Harappa

Large ladle found with burial pottery in a disturbed burial of the Harappan cemetery. Shell ladles were probably used in special rituals for dispensing sacred liquids such as water or oil. A hole in the bottom of the ladle has been repaired with a l… >

Mohammad Nawaz, master potter from Harappa, demonstrates how fish scale and intersecting circle motifs may have been painted onto Harappan pottery. Here he is demonstrating at the Elvehjem Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin, USA during the major ex… >

These beads from the Ravi Phase (3300-2800 BCE) at Harappa have been made from carnelian and amazonite (right hand bead). The raw material used to make these beads was brought to the site from source areas probably in Gujarat, over 900 km to the sou… >

This Early Harappan seal impression or sealing of a square seal has several script signs and two ladder like motifs (Kot Diji Phase, c. 2800 BCE). The wet clay was probably placed on a bundle of goods to seal it and then was broken off when the bund… >

Overview of Trench 39 North, looking at the Harappan and Late Harappan Period levels. The brick wall is part of a large building that was constructed with wooden beams and columns. In the foreground is a doorway and in the left background is an earl… >

Careful excavations of the pot by J. M. Kenoyer required several weeks. This was done in the evenings after other excavation lab work was finished. The pot and its contents were photographed before and after each layer was removed. (Photo by Manabu … >

Richard Meadow photographs the excavations in Trench 54 from a tall bamboo ladder that is supported by four ropes. This ladder can be situated over any area of the excavations to obtain near vertical views of rooms and artifact scatters. >

Twisted terra cotta tablet (H2000-4441/2102-464) with a mold-made inscription and narrative motif from the Trench 54 area. In the center is the depiction of what is possibly a deity with a horned headdress in so-called yogic position seated on a sto… >

Thin sheets of steatite sawn from this blocklet found in Trench 54 would have been broken into small discs and then perforated. >

Randy Law, a graduate student from the University of Wisconsin - Madison assisted with the excavation and documentation of Trench 54 South. Here he is using a digital camera to take close up images of manufacturing debris. >