Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 37

INDUS

5000 years ago, a nomadic people made their way into northwest India from Sumeria (modern day Iran) by means of the Mula Pass across the Himalayas, near modern Karachi, and there found a fabulously rich land, fertilized by the great river systems of the Indus, Ravi, Beas, Chenab and Sutlej. This same area forms modern-day Punjab. Compared to the deserts of Iran, this was God's blessed land, with ample water, fodder and fuel supply. Clay for making bricks was plentiful in the riverbeds and so was wood to burn the bricks.

Over a period of a thousand years, these immigrants spread over an area of half a million square miles. The civilization was anchored on two cities: Harappa in the north on one of the five great rivers that forms the Indus. Mohenjo-daro, 400 miles to the south on the banks of the Indus proper.

Then, in 1856, six miles from the river Ravi, in the foothills of the Himalayas, railway construction workers came upon a small crumbling hill of fire-baked bricks. These they quickly appropriated for the railway line's ballast. Along with the bricks, certain steatite (soapstone) seals were found. Archaeologists, notably Sir John Cunningham, quickly confirmed their antiquity. Thus started a voyage of amazing discovery during which archaeologists unearthed the remains of an ancient civilization, which had its epicenter in the plains of the Indus.
However, settlements were found as far west as Baluchistan in Pakistan and well down into the Gangetic plain in India. New discoveries are still being made. The main cities are Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, both in modern-day Pakistan.

In the late 1850s, the British were directing the building of railway lines through the Indus valley.
In need of bricks for the railway bed, the engineers allowed the construction workers to plunder those bricks found in the dirt mounds of long-abandoned cities in the valley.

A British general named Cunningham, who would later be the head of the Indian Archeological Survey, visited one of these sites in 1856. While there, he was given a number of artifacts including several soapstone seals imprinted with various carvings, including the figure of a bull and what were apparently letters in a script.

Cunningham was convinced that the artifacts were of ancient origin and was intrigued by the strange script, which bore little resemblance to that of any of the languages then in use in various parts of India. As head of the archeological survey, Cunningham took steps to ensure the full-scale excavation of what came to be recognized as one of the earliest and most mysterious of all human civilizations. These cities formed the town capitals of a complex of smaller urban centers and villages that covered an area four times the size of Sumer and twice the size of Egypt during the Old Kingdom.

Major Cities
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
surrounded by smaller cities, towns, and villages

one situated in the north one situated in the south

The Great Cities


Though hundreds of miles apart, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were remarkably similar in layout and construction.

Both were built on a square grid pattern that was divided by main thoroughfares into 12 smaller and precisely measured grids.

Grid map of Mohenjo-daro


cities built on a common plan
a grid: always NS and EW axes
with twelve smaller grids

Each of the cities was surrounded by walls, which extended one mile from east to west and one-half mile from north to south. The buildings of the cities and the surrounding walls were made of standardized kiln-dried bricks. Controlled building on such a massive scale would have required an autocratic government with the capacity to organize and supervise the daily tasks of large numbers of laborers. This control appears to have extended to the Harappans' domestic lives as well.

Mohenjo-daro : aerial view

The street layout shows an understanding of the basic principles of traffic, with rounded corners to allow the turning of carts easily. These streets divided the city into 12 blocks. Except for the west-central blocks, the basic unit of city planning was the individual house.

Great Bath

Mohenjo-daro of the Citadel

view

Mohenjo-daro, Sindh

Bath Area, Mohenjo-daro.


Almost every house unit at Mohenjo-daro was equipped with a private bathing area with drains to take the dirty water out into a larger drain that emptied into a sewage drain. Many of these bathing areas had water tight floors to keep moisture from seeping into the other rooms nearby or below.

Public well, Harappa.


A large public well and public bathing platforms were found in the southern part of Mound AB at Harappa. These public bathing areas may also have been used for washing clothes as is common in many traditional cities in Pakistan and India today.

