but the most authentic reason is yet to be discovered
• The archaeologists are unable to find any traces of religion. The building closest to a temple found in the city is the great bath.
• Double story buildings are also discovered.

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