Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia and China. Most of its ruins, even its major cities, remain to be excavated. The ancient Indus script has not been deciphered. Many questions about the Indus people who created this highly complex culture remain unanswered, but other aspects of their society can be answered through various types of archaeological studies.
The Indus Valley Civilization was at its
peak from the 3rd till the middle of the 2nd
millennium BC. Discovered in 1922, Moenjodaro (in Sindh province) was
once a metropolis of great importance, forming part of the Indus Valley
Civilization with Harappa (discovered in 1923 in the southern
Punjab), Kot Diji (Sindh) and recently discovered Mehrgarh (Balochistan).
Moenjodaro is considered as one of the most spectacular ancient
cities of the World. It had mud and baked bricks’ buildings, an elaborate
covered drainage system, a large state granary, a spacious pillared hall, a
College of Priests, a palace and a citadel. Harappa, another major
city of the Indus Valley Civilization, was surrounded by a massive brick
wall fortification. Other features and plan of the city were similar to that
of Moenjodaro. The Kot Diji culture is marked by well-made pottery
and houses built of mud-bricks and stone foundations. Mehrgarh, the
oldest Civilization (7,000 B.C), remains of which were found in the district
Kachhi of Balochistan recently, was the pioneer of the Indus Valley
Civilization. The evidence of crop cultivation, animal husbandry and human
settlement have been found here. The inhabitants of Mehrgarh were living in
mud-brick houses and learned to make pottery around 6,000 B.C.
