Harappan architecture

Harappan architecture, originating from the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization, was marked by meticulous town planning and the use of standardized building materials. Cities were typically built in a grid-like pattern with an impressive drainage system. Key sites of this civilization, like Harappa, Mohenjodaro, and Lothal, showcase features such as granaries, public baths, and even a dockyard, demonstrating a well-organized and advanced society.

  In this article, you will know the various facets of town planning during Harappan era, which is important for GS Paper-1 Ancient India of UPSC IAS Exam. To explore more interesting UPSC Ancient Indian topics of GS Paper – 1 like Town Planning during Harappan period, check out other articles and IAS Notes of IASToppers.    

Table of Content

• Harappan architecture
• What are the Features of Harappan architecture?
• Town planning of harappa civilization
• Major Harapan Sites
• Conclusion
• FAQs on Harappan architecture

Harappan architecture

• Harappan architecture is the architecture of the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE in the Indus Valley of modern-day Pakistan and India.
• The sites of the Indus Valley Civilization were excavated under the Archaeological Survey of India established by the British.
• The Harappan people had constructed mainly three types of buildings: dwelling houses, pillared halls and public baths.

What are the Features of Harappan architecture?

Main features of Harappan remains are:

• Fortifications with gateways enclosing the walled cities which shows that there may have been a fear of being attacked.
• Rectangular grid pattern of city layout with roads that cut each other at right angles.
• Use of standardised burnt mud-bricks as building material.
• Had building of big dimensions such as public buildings, administrative or business centres, pillared halls and courtyards. But there is no evidence of temples.
  • Public buildings include granaries which were used to store grains which give an idea of an organised collection and distribution system.
• Had small one roomed construction that appear to be working people’s quarters.
• Public bath, known as Great Bath, was discovered at Mohen-jodaro.
  • It is still functional and there is no leakage or cracks in the construction.
  • The existence of public bathing place shows the importance of ritualistic bathing and cleanliness.
• At some sites, a dominant citadel was excavated in the western part containing the public buildings including the granaries. This can be treated as evidence of some kind of political authority ruling over the cities.
• Lothal, a site in Gujarat, has the remains of a dockyard proving that trade flourished in those times by sea.

Town planning of harappa civilization

Below are the key features of Town Planning during Harappan period:

Functional Approach:

• The Harappan civilization pioneered the idea of worker welfare by establishing distinct living areas for workers, a concept that has since become essential in welfare-oriented societies.

Diverse Urban Layouts:

• While Harappan urban centers did not share a uniform layout, they typically adhered to similar design principles.
• Geometric instruments were used by architects for city planning.
• A common design in many Harappan settlements involved situating the central fortress to the west of the residential district, although some cities placed it in the southern region.
• The use of cardinal directions for streets and lanes facilitated the division of some rural communities into blocks and sub-blocks.
• Roads and streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern.
• Housing units were arranged on both sides of the streets.Top of Form
• Roads cut each other at right angles and were very well laid out.
• Certain Harappan sites featured internal passageways that facilitated the movement of royalty, religious figures, and the general public.
• As the Indus Valley settlements were located on the banks of the river, they were often destroyed by major floods. In spite of this calamity, they built fresh settlements on the same sites. Thus, layers upon layers of settlements and buildings were found during the excavations.

Drainage system

• Another feature was the existence of a well-planned drainage system in the residential parts of the city.
• Small drains from the houses were connected to larger ones along the sides of the main roads.
• The drainage system included sloping channels placed at consistent intervals for self-cleaning purposes.
• Large stones or bricks were employed to cover specific drains.
• In Harappa and Mohenjodaro, waste water management was facilitated through terracotta piping, which directed flow into open street drains composed of baked bricks.

Residential houses

• The planning of the residential houses was also meticulous. Evidence of stairs shows houses were often double storied.
• Doors were in the side lanes to prevent dust from entering the houses.
• To prevent damage from flooding, the Harappans constructed their homes on elevated platforms.
• The living spaces typically had a central courtyard, well, bathing area, and kitchen. Each residence was directly linked to an efficient sewage system.
• Wealthy people enjoyed private wells and restrooms.
• None of the homes had windows facing the main road, with entrances accessed through side pathways.
• Despite varying architectural designs, most buildings were well-ventilated.

Construction

• A variety of materials, including bricks, fired bricks, mud, stones, and other mud-based substances, were used in construction.
• There was consistency in brick dimensions.
• Baked bricks were used for construction in Harappa and Mohenjodaro, while mud bricks were employed in Kalibangan.
• In contrast, stone was the primary building material in the rocky regions of Kutch and Saurashtra.

Watchtowers:

• Defensive barriers were employed to construct watchtowers, which served as observation posts.

Walls

• Most Harappan settlements were walled. Many of these were massive. Even a small settlement with such as the recently excavated Bagasra had a wall.
• These walls might have served multiple purposes, such as regulating commerce, preventing military invasions, and averting floods.
• Buthi, Kot Diji, Kohtras, Dhalewan, Bhirrana, Balu, Tarakai Qila, Kalibangan, Mehrgarh, Rehman Dehri and more were among the protected locations.
• In the cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappa, the citadel was closed by a brick wall.
• At Kalibangan, both the central area and the outer city were encompassed by a wall. Conversely, cities like Kot Diji and Amri in Sind did not had walls.

