Mohenjo-daro is an archaeological site located in the Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan. It was built around 2500 BCE and was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. It was also one of the world's earliest major cities, existing at the same time as the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Minoa, and Norte Chico.

The city had a population of at least 40,000 people and thrived for many years. However, it was abandoned around 1700 BCE, along with other large cities of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Mohenjo-daro was rediscovered in the 1920s. Since then, archaeologists have studied the site extensively. In 1980, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, becoming the first site in South Asia to receive this designation. Today, the site is at risk due to erosion and damage from poor restoration efforts.

Etymology

The original name of the city is unknown. Based on his study of a seal from Mohenjo-daro, Iravatham Mahadevan suggests that the city's ancient name might have been Kukkuṭārma, which means "the city of the cockerel." Cock-fighting may have been important in religious ceremonies for the city. Mohenjo-daro may have been a place where a group of domesticated chickens spread to Africa, Western Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The modern name, Mohenjo-daro, is thought to mean "Mound of the Dead" in the Sindhi language.

Location

Mohenjo-daro is located on the west bank of the lower Indus River in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is situated on a Pleistocene ridge within the floodplain of the Indus River, approximately 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the town of Larkana.

Historical context

Mohenjo-daro was built around 2500 BC. It was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, also called the Harappan Civilization, which developed around 3000 BC from the prehistoric Indus culture. At its height, the Indus Civilization covered large parts of what is now Pakistan and North India, reaching west to the Iranian border, south to Gujarat in India, and north to an outpost in Bactria. Major cities included Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Dholavira, and Rakhigarhi. Mohenjo-daro was the most advanced city of its time, with advanced city planning and engineering. When the Indus Civilization quickly declined around 1700 BCE, Mohenjo-daro was abandoned.

Rediscovery and excavation

The ruins of the city were not recorded for about 3,700 years until R. D. Banerji, an officer from the Archaeological Survey of India, visited the site between 1919 and 1920. He identified what he believed to be a Buddhist stupa (150–500 CE) already known to be there and found a flint scraper, which made him believe the site was very old. This discovery led to large excavations of Mohenjo-daro, directed by Kashinath Dikshit from 1924 to 1925 and John Marshall from 1925 to 1926. In the 1930s, major excavations were carried out under Marshall, D. K. Dikshitar, and Ernest Mackay. Additional excavations happened in 1945, led by Mortimer Wheeler, his trainee Ahmad Dani, and F. A. Khan. The last major excavations took place in 1964 and 1965, led by George Dales. After 1965, excavations were stopped because weathering damaged the exposed structures. Since then, only salvage excavations, surface surveys, and conservation projects have been allowed at the site. In the 1980s, German and Italian teams led by Michael Jansen and Maurizio Tosi used less invasive methods, such as architectural documentation, surface surveys, and localized probing, to gather more information about Mohenjo-daro. A dry core drilling in 2015 by Pakistan's National Fund for Mohenjo-daro showed that the site is larger than the area already uncovered.

Architecture and urban infrastructure

Mohenjo-daro had a planned layout with buildings arranged in straight lines on a grid pattern. Most buildings were made of fired and mortared brick, while some used sun-dried mud-brick and wood. The area covered by Mohenjo-daro is estimated to be about 300 hectares. A book called The Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History suggests that the city’s population may have reached about 40,000 people at its peak.

The city’s large size and the presence of public buildings and facilities show that people lived in an organized way. The city was divided into two parts: the Citadel and the Lower City. The Citadel was a large mud-brick mound about 12 meters (39 feet) high. It included public baths, a large building that may have housed 5,000 people, and two large rooms used for gatherings. The city had a central marketplace and a large well. Smaller wells provided water to individual homes or groups of homes. Waste water was directed into covered drains that ran along the main streets. Some homes had rooms for bathing, and one building had an underground furnace, possibly for heating water. Most homes had inner courtyards with doors leading to side-lanes. Some buildings had two floors.

In 1950, Sir Mortimer Wheeler identified a large building as a "Great Granary." He believed it was used to store grain, with air-ducts to dry the grain. Carts may have brought grain to the building. However, another scholar, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, found no evidence of grain there and suggested the building might have been a "Great Hall" with an unknown purpose.

Near the "Great Granary" was a large public bath, sometimes called the Great Bath. Steps led from a courtyard to a brick pool lined with bitumen to keep it waterproof. The pool was 12 meters (39 feet) long, 7 meters (23 feet) wide, and 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) deep. It may have been used for religious rituals.

Other large buildings included a "Pillared Hall," possibly used for meetings, and the "College Hall," a complex of 78 rooms that may have been a home for religious leaders.

Archaeologists have found the remains of mud-brick walls that once surrounded Mohenjo-daro. The city was also protected by guard towers to the west and defensive walls to the south. Scholars believe Mohenjo-daro was an administrative center, based on its fortifications and similarities to other Indus Valley cities like Harappa. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had similar layouts but were not as heavily fortified as other Indus Valley sites. The identical layouts of all Indus Valley cities suggest some level of political or administrative coordination, but the exact role of an administrative center remains unclear.

Mohenjo-daro was built in a short time, with water systems and wells among the first planned structures. Over 700 wells have been found at the site, along with drainage and bathing systems. This number is much higher than in other ancient civilizations like Egypt or Mesopotamia. The city had one well for every three homes. The large number of wells suggests that people relied on rainfall and the nearby Indus River for water. The wells may have also provided water during times of siege. The circular brick design of the wells is believed to be an invention of the Indus civilization, as no similar designs are found in Mesopotamia or Egypt. Waste water from homes was sent through a central drainage system that ran alongside the streets, likely leading to the Indus River.

