"Due south of Mound F, and across the village road going west to the hamlet of Hafiz Bullah, stands Mound AB—the highest of all the mounds at Harappa (Pl. I). Roughly, it is a parallelogram in shape, measuring some 1,450 ft. from north to south by 8OO ft. from east to west. It rises quite abruptly above the surrounding plain, the contour lines, as will appear from the site plan (Pl. I), following one another in quick succession along the slopes on all sides. Elsewhere at Harappa, such steep slopes are found only on Mound E. Crowning its north-east edge, and orientated from north to south, is the tomb of a Muhammadan saint named Nur Shah, constructed of bricks extracted from the ancient ruins. This tomb, enclosed by a brick wall, is 46 ft. long and 3 ft, 0 in. broad.
From its size, it is known as the tomb of Naugaza,1 literally a man nine yards in stature. Not far from this, but at a higher level and apparently to the west, General Cunningham reported that he traced the remains of flights of steps on both the eastern and western faces of this mound, as well as the basement of a large square building. As none of these remains now exist it may be that they were dug away, after Cunningham's time, for the sake of their bricks."
- Madho Sarup Vats, 1940. Excavations at Harappa: Being an account of archaeological excavations at Harappa carried out between the years 1920-21 and 1933-34. Volume I - Text; Volume II - 139 Plates., pg 136.
1. The word Naugaza is also interpreted by some people as Naughazi or new victor in the name of Islam.↩
The excavations to the west of the saint’s tomb show traces of fired brick foundations for large buildings. It is not clear why the massive foundations were not looted, but possibly the diggers were concerned that this would destabilize the nearby tomb.
The tomb structure in the background consists of a large rectangular walled courtyard that is open to the sky above the actual cenotaph, but has a covered section to the north where visitors put offerings of lamps and incense, as well as ribbons, turbans, shawls and other mementos that they bring to the tomb. The actual burial is covered by a very long cenotaph, that is called Naugaza (Nine gaz or gaj). A “gaj” is a traditional measurement that is approximately one yard or one meter.
- Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, 2023.