Granary," Harappa. The so-called "granary" of Harappa


is found on Mound F. It is a brick structure that was built on a massive brick foundation over 45 meters north south and 45 meters east-west. Two rows of six rooms that appear to be foundations are arranged along a central passageway that is about 7 meters wide and partly paved with baked bricks. Each room measures 15.2 by 6.1 meters and has three sleeper walls with air space between them. A wooden superstructure supported in some places by large columns would have been built on top of the brick foundations, with stairs leading up from the central passage area. Small triangular opening may have served as air ducts to allow the flow of fresh air beneath the hollow floors

No special concentrations of burned grain or storage containers were discovered by the earlier excavators and the interpretation of these structures as granaries is based on comparisons with Roman buildings and has no parallels with any building tradition in South Asia. Most scholars agree that there is little evidence for the construction of massive granaries at either Mohenjo-daro or Harappa and that these structures should only be seen as evidence for large public buildings. Rulers and state officials probably did meet in such large public buildings and many of them may have been used for specific religious functions, but their specific function will always remain a mystery.

To the south of the "granary" or "great hall" at Harappa is an area with numerous circular working platforms that were built inside small rooms or courtyards. These circular working platforms may have been used for husking grain. One of these circular platforms had what may have been a large wooden mortar placed in the center

An overview of the area on Mound F as seen from the city wall on Mound AB. The circular working platforms are in the background and a row of identical houses that were clearly made all at one time, possibly a housing project of some wealthy merchant or perhaps sponsored by the city council.

A view of modern Harappa city which is built on top of a large portion of the ancient mound. Many of the streets and houses of the modern town are built directly above earlier streets and houses of ancient Harappa

Excavated by the Harappa Archaeological Research Project in 1993, this large corbelled drain was built in the middle of an abandoned gateway at Harappa to dispose of rainwater and sewage.

Terra cotta toy boat from Harappa. Such toys may have been used by children.

A traditional bullock cart and flat bottomed ferry boat are still used for local transport along the Indus River near the ancient site of Mohenjo-daro, Sindh, in Pakistan.

Three sided molded tablet. One side shows a flat bottomed boat with a central hut that has leafy fronds at the top of two poles. Two birds sit on the deck and a large double rudder extends from the rear of the boat. On the second side is a snout nosed gharial with a fish in its mouth. The third side has eight symbols of the Indus script.

The majestic zebu bull, with its heavy dewlap and wide curving horns is perhaps the most impressive motif found on the Indus seals. Generally carved on large seals with relatively short inscriptions, the zebu motif is found almost exclusively at the largest cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.

Square seal depicting a nude male deity with three faces, seated in yogic position on a throne, wearing bangles on both arms and an elaborate headdress. Five symbols of the Indus script appear on either side of the headdress which is made of two outward projecting buffalo style curved horns, with two upward projecting points. A single branch with three pipal leaves rises from the middle of the headdress. Seven bangles are depicted on the left arm and six on the right, with the hands resting on the knees. The heels are pressed together under the groin and the feet project beyond the edge of the throne. The feet of the throne are carved with the hoof of a bovine as is seen on the bull and unicorn seals. The seal may not have been fired, but the stone is very hard. A grooved and perforated boss is present on the back of the seal

A collection of inscribed objects found along the main street leading to the southern gateway of Mound E at Harappa. The fragmentary seal on the left is the earliest seal found to date, and depicts a bovine carved in a very archaic style. At the top center is a terra cotta sealing with two seal impressions. This sealing may have been used to close a large jar full of trade goods such as oil.

A collection of seals and tablets from a single house along the main street leading to the southern gateway of Mound E at Harappa. The association of these different types of objects together in one house show that some people, possibly merchants, were using a wide variety of inscribed objects

Long rectangular seals and a terra cotta sealing (bottom) with Indus script. The top seal has seven signs of Indus script. The back of this seal is convex and it is perforated from the side. The central sign may represent a house or temple and is a symbol that is often repeated on seals with horned deities seated in yogic position.

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi