A Walk Around Harappa
The mounds of ancient Harappa, 200 kilometers south of Lahore, today. Includes the so-called granary (Mound F), workingmen's platforms, large drains (Mound AB), ringstones and the many of the unexcavated areas. 45 slides.
Photographed by Omar Khan.
|
1. Harappa Mound AB From Crop Fields Mound AB, whose origins actually go back five and a half thousands years to 3500 BCE, seen from the rich crop fields that surround many ancient Indus cities including Mohenjo-daro and Dholavira. |
|
2. Harappa One Kilometer Roadsign A one kilometer to Harappa road sign in Urdu with Mound AB in the distance. |
|
3. The Central Area of Mound A/AB, Harappa The central area of Mound A/AB was continuosly rebuilt in ancient times. Behind the curved wall is a well and below it what may have been a public bathing area. |
|
4. Large Drain, Mound AB, Harappa The foreground well is only one of eight wells, public and private, that have thus far been discovered at Harappa. Most of the water used by the population probably came from the adjacent Ravi River… |
|
5. Harappa Mound AB Building remnants on Mound AB, Harappa in the morning. |
|
6. Excavations near center of Mound AB, Harappa Excavations near the center of Mound AB. |
|
7. Mound AB Center Area A closer view of a room or the side of a building on Mound AB, Harappa. |
|
8. Mound ET Gateway with corbeled drain, Harappa Mound ET Southern Gateway excavated in 1995 with corbeled drain (3-D reconstruction and artist's conception). |
|
9. Corbeled drain and Mound ET gateway, Harappa Corbeled drain at Mound ET gateway (3-D reconstruction and artist's conception). |
|
10. Mysterious circular platforms, Harappa Between Mound AB and Mound F are a number of mysterious circular platforms, originally inside houses and small courtyards. |
|
11. Workmen's platforms, Harappa These platforms are often called workmen's platforms, and were first thought to have been used to thresh grain for what was also thought to have been the nearby "Great Granary." |
|
12. Re-constructed Workman's platform, Harappa Close shot of re-constructed platform. The white is salt creeping up from the ground, a problem in many areas of the site. |
|
13. Great Granary in Mound F, Harappa The so-called "Great Granary" in Mound F. Its earliest levels date to 2450 B.C. A similar structure, also about 50 meters long and built on a massive brick or mud-brick platform, was found at Mohenjo… |
|
14. "Granary" or Mound F Rooms, Harappa Individual rooms are 15 by 6 meters long, and have sleeper walls for airspace between them. At each end of the rooms are three raised platforms. |
|
15. Harappa Granary Area Another view at sunset of the granary rooms and sleeper walls. |
|
16. "Great Granary," Harappa No grain, storage containers or clay sealings such as would have been attached to goods for shipment were found in the so-called "Granaries" of Harappa or Mohenjo-daro. Archaeologists today prefer to… |
|
17. Mound F Room, Harappa There are no answers to the purpose of this structure; current speculation suggests it may have been a palace for a ruler or a ruling group, or perhaps even a building for priests such as the later… |
|
18. Inside the Granary, Mound F, Harappa The "Granary" of "Great Hall," Harappa. |
|
19. Granary, Mound F, Harappa The Granary from one corner with the chaukidar's [guard] hut on the other side of the structure. |
|
20. A newly discovered button seal fragment, Harappa A fragment of a button seal, newly discovered at the site in 1998. |
|
21. Harappa Unexcavated Mound AB A small fraction of Harappa has actually been excavated. Most of the site is untouched by the archaeologists tools. It may be that future non-invasive techniques like ground penetrating radar help us… |
|
22. Mound AB, Harappa Mound AB is covered with bricks and pottery, most of it dating from 3000 to 2000 B.C. |
|
23. Modern town of Harappa In the distance, the modern town of Harappa survives on another set of mounds. During ancient times they were separated from Mound AB in the foreground by a river channel. Archaeologists suspect that… |
|
24. Mound AB edge, Harappa This landscape on the eastern side of Mound AB was the focus of excavations during the 1990s. Some of the earliest Indus seals and button seals were found in this area in 1996 and 1997, and it is… |
|
25. Large houses, Mound AB, Harappa This area in Mound AB, excavated in the 1920's revealed large houses thought to have belonged to upper class members of ancient Indus society. |
|
26. Unexcavated Areas, Harappa More unexcavated areas at Harappa. |
|
27. Newly Discovered Bracelet, Harappa The bracelet had just been found by workers with the Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP) in 1998. |
|
28. Unexcavated Debris, Harappa More unexcavated pottery sherds and debris at Harappa. |
|
29. Giant Ringstones, Harappa These giant ringstones are similar to ones found in Mohenjo-daro and Dholavira. Local legend claims they were the rings of a giant 17th century saint (Baba Nur Shah) who is buried on Mound AB. Early… |
|
30. Indus Ringstone Close Harappa A ringstone at Harappa, outside the tomb of Baba Noor Shah. |
|
31. Unexcavated Mounds at Harappa The mounds at Harappa remain largely unexcavated. Approximately half a percentage of the site's area was unearthed each season by the Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP) in the 1990s. |
|
32. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer with a Worker at Harappa University of Madison, Wisconsin archaeologist and Co-Director of HARP, Dr. Jonathan Mark Kenoyer with a worker at Harappa in 1998. |
|
33. Contemporary doorway, Harappa The surviving town of Harappa provides many clues to ancient times. No doors have been found in excavations, but terracotta toys and other evidence suggest that ancient doorways were much like this… |
|
34. Doorways in modern Harappa These doorways in modern Harappa show how a town grows into a mound. Dust and dirt in streets slowly collect and cover doorways. Ultimately they are abandoned and new doorways and buildings are… |
|
35. Modern Harappa Granary A good counter example to "Great Granary" having been used to store grain is this actual granary popular in the villages surrounding Harappa. Grain is stored in earthen structures, and accessed as… |
|
36. Contemporary Bath, Harappa No "Great Bath" like that in Mohenjo-daro has been found in Harappa, and it is not known if one existed among the miles of ruins carted off for railway construction in the early 1850's. A large bath… |
|
37. Contemporary Bathing area in Harappa This bathing area in Harappa today is identical to ancient bathing areas. |
|
38. Exposed Pottery Sherd, Harappa Each year rains and surface erosion bring new pieces to the surface. |
|
39. Unexcavated Areas of Harappa An enormous amount of work to do, and only a tiny proportion most ancient Indus sites like Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and Dholavira have been excavated. |
|
40. Discarded pottery sherds, Harappa This pile represents sorted and discarded pottery sherds from continuing excavations at Harappa since 1985. |
|
41. Pottery Sherds at Harappa Close-up of pottery sherds at Harappa excavated during previous years. |
|
42. Wall, Harappa New possibilities might be forthcoming in the next two years [as written in 1998]. Excavations are due to begin in the small parts of the granary not completely excavated by the first archaeologists… |
|
43. Unexcavated Areas, Harappa An unexcavated area of Harappa is rich in deposits. |
|
44. Unexcavated Area of Mound E, Harappa Unexcavated Area of Mound E. [Topographical and excavation maps of the Harappa site.] |
|
45. Guard hut, Harappa Contemporary guard hut overlooking the "Granary." Many questions about ancient Harappa will never be answered. But with the first modern, multi-disciplinary excavations of an Indus city at Harappa,… |