Indus Valley Civilization: Discovery, Cities, Culture Notes

Indus Valley Civilization (2500 - 1700 BC): History, Culture & Decline in Estimated Periods

Blog #245 | May 20, 2025 | Written by Careericons Team

Introduction: The Indus Valley Civilisation was one of the first great civilisations having a writing system, urban centres and a diversified social and economic scripts. It appeared nearly 2500 BC along the Indus River Valley in Punjab and Sindh. An Indian historian such as D. P. Aggrawal, however, is of the view that the Indus Valley Civilisation dates back to 2300 BC. He declares this on the basis of his calculations using C-14 dating technique. It appears that the civilisation flourished until 1700 BC.

Thereafter, each urban phase characterised by systematic town planning, widespread brick work, art of writing, use of bronze tools and red ware pottery painted with black designs gradually disappeared. Explore the Indus Valley Civilization—its discovery, timeline, major cities, art, trade, town planning, agriculture, and reasons for decline.

HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

Estimated Periods by Different Historians

Historians Names	Estimated Periods
MS Vatsa	3500–2700 BC
Marshall and Mukherjee	3250–2750 BC
Makay	2800–2500 BC
Pusalkar	2800–2200 BC
Wheeler and Smith	2500–1500 BC
CJ Gaid	2350–1750 BC
DP Aggarwal	2300–1700 BC
Alvin	2150–1750 BC

1. Area and Jurisdiction

This was the earliest civilization that flourished in India on the banks of the River Indus, from its frontiers extending from Manda on the Chenab near Jammu, in the north, to Daimabad on the Godavari in Ahmednagar in the south embracing 200 sites in the Kutch-Saurashtra region of Gujarat. It covered more than 12,99,600 km2 , from the

2. Discovery of the Indus Valley Civilization

The famous cities of the mature Indus Valley Civilization were discovered accidentally in the mid-nineteenth century during the construction of a railroad by British engineers John and William Brunton. Although it was correctly surmised at the time that antiquities from Harappa predated the historical period, true archaeological excavations did not begin until the 1920s.

Nothing was known about the Indus Valley Civilization till 1922 - 1923, when the Archaeological Department of India carried out excavations at Mohenjodaro on the banks of the River Indus (Larkana district of Sindh in Pakistan), Harappa (Montgomery district of Punjab on the banks of the River Ravi, also in Pakistan) and Lothal (near Ahmedabad) in India. During that decade, the so-called twin capitals of the Indus Civilization, Mohenjodaro and Harappa, were excavated under the direction of Sir John Hubert ; other important settlements were surveyed by

These excavations revealed that some 5000 years ago, before the emergence of the Aryans in India, the Indus Valley was the cradle of a highly developed civilization that fl ourished during the same period as the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria. The existence of a great civilization roughly contemporaneous with that of Sumer and of ancient Egypt was soon confi rmed. Hundreds of smaller settlements have

Recent archaeological investigation has concentrated on documenting the beginnings of urban life in the area, and a variety of different types of sites have been excavated, including fishing villages, trading outposts and what may have been a port.

"Failing to plan is planning to fail." - Benjamin Franklin

Major Centers Found in Indus Valley Civilization

The remnants of two major cities Mohenjodaro and Harappa reveal remarkable engineering feats of uniform urban planning and carefully executed layouts for water supply and drainage. Excavations at these sites and later archaeological digs at approximately seventy other locations in India and Pakistan provide a composite picture of what is now generally known as Harappan culture (3000–1800 BC). In India, important sites connected with the Indus Valley Civilization are Lothal (near Ahmedabad in Gujarat), Kalibangan (in Rajasthan), Banwali (in Hissar district of Haryana) and Ropar near Chandigarh in Punjab. These sites were fl ourishing centres between 3000 and 2000 BC. Perhaps, there are many more signifi cant Indus Valley sites which are still unknown. Some of those may have been lost by shifting courses of rivers.

Some others may be replaced by modern towns. One thing is very clear that most of the sites were important commercial centres. They are mostly situated near rivers.

A number of specialised manufacturing facilities discovered indicate that these towns were involved in trade not only with each other, but also the regions far away.

List of Cities found in Indus Valley Civilization & Its features

1. Mohenjodaro

One of the most important centres of the Indus Civilization was Mohenjodaro, situated along the west bank of the Indus River, approximately 320 km (200 miles) north of Karachi, in Pakistan. Mohenjodaro is probably the best known Indus Valley site. It is located by the Indus in Sindh, Pakistan. Here, the Great Bath, uniform buildings and weights, hidden drains and other hallmarks of the civilization were discovered in the 1920s.

Owing to the rising water table, most of the site remains unexcavated and its earliest levels have not been reached. Like most cities of the Indus Civilization, it consisted of two major areas of occupation: a high citadel to the west and a lower city of domestic dwellings to the east. Careful urban planning is evident in the neat arrangement of the major buildings contained in the citadel, including the placement of a large granary and water tank or bath at right angles to one another.

