Mohenjo-daro

Lore & Background

Mohenjo-daro was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, built around 2500 BC and contemporaneous with the early cities of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The site lies on a Pleistocene ridge off the west bank of the lower Indus River in the Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan, near the town of Larkana. The city was carefully planned, with rectilinear buildings arranged on a grid and constructed mainly from fired and mortared brick, sometimes with sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures. Its covered area is estimated at 300 hectares, with a peak population of roughly 40,000. The settlement was divided into a raised Citadel, a mud-brick mound about 12 meters high, and a Lower City. The Citadel contained public baths, a large residential structure for about 5,000 people, and two assembly halls. The Lower City had a central marketplace with a large well, while individual households used smaller wells. Wastewater flowed into covered drains lining the main streets. Some houses included bathing rooms, and one building had an underground furnace possibly for heated bathing. Most houses had inner courtyards and doors opening onto side-lanes; some had two stories. A large building was identified as a "Great Granary" with wooden grain-storage bays and air-ducts, though no grain was found there. The city prospered for centuries but was abandoned along with other Indus cities around 1900 BC. Rediscovered in the 1920s, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, the first in South Asia. It is currently threatened by erosion and improper restoration.

Reader's Guide

Mohenjo-daro, a major urban center of the Indus Valley Civilisation, was built around 2500 BC and is considered one of the world’s earliest major cities, contemporary with ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Minoa, and Norte Chico. Its estimated population was at least 40,000, and the city prospered for several centuries before being abandoned along with other large Indus cities. The site was rediscovered in the 1920s, with significant excavations led by figures such as John Marshall, Mortimer Wheeler, and George Dales. Excavations were halted after 1965 due to weathering damage, though later non-invasive surveys and a 2015 dry core drilling revealed the site is larger than the area already unearthed. The city’s architecture demonstrates sophisticated urban planning, with rectilinear buildings on a grid plan, constructed from fired and mortared brick, some with sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures. It was divided into a Citadel, a mud-brick mound about 12 meters high containing public baths, a large residential structure for roughly 5,000 people, and two assembly halls, and a Lower City with a central marketplace and large well. Wastewater was channeled into covered drains lining major streets, and some houses had bathing rooms; one building featured an underground furnace possibly for heated bathing. A large building identified by Wheeler as a "Great Granary" had wooden superstructure divisions thought to be grain storage bays with air-ducts, though Kenoyer noted a lack of grain evidence there. The city’s original name is unknown, but Iravatham Mahadevan speculated from a seal that it might have been Kukkuṭārma, meaning "city of the cockerel," and cock-fighting may have held ritual significance. Mohenjo-daro may also have been a point of diffusion for the domesticated chicken found across Africa, Western Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, the first in South Asia, it is currently threatened by erosion and improper restoration.

Did You Know?

• The city's original name is unknown, but a seal analysis suggests it may have been called Kukkuṭārma, meaning 'city of the cockerel.'