Mohenjo-daro was an ancient city of Indus Valley Civilization found at archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The city was built around 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley civilization spanning in large part of Pakistan and western India.
This civilization was discovered when archaeologists were carrying out excavations at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, now in Pakistan, in 1922. Since then, a lot of Harappan sites and artifacts such as seals, toys, weapons, sculptures and jewelry have been discovered around the river Indus up till the river Ganga in the East.
Scientists from IIT-Kharagpur and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have recently uncovered evidence that the Indus Valley civilization is at least 8,000 years old and not 5,500 years old as earlier believed. This discovery, published in the prestigious Nature journal on May 25, 2016, makes it not just older than the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisations but also the oldest in the world.
Mohenjo-daro was not only the largest city of the Indus Valley Civilization but one of the world’s earliest major urban centers. It spread out over about 250 acres (100 hectares) on a series of mounds.
Here are some facts about Mohenjo-daro that highlights that it was really advanced city even for modern times.
City Layout- Mohenjo-daro had been a remarkable construction, considering its antiquity. It has a planned layout based on a grid of streets, laid out in perfect patterns. 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.
Waterproof bricks- The buildings of the city, of particularly advanced designed, had structures constructed of same-sized sun-dried bricks of baked mud and charcoal making it resistant to water. The properties of charcoal were not known at the time of discovery
Every home had its own bathing area and toilets much similar to modern day toilets.
Water Supply system- Residents of Mohenjo-daro would have obtained their water from wells. They had a network of 700 fresh water wells when all other civilization like Mesopotamian used to fetch water from rivers.
Waste Water channels- Every house was connected with covered drains through which waste was flown out. The drains had removable covers to give access for cleaning. The municipal sewerage was so efficient that according to British engineers, they could do no better at the present day.
Simple and peace-loving people- Though people in the city had wealth, it appears that they did not display wealth. Mohenjo-daro did not have any 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.
Advanced Technology- There are evidence that they had a system of standardized weights and measures.
The great granary at Mohenjo-daro, designed with bays, received carts delivering crops from the countryside. Ducts exist for air to circulate beneath the stored grain to dry it.
The great public bath, with steps down to a brick-lined pool in a colonnaded courtyard. The elaborate bath area had been extremely well built, with a layer of natural tar to keep it from leaking. The pool. Measuring 12m x 7m X 2.4m, was likely used for religious or spiritual ceremonies.
Mohenjo-daro may be destroyed by 1900 B.C. The reason for this is not known to us. According to some theories it was caused by change in course of Indus river.
