Harappa

Pakistan · Punjab, Sahiwal

Ancient cityIntermittent excavation
Approximate period3,300 BCE — 1,300 BCERavi, Early Harappan, Mature Harappan and Late Harappan phases, with approximate dates See on the map ↓

In brief

Harappa is the excavated city that gave the Indus civilization its name. Its settlement mounds and cemeteries document the transformation of a small agricultural settlement into a large city.

What was found?

  • 1Indus seals

    Seals belonging to the Indus culture were found during excavations. Inscribed examples are among the principal evidence for the still-undeciphered Indus script.

  • 2Mudbrick and fired-brick buildings

    Successive building levels preserve traces of long-term occupation. Walls and structural remains allow examination of the city's architecture and its changes over time.

  • 3Large perimeter walls

    Large walls traditionally called fortifications were uncovered during excavations. They provide fundamental evidence for investigating the city's boundaries and building layout.

  • 4Cemeteries

    Cemetery areas belonging to different phases were identified around the settlement. Cemetery H in particular provided important evidence for investigating the burial practices of the later community.

What does it point to?

Harappa is a large Indus city whose different settlement phases can be traced. Buildings, seals and cemeteries allow urban life to be examined through both daily activities and burial practices.

What did it teach us?

  1. Together with the excavations at Mohenjo-daro, enabled recognition of the Indian subcontinent's early urban civilization.
  2. Offered the opportunity to trace the development and subsequent transformation of Indus cities through layers at the same site.
  3. Documented the shared architectural and material culture tradition of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.

Images

Remnants of walls protected with mud plaster - Archaeological Site of Harappa
Muhammad Bin Naveed · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Post-urban Harappan sites near Haryana 1
Merikanto · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
WellAndBathingPlatforms-Harappa
Obed Suhail · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Indus Valley Civilization
First modern dig
1872
Team / historical
Harappa Archaeological Research Project; Department of Archaeology and Museums, Pakistan
Coordinates
30.6264°, 72.8660°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. harappa.com
  3. harappa.com
  4. doam.gov.pk
  5. Harappa.com — Harappa kazıları araştırma yayını

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