Ancient Indus Civilization Blog

In the coming months we will feature posts on the site known as Chanhudaro, in Nawabshah, Sindh. This is one of the most interesting and highly-sophisticated "small towns" of the ancient Indus Valley. Since 2015, a French-Pakistani joint archaeological mission has started excavating the site. >

Rediscovering Harappa | Through the Five Elements, A Special Exhibition at the Lahore Museum is an awesome catalogue that speaks to the process of coming to grips with Indus artefacts at the Lahore Museum in 2016. >

Senior archaeologists, including J.M. Kenoyer, Michael Jansen and Aurore Didier debate how to preserve this great site. Rebury? What do you think? >

As the first Mohenjodaro Conference in 44 years just ended, it is worth looking back at the last one in 1973, when many of the same themes and concerns were raised. In hindsight, there is some evidence of impact, even if the situation at the site has continued to deteriorate and the basic issues of waterlogging, salinity and enroachment remain as acute as ever. >

A leading figure in Italian archaeology and Co-Director of the Italy Oman international research program studying the beginnings of navigation and long-distance trade in the Indian Ocean died at the age of 72 yesterday in Ravenna, Italy. >

These postcards from the early 1900s and albumen photographs from the 1860s give us a glimpse into some of the fishing technologies and practices that were in use at the time. Combining information from multiple sources, including archival images and narratives, enables us to draw conclusions about what the material culture and social practices of the people of the Indus Valley might have been like. 1. The first postcard is from the early 1900s, probably around 1905 in Sindh Province. The fishermen are getting read to swim out into the water using a "boatless" technology which involves fl… >

A major conference on Mohenjodaro is opening today in Mohenjodaro, with leading scholars from around the world, including many who contribute to Harappa.com. >

A recent exhibition of Sumatran (Indonesian) ceremonial hangings in cotton and silk from the 19th century at the De Young Museum in San Francisco made me wonder whether such textiles were also in vogue in another maritime culture, the ancient Indus, whose boats would not seem out of place in these examples. >

An article in The Verge discusses efforts by scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and others to use algorithmic analysis to decipher the ancient Indus script. >

"Between the Buddhist stupa, with its surrounding monastic buildings, and the Great Bath, a considerable stretch of ground which sloped upwards to the east presented interesting possibilities . . ." >

"The Harappans had a goddess of war connected with the tiger, another large feline that was once native to the Indus Valley. On a cylinder seal from Kalibangan, a goddess in long skirt and plaited hair holds the hands of two warriors in the process of spearing each other." >

Mohenjo Daro is unique because it is the first cinematic release featuring this ancient city. In Hollywood and western cinema, there are many dramatisations on ancient Egypt which was contemporary to the Indus Valley Civilisation. In the Indian film industry however, movies do not go earlier than the time of the Buddha or mythological eras. Indeed, the last Hindi language film set in ancient South Asia was probably Asoka back in 2001. >

On a recent visit to London, I decided to have another look at the British Museum's handful of Indus objects. They are usually displayed – with little celebration, given their importance, like the first seal ever found at Harappa . . . >

With best wishes from Harappa.com, on Facebook since 2008. We added 30,000 page followers this year, almost a hundred added, two dozen lost each day. Nadine Zubair joined as Assistant Editor, helping to cover many Indus towns and areas usually not well understood. >

It is not unlikely that ascetics, both men and women who had renounced their possessions and lived off of the land or the generosity of donors, wandered about between the Indus towns and villages. In later periods there are textual references to similar ascetics associated with various religious traditions. In Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Islamic/Sufi traditions, men and women, often in the later stages of life, renounced their possessions to focus on spiritual thought and service. >