The lower city, which was tightly packed with residential units, was also constructed on a grid pattern consisting of a number of blocks separated by major cross streets. Baked-brick houses faced the street, and domestic life was centred on an enclosed courtyard. Sanitation was provided through an extensive system of covered drains running the length of the main streets and connected with most residences by chutes. The remains of Mohenjodaro are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mohenjodaro is also spelled ‘Moenjodaro’, the spelling used by the UNESCO World Heritage Organization.

2. Harappa

Harappa was an Indus Valley urban centre. However, in spite of its essentially urban culture, the city was supported by extensive agricultural production and commerce, which included trade with Sumer in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). It is located on the old river bed of Ravi nearly 640 km towards north east of Mohenjodaro in the Punjab, Pakistan. The nearby but smaller site of Kalibangan is situated farther east, in India, along the banks of the now extinct Ghaggar-Hakra River. Both, Mohenjodaro and the Harappa sites follow the familiar plan of a small, high citadel to the west and a lower city to the east, with the streets arranged in a rectilinear grid pattern.

Immediately north of the heavily fortified citadel at Harappa, two sets of barrack-like dwellings, for labourers, were excavated alongside enormous granaries for the city’s food supply. There is a structure which was earlier considered a granary, but now it is believed that it was a palace having ventilated air ducts. At Harappa, we find the first indications of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization. Nearly five mounds have been discovered at Harappa in the latest research. Two of these mounds have large walls around them. These walls were perhaps erected for trade regulation as defence.

3. Kalibangan

The height of the Indus Valley multiple regional centres could have been built as per standard plan. The Kalibangan site shows settlement underwent drastic changes as it got incorporated in to expanding Indus civilization. Along the river-bed of Ghaggar-Hakra, more cities were discovered especially towards the south-west of Kalibangan.

4. Dholavira

It is situated on Khadir Beit, which is an island in the Rann of Kutch in the Indian state of Gujarat. The first excavation work at Dholavira started in 1990. It is as large as Harappa and Mohenjodaro. The architecture found here is best preserved. An obscure signboard in Indus script has also been found.

5. Lothal

Lothal is located on the top of the Gulf of Cambay in the Indian state of Gujarat, on the banks of the River Sabarmati near the Arabian Sea. Lothal is a very important site on the sea coast, so it is one of the most extensively researched site. Archaeologists have found a bead factory and Mesopotamian seal from this site.

6. Rakhigarhi

Archaeologists have very recently discovered this site in Haryana, India. It is still an unexcavated site. The city of Rakhigarhi was as large as Harappa and Mohenjodaro.

7. Ganeriwala

This site is located in Punjab, Pakistan, adjoining the Indian border. It was found in the 1970s. Its area is 80 hectares is almost equal to the area of Mohenjodaro. It is situated adjoining a dry bed of the Ghaggar or Sarasvati River. It lies almost at an equal distance from two important Indus towns of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. It may have been the urban centre of a third Indus Valley region, expanding over copper-rich Rajasthan.

8. Daimabad

It is located in the state of Maharashtra, near Mumbai. It was discovered in 1958. Some of the archaeologists suggest that the artefacts found here indicate its association with the Harappan Civilization, while others believe that the evidence is not enough. A unique catche of exquisite bronze chariots and animals which may or may not belong to the Indus Valley was also discovered at this site.

9. Chanudarho

It lies almost 80 miles south of Mohenjodaro in Pakistan. It is suggested that it was an important manufacturing centre. Different types of tools, shell, bone and seal-making facilities were traced at this site. It seems that Chanudarho was hastily abandoned.

10. Sutkagendor

It is situated in Baluchistan, Pakistan near the border of Iran. It is the westernmost known Indus Valley Civilization site. It is believed that it was once situated on a navigable inlet of the Arabian Sea. The site also has the usual citadel and a town with 30 feet wide defensive walls. Sutkagendor was situated on the trade route from Lothal in Gujarat to Mesopotamia.

Art and Crafts

The most wonderful but most obscure Harappan artefacts discovered till now are the steatite seals. These have been found in abundance at Mohenjodaro. We get the most clear and accurate picture of Harappan life from these small, fl at and mostly square objects with human or animal motifs. They also have inscriptions believed to be inscribed in the Harappan script. However, it has eluded scholarly attempts at deciphering. There are debates on, if the script represents numbers or alphabets, if it is proto-Dravidian or proto-Sanskrit.

Three seals found at Mohenjodaro depict a seated horned deity. He is surrounded by wild animals. The image is believed to be the portrayal of the Hindu God Shiva or Pashupati, the Lord of Beasts. The apparent cult of the bull and the stress on washing and ablutions, prove by these remains, bring out the unanswerable question of the infl uence of this early pre-Aryan civilization on Hindu practices in ancient India.

To be continued.....