2.

The streets and houses of Harappan cities were once thought to be laid o
n a grid-pattern oriented north-south and east-west. Actually, even Mohenjodaro
does not show a perfect grid system.
3.
But the settlements were clearly planned. The details of the plans diffe
r. Mohenjodaro, Harappa have a similar layout, consisting of a raised citadel co
mplex and a lower city. At Lothal and Surkotada, the citadel complex is not sepa
rate; it is located within the main settlement. Dholavira consisted of not two b
ut three parts-the citadel, middle town, and lower town.
4.
In villages, houses were made mostly of mud-brick. Buildings in towns an
d cities of
sun-dried and burnt bricks.
5.
A striking feature of Harappan structures is the uniformity in the avera
ge size of the bricks-7 x 14 x 28 Cm for houses and 10 x 20 x 40 Cm for city wal
ls.
6.
People lived in houses of different sizes, mostly consisting of rooms ar
ranged around a central courtyard. Doorways and windows rarely opened onto the m
ain streets.
7.
Floors were usually made of hard-packed earth. Roofs may have been made
of wooden beams covered with reeds.
8.
Small houses attached to large ones may have been the quarters of servic
e groups working for wealthy city dwellers.
9.
The floor of the bathing area was usually made of tightly fitted bricks
to make a carefully sloped watertight surface. A small drain led from here, cut
through the house wall, and went out into the street, connecting ultimately with
a larger sewage drain.
10.
Recent excavations at Harappa have uncovered toilets in almost every hou
se. The commodes were made of big pots sunk into the floor. Most of the pots had
a small hole in the base, through which water could seep into the ground.
11.
Well laid-out streets and side lanes associated with an efficient and we
ll-planned drainage system are other notable features of Harappan settlements.
12.
At Harappa and Mohenjodaro, terra cotta drain pipes directed waste water
into open street drains made of baked bricks. These connected into large drains
along the main streets, which emptied their contents into the fields outside th
e city wall.
13.
The emphasis on providing water for bathing, evident at several sites, s
uggests that they were very particular about personal hygiene. It is possible th
at frequent bathing also had a religious or ritualistic aspect.

Profiles of Some Harappan Cities, Towns, and Villages

Mohenjodaro
1.
Mohenjodaro consists of two mounds, a higher but smaller western mound a
nd a lower but larger eastern mound. The western mound at Mohenjodaro (citadel)
was circled by a 6 m thick mud-brick retaining wall .

2.
In the north are the Great Bath, the so-called 'granary', and 'college o
f priests'. In Great Bath, floor and walls of the tank were made water-tight by
finely fitted bricks laid edge to edge with gypsum mortar,making this one of the
earliest examples of waterproofing in the world. There are a series of rooms al
ong the eastern edge of the building.
3.
Across the street from the Great Bath are the remains of a large, imposi
ng building consisting of several rooms. It was tentatively identified as the ho
use of the chief priest or several priests, and was labelled the 'college of pri
ests'.
4.
On the western edge of the citadel mound is a structure that was origina
lly identified as a hammam or hot-air bath, and later as the 'great granary' div
ided into 27 square and rectangular blocks by narrow passageways.
5.
The lower town to the east may also have been surrounded by a fortificat
ion wall. The houses varied in size, suggesting differences in wealth and status
.
6.
A number of shops and workshops associated with copper working, bead mak
ing were identified in the lower town.
7.
There may have been over 700 wells in the city of Mohenjodaro about one
in every third house.
Chanhudaro
Chanhudaro is a 4.7 ha site. This is a single mound site with no fortifications.
Chanhudaro was clearly an important centre of craft activity Some of the houses
yielded raw material such as carnelian, agate, amethyst. More striking was the
discovery of a bead factory, with lots of
finished and unfinished beads.
Harappa
1.
The higher citadel mound lies to the west, with a lower but larger lower
town to its south-east.The citadel at Harappa was shaped roughly like a paralle
logram.
2.
To the north of the citadel complex, a number of structures were located
on a mound (Mound F) surrounded by a mud-brick wall. One walled complex had at
least 15 units. This has been interpreted as workmen's quarters. To the north of
this complex were at least 18 circular brick platforms. These may have been thr
eshing platforms for grain. The 'granary' was located to the north of these plat
forms.
The lower walled town of Harappa is currently being excavated.