Mohenjo-daro Facts
Mohenjo-daro Facts
|
| Interesting Mohenjo-daro Facts: |
|---|
| It is believed that Mohenjo-daro was built in about the 26th century BC. |
| Mohenjo-daro was one of the Indus Valley civilization's largest settlements, or cities. The Indus Valley civilization existed in most of what makes up North India and Pakistan today. It extended to the Iranian border, Gujarat, and Bactria. |
| Mohenjo-daro was mostly abandoned in 1900 BC when the Indus Valley civilization declined rapidly. |
| The ruins of Mohenjo-daro were unheard of until 1920-21 when an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India named R.D. Banerji visited the ancient site. His determination that the site was of ancient importance led to excavations beginning in 1924. |
| By 1965 the multiple excavations at the site of Mohenjo-daro had resulted in damage to exposed structures from weathering. This meant that any further excavations were banned and only mostly non-invasive/non-damaging techniques have been used since. |
| Mohenjo-daro was well-designed and had a layout of streets on a well-planned grid. |
| Buildings in Mohenjo-daro were made of fired and mortared bricks, as well as some sun-dried mud bricks and some wooden structures. |
| Mohenjo-daro is divided into two sections including the Lower City and the Citadel. The Citadel was a mud brick 39 foot high structure that housed the public baths, assembly halls, and about 5000 people. |
| Mohenjo-daro had a marketplace in its central region. |
| Residents of Mohenjo-daro would have obtained their water from wells, and waste was channeled through the streets into covered drains. |
| Mohenjo-daro did not have any temples, monuments, or palaces like many of the other ancient civilizations. It appears that there was no real central controlling government or royalty, but there may have been elected officials from each region in the city representing them in a larger government. It has been suggested that Mohenjo-daro was run as a city-state. |
| The people of Mohenjo-daro appeared to have preferred order, and cleanliness to over-the-top displays of flashy wealth or dominance in society. |
| Mohenjo-daro did have wealth however as there are artifacts made of ivory and gold. But every home had its own bathing area and drainage so it appears that people were on relatively equal ground in their conveniences. |
| Nobody is certain what ended the Indus Valley civilization. It could have been a change in the direction of the Indus River which would have seriously affected life in Mohenjo-daro, but this doesn't explain what happened to the rest of the civilization and its other cities. |
| Mohenjo-daro may be destroyed by 2030 because of poor conservation, flooding, and salinity in the groundwater. |
|
Related Links: Facts Ancient Civilizations Facts Animals Facts Ancient India Timeline |