Mohenjo-Daro—Mound of the Dead—is the local name of a high mound situated in the plains of Larkana in a narrow strip of land between the main bed of the Indus river and the western Nara canal. The surrounding region is wonderfully fertile and is called even today Nakhlistan, or the “Garden of Sind”. Here a city was built some five thousand years ago.
The city was successively destroyed and rebuilt no less than seven times, the inundation of the Indus being perhaps the chief agency of destruction. The rebuilding did not always immediately follow the destruction, but sometimes the city remained in ruins for a considerable period before a now city rose upon them. Thus, after the foundation of the city, many centuries passed before it was finally abandoned.
The ruins of this city have now been laid bare, and we shall try to sum up what we have been able to learn about it and the people who lived therein.
The City
The city is fairly big. The dwelling-houses are many in number and vary in size from a small building with two rooms to a palatial structure having a frontage of 26 metres and a depth of 29.5 metres, with outer walls 1.25 to 1.5 metres thick. They are made of bricks which are usually well burnt and of good quality. Sometimes very large bricks, measuring 51.5 centimeters long, 26.5 centimeters broad and 9 centimetres thick, are used. The big homes have two or more storeys and are furnished with paved floors and courtyards, doors, windows and narrow stairways. It is specially noteworthy that almost every house has wells, drains and bathrooms.
In addition to the numerous dwelling-houses, we find a few spacious buildings of elaborate structure and design. Some of these contain large pillared halls, one of them measuring 24 metres square. The exact nature and purpose of these buildings cannot be ascertained. They are thought to have been palaces, temples or municipal halls.
The most imposing structure in the city is the Great Bath. It consists of a large open quadrangle in thegreat bath centre with galleries and rooms on all sides. In the centre of the quadrangle is a large swimming enclosure, 12 metres long, 7 metres wide and about 2.4 metres deep. It has a flight of steps at either end and is fee by a well situated in one of the adjoining rooms. The water is discharged by a huge drain with a corbelled roof more than 1.8 metres in height. The Great Bath is 55 metres long and 33 metres wide, and its outer walls are about 2.4 metres thick. The solidity of the construction is amply borne out by the fact that it has successfully withstood the ravages of five thousand years.
The streets of the city are wide end straight and are furnished with an elaborate drainage system together with soak-pits for sediment.
On the whole, the ruins leave no doubt that there was on this site a large, populous and flourishing town whose inhabitants freely enjoyed, to a degree unknown elsewhere in the ancient world, not only the sanitary convenience but also the luxuries and comforts of a highly-developed municipal life. We must also conclude that the art building had reached high degree of perfection.
The People
The ruins of Mohenjo-Daro tell us a greatr deal about the people who lived in this luxurious city, and, as they afford us the first comprehensive view of the culture and civilisation of India, we must note the essential features of the social, economic and religious condition under appropriate heads or items.
Food. Wheat was the principle article of food, but barley and palm-date were also familiar. They also used mutton, pork, fish and eggs.
Dress and ornaments. Cotton fabrics were in common use, but wool was also used, evidently for warmBangles of mohanjadaro textiles. Ornaments were worn by both men and women of all classes.
Necklaces, fillets, armlets, figure-rings and bangles were worn by both men and women; and girdles, nose-studs, ear-rings and anklets by women alone. There was great variety in the shape and design of these ornaments, and some of these are of singular beauty. These ornaments were made of gold, silver ivory, copper and both precious and semi-precious stones like jade, crystal, agate, carnelian, and lapis lazuli.
Household articles. The earthenware vessels, of rich variety, were made with the potter’s wheel and were either plain or painted. In rare cases they were glazed. Vessels of copper, bronze, silver, and porcelain were known, though very rarely used. It is important to bear in mind that not a scrap of iron has not been found, and that metal was obviously unknown.
Among other articles of domestic use may be mentioned spindles and spindle whorls made of baked earth, porcelain and shell; needles and combs, made of bone or ivory; axes, chisels, knives, sickles, fishhooks and razors made of copper and bronze; small cubical blocks of hard one., probably used as weights.
The children’s toys included, in addition to familiar articles, small wheeled carts and chairs, and we may easily infer that these were used in actual life. The discovery of dice-pieces shows the prevalence of that game.
Domesticated animals. The remains of skeletons prove that the humped bull, the buffalo, sheep, elephant and camel were domesticated. There are some doubts about the horse. The carvings of dogs on children’s toys show that animal was also familiar.
Weapons of War. These include axes, spears, daggers, maces and slings, with comparatively fewer specimens of bows and arrows.
The absence of swords is significant. Shields, helmets or any other defensive armour are conspicuous by their absence. The weapons of war, all offensive, in character, are usually made of copper and bronze, though a few stone implements have also been found.
