Excavations

Posts on recent and historic ancient Indus excavations.

Excavation of Pottery Debris

Discarded ancient Indus sherds, after archaeologists have sifted through them and cleaned them. This pottery debris from excavations at Harappa covers hundreds - if not a thousand – years of habitation, far longer a period than say modern times. One can imagine each sherd having its own story, connected to another sherd now far away in the pile, the centuries layered upon each other in the sunlight. 1 and 2. Sorted and discarded pottery sherds from continuing excavations at Harappa since 1985. 3. Earth and debris excavated from the houses and streets of DK-I area was dumped directly onto parts

Glimpses of Ganweriwala

The least excavated of the five large known ancient Indus cities – Mohenjo-daro and Dholavira, Harappa and Rakigarhi – is Ganweriwala, discovered in the late 1980s by Rafique Mughal. Deep in the desert, far from towns and close to the Indian border, it is hardly written about.

Harappa: revetment of defence of citadel

Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the excavator of the wall shown here, wrote that ". . . . both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were dominated by am embattled acropolis or citadel, occupying a marginal block and built up with mud and mud-brick to a height of forty or fifty feet above the featureless lain with a revetment of backed brick. Upon this acropolis were ritual buildings and places of assembly.

Ancient City Unearthed

A Wide World Photo news agency photograph with the title given above was dated June 4, 1959. The caption, reflecting then popular conceptions like "invaders," was printed on the back: "For three thousand years a great and peaceful civilization has lain buried and forgotten on the banks of the Indus in what is today Pakistan. Now archaeologists are slowly excavating its capital, the ancient city of Moenjo Daro, a few miles south of Dokri. The city of Moenjo Daro is remarkable in many ways but most of all in its complete absence of fortifications.

The Discovery of Lothal

"The main purpose of undertaking excavation at Lothal was to decide whether it could be considered as a true Harappan settlement where the people observed the same urban discipline and enjoyed the same material prosperity as in the metropolitan centres of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro."

Mohenjo-daro Street with Drains

Drainage
The drainage system was one of the most remarkable features of the Mature Harappan city. All the streets and lanes across neighbourhoods in Mohenjo-daro had drains. In addition there was also provision for managing wastewater inside the houses with vertical pipes in the walls that led to chutes opening on to the street.

Finding the Priest King

A workman handing over the Priest King at the time of excavations in I, Block 2 of DK-B Area during the John Marshal led 1925-26 excavations at Mohenjo-daro. Possehl writes "many classic Harappan style artifacts came to light at this time, including the so-called Priest King which emerged from Dikshit's excavations in DK-B Area, in a building that the excavators thought may have been a hammam or hot bath."

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