Entrances:

• A single-entry point was present in some Harappan cities like Lothal and Balu, whereas multiple entrances were found in cities such as Kalibangan and Surkotada.
• Gateways were of two varieties: one for regular vehicular movement and another with special importance.

Upper and Lower town:

• Harappan urban centers were partitioned into enclosed sections, known as upper (acropolis) and lower cities, situated in distinct areas of the settlement.
• The upper city was built on elevated terrain, while the lower city was situated at a lower elevation.
• The upper city was smaller in size, consisting of public buildings like the Great Bath, religious buildings, granaries etc. whereas the lower city primarily housed private structures.
• Not all cities featured this configuration, but it was present in Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan, Banawali, Rakhigarhi, Lothal, Dholavira, and other urban centers.

Grain Storage:

• Mohenjodaro’s most significant structure (and largest building) was its granary (storehouses), while Harappa had about six granaries that served as repsitories for grain.

No places of worship:

• Although there is no proof of any structures dedicated to religious practices or sacred sites, the people did adhere to a belief system. Certain rituals have been associated with the Great Bath.

Absence of military or conflict monuments:

• There is no evidence of military forces or weapons in the archaeological findings of this culture.
• Unlike other civilizations’ artwork, which often depicts captives, war victories, and combat-related activities, the art of the Indus Valley does not showcase any such imagery.

Large Halls:

• The large hall, featuring 20 columns arranged in sets of 5, likely supported an expansive rooftop. This space may have functioned as the city magistrate’s courtroom or a governmental secretariat.

Major Harapan Sites

The following matured Harappan sites give evidence of town planning, drainage system, defences and water management of an organised urban society:

• Harappa and Mohenjodaro: There is a great similarity in town planning both at Harappa and Mohenjodaro. Both have citadel mound distinct from the lower city. Other fortified sites of this culture are at Sutkogendor, AliMurad, GhaziShah and Daburkot etc.
  • At Harappa, there are walls made of mud bricks and externally revetted with burnt bricks and having rectangular towers. At Mohenjodaro, the citadel has rectangular bestions and granary shows the use of timber as a reinforcement material. Mohenjodaro is also known for its large number of wells.
• Kotdiji, Sind: It has a citadel and the lower town. It has defensive wall with a mud brick revetment in the exterior with bestions and the inner face was enforced at intervals with a stone revetment bounded with stone courses at the bottom.
• Rehman Dheri: At this site, mud brick houses, mud brick platforms and fortification streets are available in period II which appears to be a formative phase to mature Harappan culture leading to monumental architecture.
• Naushero: It has developed Kotdijian settlement where blocks of mud houses divided by roads and streets are found. In comparison to Daborkot, it was a smaller settlement but sharing fully the developmental process towards maturity of urbanization. The other sites are Gumla and Lewan.
• Kalibangan: Kalibangan, having a full-fledged Early Harappan fortified settlement, houses on both sides of streets, brick on edge platforms, and drains of baked bricks. In the succeeding Harappan period, Kalibangan had a citadel in the west and fortified chessboard patterned city in the east.
• Banawali: The Harappans at Banawali built a citadel and lower town was secured by a fortification and was designed like an irregular trapezium following the planning of the pre-Harappans. At a late stage, they dug a deep moat around the town.
• Lothal: Lothal had a dockyard, a warehouse, a granary, a high acropolis and a lower city and a cemetery. It is the oldest identified dock in the world. It linked Lothal to a former path of the Sabarmati River. This connection was a critical component of the trade network between ancient settlements in Sindh and the Saurashtra peninsula. Lothal also did not had classification into citadel and lower city.
• Surkotada: Surkotada had a citadel and a fortified residential annexe. The citadel had in imposing gateway complex. The citadel and residential annexe had an intercommunicating ramp and later a gateway. The site had a cemetery.
• Dholavira: Excavations at Dholavira brought to light a rectangular town plan of an Harappan city with massive fortification which houses in it 3 principal divisions named as “acropolis”, “middle town” and “lower town”. The first two of them strongly fortified. The acropolis was provided with one gate at each side. Further, highly polished stone-blocks and pillars along the passage were used. In the centre of the citadel, there is a water reservoir. The most outstanding discovery was large sized inscription of ten Harappan signs.
• Rojdi: The excavation at Rojdi found fortification, gateway, the large square build in and houses built of stone rubble.
• Kuntasi: Kuntasi (District Rajkot), a Harappan site ‘was basically not an agricultural settlement but appears to have been a centre for procuring raw materials and processing them into finished products primarily for exporting them to Sindh and West Asia. The settlement was a port and a manufacturing centre.

Conclusion

The Harappan civilization showcased remarkable advancements in town planning and architecture during its time. Town Planning during Harappan period was well-organized and its society demonstrated a keen attention to detail, evidenced by the efficient drainage systems, well-planned residential areas, and the use of standardized building materials. Studying the Harappan era allows us to appreciate the origins of many modern urban planning concepts and gain a deeper understanding of ancient history.

Ref: Source-1

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