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.
Illustration: Town Planning

LARGE STRUCTURES

  1. 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,
  2. The Great Granary of Harappa. It consisted of a series of brick platforms forming the base of two rows of six granaries,
  3. The Granary of Mahenjodaro. It was found in the citadel mound of Mahenjodaro. It comprised twenty-seven blocks, of brickwork crisscrossed by ventilation channels,
  4. The Official residences in Mahenjodaro. It includes an open court onto which three verandas open.
  5. The Assembly Hall. It had four rows of five brick plinths upon which wooden columns were erected.
Illustration: LARGE STRUCTURES