Harappa Archaeological Research Project

Many different styles of terra cotta beads were made during the during the Ravi Phase at Harappa (circa 3300 BCE-2800 BCE). >

The discovery of a button seal is always exciting. Mushtaq, one of the excavation assistants from Harappa Town is proud to have found the second seal of the 1998 excavation season. >

Scanning Electron Microscope analysis of the incising marks on the steatite tablets indicates the use of three different specialized bronze graving tools (see 58). Each tablet was first shaped from raw unfired steatite and then incised with the scr… >

Late Harappan Period large burial urn with ledged rim for holding a bowl-shaped lid. The painted panel around the shoulder of the vessel depicts flying peacocks with sun or star motifs and wavy lines that may represent water. Cemetery H period, afte… >

The earliest settlement, during Period 1 (c. 3300-2800 BC), was on the west side of Mound AB and NW corner of Mound E. During Period 2 (c. 2800-2600 BC) all of Mounds AB and E came to be occupied, and by the end of Period 3 (c. 2600-1900 BC), the Ha… >

A banded agate bead (at left), a long terra cotta bead (center) and a cylindrical steatite bead (at right) were all found in the deposits of a room in Trench 54. >

A black basalt pebble found in the excavations in Trench 54 has a few faint traces of gold colored streaks that may indicate it was used as a touchstone. Pure gold has a strong yellow-orange streak, while alloyed gold yields a slightly different hue. >

After scraping the surface, excavations of the upper slope of Trench 54 South revealed scattered bricks and a terra cotta molded tablet. >

A concave grindstone and angular pestle found in a room adjacent to the Trench 54 South workshop may have been used for grinding faience paste. >

Excavations of Trench 57, on the west side of Mound E, during 2000 revealed large mud brick platforms or walls with remnants of baked brick drains just below the modern surface. Looking West. >