Mound E perimeter wall
View of the preserved surface of perimeter wall [250] excavated in 2001 looking Southeast toward the area excavated from 1993 to1997.
HARP (Harappa Archaeological Research Project) a group of scholars from a variety of fields dedicated to advancing the study of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.
Mound E perimeter wall excavations
In 2001, excavation of perimeter wall [250] was extended to the Northwest. Here the surface of the wall is being cleared and the bricks outlined. Note the excavation in the foreground left where there was no mud-brick.
Indus narrative tablets
Although neither of these specific molded terracotta tablet pieces comes from Trench 11, four less well preserved examples from the same mold(s) were found in debris outside of the perimeter wall in that area, clearly establishing a second half of
Life and death of Harappan seals and tablets
An additional six copies of these tablets, again all with the same inscriptions, were found elsewhere in the debris outside of perimeter wall [250] including two near the group of 16 and two in debris between the perimeter and curtain walls.
Group of incised baked steatite tablets
A group of 16 three-sided incised baked steatite tablets, all with the same inscriptions, were uncovered in mid- to late Period 3B debris outside of the curtain wall. (See 56). These tablets may originally been enclosed in a perishable container
Cross-section through debris deposits
Cross-sections inside (top) and outside (bottom) of perimeter wall [250]. The wall itself, being of mud-brick, was heavily eroded, sometimes to a lower elevation than the adjoining more densely packed street debris.
Harappa phase ashy debris deposits
Ashy debris deposits continued to accumulate outside of the perimeter wall, covering the curtain wall. These date to the end of Harappa Period 3B and the beginning of Period 3C.
Building debris and rubbish
Deposits of building debris and household rubbish were discarded over the perimeter wall into the open area below and were retained by the curtain wall.
Trench 11 excavations
The Trench 11 area showing the perimeter wall (on the left), the curtain wall, and the Period 3C drain that cut deeply into the Period 3B deposits (see the labeled plan in 72). The sediments outside of the perimeter wall are hard packed ashy debris
Mound E excavation
Workmen are cleaning the Trench 11 area in preparation for photography during the 1997 excavation season. Perimeter wall [250] is on the left.
