Mohenjo Daro

Why in news?

• Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology warned that heavy rainfall in the Sindh province threatened the World Heritage status of Mohenjo Daro.

More about the news:

• In August 2022, the archaeological ruins of Mohenjo Daro received a record 779.5 mm of rain, which had resulted in “considerable damage to the site and partial falling of several walls, including the protection wall of the stupa dome”.
• Muneer Area, Stupa, Great Bath and other important sites of these ruins have been badly affected by the natural disaster.

About the site Mohenjo Daro:

• The site of Mohenjo Daro, literally meaning ‘Mound of the Dead' is one of the important sites of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC).
• It is located in Sindh, Pakistan, next to the Indus River.
• Along with Harappa, Mohenjo Daro is the best-known site of the bronze age (3300 BC to 1200 BC) urban civilization.
• It flourished in the Indus Valley between roughly 3,300 BC and 1,300 BC, with its ‘mature’ phase spanning the period 2,600 BC to 1,900 BC.
• Civilization went into decline in the middle of the second millennium BC for reasons that are believed to include catastrophic climate change.
• Excavation of Mohenjo Daro was started in 1920 and continued in phases until 1964-65, even now only a small part of the site has been excavated.
• The prehistoric antiquity of Mohenjo Daro was established by Rakhal Das Banerji of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1922.
• At its peak, it was estimated to have between 30,000 and 60,000 residents with a highly evolved social organization.
• The ruins of the sprawling city of unbaked brick 510 km northeast of Karachi and 28 km from Larkana in Sindh were recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.

Major findings:

• The site is famous for its
  • Elaborate town planning with street grids with brick pavements, developed water supply, drainage, and covered sewerage systems, homes with toilets
  • Monumental buildings such as the Great Granary and the Great Bath.
  • Unicorn Seals
  • Bronze dancing girl statue
  • Seal of a man with deers, elephants, tiger and rhinos around- Considered to be Pashupati Seal)
  • Steatite statue of beard man
  • Bronze buffalo

Other important sites of the Harappan civilization in India

• Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat
• Kalibangan in Rajasthan.
• Rupar in Punjab

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following pairs:

Sites of Indus Civilization     : Nearest River

1. Rupar                                  : Sutlej

2. Mohenjo Daro                     : Indus

3. Lothal                                 : Ravi

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1 and 2 only

Answer