AUGUST 2, 2018 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2018-AR-002

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
Question: Write in detail about Indus Valley Civilization?

Civilization:
The society, culture and lifestyle of people in a particular area
‘’OR’’
The process by which a society or place reaches an advanced stage of social
development and organization

Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus valley was Bronze Age civilization (3300-1300 BCE) mature period
located in the western region of south Asia, and spread over what are now
Pakistan, northwest India eastern Afghanistan

Introduction:-
• The earliest civilization of South Asia is known as Indus Valley civilization
because a large number of sites were discovered in the Indus Valley.
• Some archaeologists have called it the Harappan civilization named after
Harappa, site discovered first .Then and after one year in Moen - Jo - Daro
near Indus River. both are non-parent in Pakistan The Indus is consist of
two big cities Harappa and Mohan-jo-daro and more than 100 towns
and villages often of relatively 1 mile (1.6 km) square in.
• Excavation in the 1920s had revealed ancient cities, which have the
vast proportions, with unique artifacts, and a level of architectural
planning that was unparalleled in the ancient world.
• The Harappa sites provided evidence of a systematic town
planning, fortifications, elaborate drainage system, granaries, etc.
Which throw lighten the surplus economy, standardization of brick
size, weight measures geometric instruments, scales and plumb-
bobs.

Major cities –
1. Harappa
2. Mohan-jo- Daro
3. Lothal
4. Dholavira
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Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, both now in Pakistan, pointed to a highly

complex civilization that first developed some 4,500-5,000 years ago.
Excavations first conducted in 1921-22

Mohenjo-Daro

• Mohenjo-Daro has a planned layout based on a street grid of

rectilinear buildings.
• Main Streets running North-South direction
• The city is divided into two parts, the Citadel and the Lower City.
• Most of the houses or group houses had at least 1 private well and
along the streets there were public wells for travelers and general
public.

Site Plan of Citadel / UpperTown

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Mohenjo-Daro – Town Planning

 The city had a central marketplace, with a large central well.
 Individual households or groups of households obtained their water from
smaller wells.
 Wastewater was channeled to covered drains that lined the major
streets.
 Some houses, presumably those of wealthier inhabitants, include rooms
that appear to have been set aside for bathing.
 Most houses had inner courtyards, with doors that opened onto side-
lanes.
 Some buildings had two stories.

Architectural Style
1. Private House.
2. Housing Complex.
3. Public Buildings.

1. Private House

• Rooms are arranged around Central Courtyard which offers privacy

from public outside.
• Many houses are at least 2 story high.
• Walls 70cm thick, ceiling over 3m High.
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2. Housing Complex
 Large Houses Surrounded by Smaller units.
 Complex Passageways gave access to Interior Rooms numerous rebuilding phases
indicates repeated re- organization of spaces.
 Outer Units may be of Relatives or Service Groups attached to Parent house

3. Public Buildings

 Large Public structures with many access routes or connection from one area to
another.
 Markets or Public Meeting held in Large Open Courtyards.
 Other Buildings may have specific administrative or Religious Function.
 Group of Houses or Public Buildings closed together with shared walls, which
formed larger blocks bordered by wide streets.
 Upper Stories constructed in Light Materials like Timber, Compacted earth on flat
planks resting on Timber beams.
 Openings Spanned by wooden lintels.
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Building Material:-

• Uniformity in selection of material & Construction Technique.

• Mud Bricks, Burnt Bricks, wood, reeds Mud Bricks – (1:2:4) 7X14X28 cm
for House10X20X40 cm for City Wall.
• Foundation Wall – Mud Brick, Baked Brick, Stone.
• Door Windows – Wood.
• Flooring – Rammed Earth, sometimes Terracotta Cake
• Bathing area and drain – Baked Bricks.
• Roof – Wooden Beams covered with reed and compacted clay

Water Supply & Sanitation:-

• Well Integrated system ofWatersupplyand Sanitation; Public baths & Latrines;Streets &
Drainagesystem
• Private Bathrooms providedin individual .houses
• MostEfficient drainage systemof thetime Drainsprovided at both sidesofstreets
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Harappa
Harappa is one of the main metropolitan cities of The Harappa civilization.
 In the western arm of fortification wall, baked bricks were used as a further
precaution against flood.
 The workers’ quarters - are to the north of citadel along the both sides of east-west lane.
 Each unit was separated from the other by a narrow gap and each unit consisted of
two parts, a courtyard in the front and a room at the back.

 The entrance of the unit was not straight but oblique so as to ensure
privacy.
 These quarters were enclosed by a compound wall for safety and to
provide a separate entity to the complex.
 The Lower Town - is situated to the south east of the citadel.
 The Lower Town probably had its own walls and separate gates that
faced on the exterior with baked bricks; it was gently tapering to the top.
 The houses were constructed on the raised platforms.
 The Harappan set up their settlements in different periods.
 There was uniformity in the construction of house, bricks, pottery,
etc.
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Lothal -
 It is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilization,
located in the Bal region of the modern state of Gujarat and dating from 3700 BCE
 Lothal's dock is the world's earliest known dock.
 It connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati River on the
trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh.

Lothal -Town Planning

 The city was divided into a citadel, or acropolis and a lower town.
 The rulers of the town lived in the acropolis, which featured paved baths,
underground and s surface drains (built of kiln-fired bricks) and a
potable water well.

Lothal – Acropolis & Lower Town

 Lothal's acropolis wasthe town center, its political and commercial heart,
measuring 127.4m (418ft) east – to -west by 60.9m (200ft) north-to-south.
 The baths were primarily located in the acropolis mostly two- roomed houses
with open courtyards.
 The bricks used for paving baths were polished to prevent seepage.
 The remains of ruler’s house give evidence to a sophisticated drainage system.
 The Lower town marketplace was on the main north-South Street 6–8 meters
(20–26 ft.) wide. Built in straight rows on either side of the street are
residence’s and workshops

SUMMARY
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Lothal - Sanitation
• Lothal's sophisticated sanitary and drainage system was a hallmark of
ancient Indus cities.

• All of Lothal's drainage channels met at right angles, engineered with

several steps to separate solid and liquid wastes, which the river
Sabarmati carried into the sea.

Lothal - Dockyard & Warehouse

• Lothal engineers accorded high priority to the creation of a dockyard and a
warehouse to serve the purposes of naval trade.

• This basin may have been an irrigation tank and canal.

• The dock was built on the eastern flank of the town

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SUMMARY

• Harappa was highly structured, organized urban culture with an

agricultural economy

• They probably worshipped gods and goddesses of fertility and have

practiced yogic meditation and asceticism.

• The destruction of the civilization: flooding and water resources (the

shifting of water system)