The city had large platforms that may have been built to protect against flooding. Some scholars, like Sir Mortimer Wheeler, suggested the city may have been flooded and rebuilt multiple times. Others, like Gregory Possehl, believed the city was not abandoned suddenly by a major flood but gradually declined due to repeated small floods and overuse of the land for farming, pastures, and making bricks and pottery.

Notable artefacts

Archaeologists have found many items at Mohenjo-daro, including statues of people sitting or standing, tools made of copper and stone, carved seals, balance scales with weights, jewelry made of gold and jasper, and toys for children. Many bronze and copper items, such as small statues and bowls, were discovered at the site. These show that people in Mohenjo-daro knew how to use a method called the lost wax technique. Furnaces found at the site were likely used for working with copper and melting metals, not for extracting metal from ore. There is also evidence of a special area in the northeastern part of the city where people made items from shells. Some of the most important copper items found include tablets with examples of the Indus script and images, though the script has not yet been translated. Some images on the tablets match others, and the same words appear on three tablets with a picture of a mountain goat.

Pieces of pottery and terracotta were also found at the site. Many of the pots had ash inside, leading archaeologists to believe they were used to hold ashes or to heat homes. These items, called heaters or braziers, could also be used for cooking or straining liquids. Some people think they were only used for heating.

Artifacts from Mohenjo-daro were first kept in the Lahore Museum but later moved to the ASI headquarters in New Delhi. A new museum was planned for the British capital, and some items were to be displayed there. When India gained independence, the British planned to move the items to the new capital. However, when Pakistan was created later, they asked for the return of artifacts found on their land. After some time, an agreement was made to split the items equally between the two countries. Some items, like necklaces, were divided into two groups. Pakistan received the "Priest-King" statue, while India kept the smaller "Dancing Girl" statue and the Pashupati seal.

Most of the items kept by India are now in the National Museum of India in New Delhi, and those returned to Pakistan are in the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi. Some items are also displayed at the Mohenjo-daro museum itself. In 1939, a small group of items was sent to the British Museum by the Archaeological Survey of India.

In 1931, John Marshall discovered a statue that resembles a Mother Goddess, a belief common in early civilizations. Many female statues were found during his work, but their exact locations within the site are unclear. One statue is 18.7 cm tall and is now in the National Museum of Pakistan. Marshall noted that the statues had exaggerated female features, which he believed were offerings to a goddess. Because of their unique hairstyles, body shapes, and jewelry, some scholars think these figures may represent ordinary women who used them in rituals.

A bronze statue called the "Dancing Girl" was found in 1926 and is now in the National Museum of India. It is about 10.5 cm tall and is around 4,000 years old. British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler described it as his favorite, saying it shows a confident young girl. Another archaeologist, John Marshall, described the statue as a young girl standing in a slightly bold pose. Gregory Possehl noted that the statue shows the people of Mohenjo-daro knew how to work with metal and that dance was part of their culture.

In 1927, a male statue made of soapstone was found in a building with special brickwork. Though there is no proof of priests or kings ruling Mohenjo-daro, archaeologists called this figure the "Priest-King." The statue is 17.5 cm tall and shows a man with a beard, pierced ears, and a headband. He wears an armband and a cloak with decorative patterns.

A seal found at the site shows a seated figure surrounded by animals. Some scholars think the figure is a yogi, while others believe it is a three-headed version of a god called Shiva. Sir Mortimer Wheeler believed the seal was at least 4,500 years old. The seal has a necklace with an S-shaped clasp and 1,600 small bronze beads. It is now in a private collection in India.

The Indus Valley civilization used ivory rulers to measure length around 1500 BC. The ruler from Mohenjo-daro is divided into units of 34 mm, with smaller marks accurate to 0.13 mm. A ruler found at Lothal was even more precise, measuring to 1.6 mm. These units, called "angula" (based on the finger), were used in ancient bricks found across the region.

Conservation and current state

An agreement to fund the restoration of Mohenjo-daro was made through UNESCO in Paris on May 27, 1980. Other countries also contributed money to the project.

Preservation work at Mohenjo-daro stopped in December 1996 when funding from the Pakistani government and international groups ended. Work began again in April 1997 using money from UNESCO. A 20-year plan provided $10 million to protect the site and its buildings from flooding. In 2011, the responsibility for preserving the site was given to the government of Sindh.

Today, the site faces problems like salt in the groundwater and poor restoration efforts. Many walls have already collapsed, and others are breaking apart from the bottom up. In 2012, Pakistani archaeologists warned that the site could be lost by 2030 if better protection was not provided.

In January 2014, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan People's Party chose Mohenjo-daro as the location for the Sindh Festival’s opening ceremony. This would have required activities like digging and drilling at the site. Farzand Masih, head of the Department of Archaeology at Punjab University, said such actions are illegal under the Antiquity Act, stating, "You cannot even hammer a nail at an archaeological site." A legal case was filed in the Sindh High Court to stop the event. Despite protests from historians and educators, the festival was held at the site.

Climate

Mohenjo-daro has a hot desert climate, known as BWh in the Köppen system. Summers are extremely hot, and winters are mild. The highest temperature ever recorded was 53.5 °C (128.3 °F) in May 2010. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −5.4 °C (22.3 °F) in January 2006. Rainfall is low and mostly happens during the monsoon season, which occurs from July to September. The average yearly rainfall is 100.1 mm, with most rain falling during the monsoon season. The highest yearly rainfall ever recorded was 1023.8 mm in 2022. The lowest yearly rainfall ever recorded was 10 mm in 1987.