Indus Valley Civilization - Town Panning and Large Structures
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Town Planning
- According to archaeologists like Mortimer Wheeler and Stuart Piggott, the Harappan towns had a remarkable unity of conception.
- Raised citadels kept towns in glorious isolation.
- They were characterized by houses, temples, granaries and well-laid streets in grid pattern.
- There were great variations in the size of houses. The bigger houses were provided with private wells and toilets.
- The plan of these big houses was more or less similar having a square courtyard around which were a number of rooms.
- Adaptation to environment produced diversity in town planning.
- Harappa, Mahenjodaro and Kalibangan settlements show great uniformities in their town planning. These were divided into a citadel on the west side and a lower town on the eastern side of the settlement.
- The citadels containing large structures functioned as administrative or ritual centers. The lower city contained residential areas.
- In Harappa and Mahenjodaro the citadel was surrounded by a brick wall whereas in Kalibangan both the citadel and the lower city were surrounded by the wall.
- Baked bricks were used in buildings.
- Lothal had a very different layout. It was a rectangular settlement surrounded by a brick wall.
- Mahenjodaro showed excellent arrangement for sanitation.
LARGE STRUCTURES
- The Great Bath of Mahenjodaro. It was a brick built structure measuring 12m x 7m x 3m. Approached at either end by flights of steps, the bed of the bath was made water-tight by the use of bitumen. Porticos and a set of rooms surrounded the bath,
- The Great Granary of Harappa. It consisted of a series of brick platforms forming the base of two rows of six granaries,
- The Granary of Mahenjodaro. It was found in the citadel mound of Mahenjodaro. It comprised twenty-seven blocks, of brickwork crisscrossed by ventilation channels,
- The Official residences in Mahenjodaro. It includes an open court onto which three verandas open.
- The Assembly Hall. It had four rows of five brick plinths upon which wooden columns were erected.