Mohenjo-Daro: A Treasure of Ancient Civilization in Pakistan

 

In the plains of what is now Sindh province in southern Pakistan lie the remains of the most impressive prehistoric city, “Mohenjo-Daro”, which most people of the world don’t know.

 

The entire area is designed grid-like by using millions of red bricks to form the walkthrough and wells. There is an ancient Buddhist shrine over an old street and a large pool with wide steps below.

 

Mohenjo-Daro is located about an hour outside Larkana city, which is located on the south bank of the Ghar Canal in the Sindh province of Pakistan. At the historic site of Mohenjo-Daro, you will find the ruins of a 4,500 years old city. It was one of the oldest cities in the world with a flourishing metropolis and advanced infrastructure according to that era.

 

In the Sindhi language, Mohenjo-Daro means “Mounds of the Dead men”. As per the Harappan Civilization, also known as the Indus Valley Civilization, which ruled from northeastern Afghanistan to northwestern India during the Bronze Age, also known as the period of stone and Iron, Mohenjo-Daro was the largest city which, as per an estimate, was home to at least 40,000 people. Mohenjo-Daro flourished between 2500 BC and 1700 BC.

 

Comparing Mohenjo-Daro to the cities of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia that flourished in the same era, only a few people have heard of Mohenjo-Daro. By 1700 BC, the area was abandoned for an unknown reason, and to this day, it is not known precisely why the inhabitants left or where they went.

 

In 1911, archaeologists first came across this ancient city after hearing rumours of brickwork in the area. The Archaeological Survey of India dismissed these rumours as bricks devoid of antiquity. The site remained untouched and undisturbed for more than a decade.

 

In 1922 an ASI officer RD Banerji believed he saw a buried stupa where Buddhists usually meditate, which led to extensive excavations, notably by the British archaeologist Sir John Marshall, and in 1980 Mohenjo-Daro was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO has hailed Mohenjo-Daro as the ‘best-preserved site’ of the Indus Valley Civilization.

 

The most shocking feature of the city was its sewer system, which far surpassed that of its span. Private toilets were found in Egypt and Mesopotamia, as they were luxuries of the rich, whereas, in Mohenjo-Daro, concealed lavatories and covered drains were everywhere. Since the initiation of the excavation process, more than 700 wells have been found,

 

along with a system of private baths, including a 12m by 7m pool. Unbelievably, many private homes were equipped with toilets, and waste was clandestinely disposed of through an elaborate city-wide sewage system.

 

It is the kind of sophistication level we like to live in today, and unfortunately, many people in Pakistan and India still don’t have this kind of facility.

 

The residents of Mohenjo-Daro were also aware of their environment. As the city was located just west of the River Indus, the locals built a unique yearly flood defence platform and drainage system to protect itself from floods. In addition, they played an essential role in the maritime trade network that stretched from Central Asia to the Middle East. Over the centuries, they produced pottery, jewellery, and intricately carved sculptures that found their way into Mesopotamia and present-day Oman.

 

These days the historic site has been transformed into a local park with picnic tables and lush, shady gardens. However, travellers rarely set foot in this remote area, and finding a foreign tourist is rare. Wandering through the ancient streets, the many wells, the high walls that provided much-needed shade, and the covered drain, one is amazed that all this was designed thousands of years ago.

 

The ability to master the art of sanitation and sewage treatment was not the only advanced feature that distinguished Mohenjo-Daro from other early civilizations. Archaeologists point towards using standard building materials despite the lack of machinery.

 

All bricks have a 4:2:1 ratio, even if they are not the same shape. Sun-dried and finally fired in a kiln, the bricks have weathered the elements for thousands of years. Mohenjo-Daro’s designs conspicuously lack showy architecture, such as mansions, temples and other indicators of status, but historical items here are infrastructural monuments.

 

A sidewalk constructed with bricks will lead you away from the Upper City and reach the Lower Town, which occupies most of Mohenjo-Daro’s 300 hectares that house the city’s flourishing neighbourhood. Dozens of relatively narrow streets are spread out in a grid-like fashion with a perfect 90-degree angle. Local houses, including bathrooms, used thresholds similar to homes and buildings today.

 

The Mohenjo-Daro Museum is a small building in a grassy area. In the Museum, one can access the inhabitants’ lost cultural belongings. Sculptures, jewellery, tools, toys, and pottery shards have been successfully excavated from this site. The artefacts are displayed in rows on glass shelves and are well preserved.

 

 

Between these artefacts were two sculptures of a man and a young woman. The woman is wearing jewellery and has an intricate hairstyle, whereas the other sculpture is of a well-groomed man who apparently belonged to a higher class. Looking at all this, one becomes amazed that these people had a good understanding of mathematics and geometry, and obviously, there was an understanding regarding fashion.

 

The fundamental details that could unlock even more information about the residents’ lives and times still need to be discovered.

Ancient writings often reveal the secrets of civilizations, but this is different when we talk about the inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro. They used what is known as the Indus Valley Script, a pictographic language with more than 400 symbols that still needs deciphering.

 

What happened to Mohenjo-Daro and why the city was abandoned is a mystery yet to be solved. The general belief of the researchers is that climatic factors were widely involved, and the researchers are still trying to understand why the city was abandoned around 1700 BC. The researchers do believe that the abandonment of Mohenjo-Daro was not something that happened instantaneously.

 

Thousands of years later, after the devastating floods in Pakistan in August 2022, Mohenjo-Daro was once again at risk. Even though the site was somewhat damaged but thankfully, the flooding in the area was less than expected.

 

Mohenjo-Daro can also be called a treasure of ancient civilization and must be protected for future generations. A long-term strategy should be developed to preserve this piece of history. Initially, large canals can be constructed to divert the excess water from the site.

 

The permanent planning of this area will benefit not only the ruins like the pagoda on the site but will also help many local people.