Main features of Harappan Civilisation

3. Planned Cities in Harappa
Mohenjo and Harappa were the planned cities.
They were the two biggest cities, 600 km
apart. They had similar planning, layout and
technique in construction. They were probably
the twin capitals. Mohenjo-daro, means ‘the
mound of the dead’.
The city of Mohenjo-dato could be divided into
three parts-the Citadel, the lower town arid the
small huts on the outer limits of the city.
The Citadel in Harappa
It was the raised part of the city. It has often been described as a fort or
administrative block. People might have lived here. The ruling classes included priests and
wealthy merchants. The citadel had massive walls. Those walls provided protection
against the floods of the Indus river. The citadel consisted of important buildings like
the Granary and the Assembly or Town Halls, We also come across the Great Bath here.
The Great Bath
it was situated in the citadel, it measures 1.88 meters X 7.01 meters and is 2.43 meters
deep. It had two flights or steps on oTher side, It was made of burnt bricks and mortar,
it was provided with two openings one at the top (to let in water) and the other a the
bottom (used as an outlet), The idea was to clean the Bath periodically. 1”here were small
rooms around tile Bath. They were probably used as dress changing rooms. One of the
rooms contained a big well.

4. The Granary in harappa
In Mohenjo-daro the arqost building is the
Granary. It s 45,71 meters long and 15.23
meters wide. In Harappa there were 6
granaries. To the sooth of the granaries,
there were circular brick platforms. They were
meant for threshing grain .
Town Hall in Harappa
The Town Hall is an imposing structure
with 69 meters long arid 23.4 meters wide.
The thickness of the walls varied from
1.2 to 1.5 meters. lt might have been used as an administrative block, an assembly
hall, a prayer hall, or as a hall for cultural shows.
Lower Town in Harappa
Below the citadel laid a lower town. It was inhabited by petty merchants and
craftsmen. This town was divided into rectangular blocks by wide roads. The roads
run from north to south and east to west. These roads cut each other at right angles.
Here, the remains of brick houses can be seen. The drainage system is praiseworthy.
Provision was made for street lighting.
Harappan Houses
The houses were one or two storey high. All the houses were made of baked bricks
of uniform size. Every house had two or more rooms, a bath-room, a kitchen and a
courtyard. The houses were also provided with doors and small windows The
grinding stones were found close to the hearth.

5. Occupations of the people in Harappa.
The Indus people were farmers, weavers, potters, metal workers, toy
makers, jewelers, stone cutters and traders Agriculture was the most
important occupation In the fertile soils, farmers cultivated two crops a
year They were the first who had grown paddy They knew different
methods of irrigation. They used ploughs and sickles Pottery was a popular
industry. They were skilled in the use of potter’s wheel.
Animal Husbandry in Harappa
The Indus people had domesticated a number of animals such as oxen,
buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, asses and camels.
Spinning and Weaving in Harappa
The Indus people were skilled in the art of spinning and weaving. They
manufactured woollen cloth from sheep and goats’ hair.
Toy-making and sculptures in Harappa
Manufacture of terracotta (burnt clay) was a major industry of the people.
The figures of toys, animals and figurines were manufactured. A miniature
toy-cart with a driver pulled by oxen is praiseworthy. Figures of animals
such as sacred bull and dove were discovered. The figures of Mother
Goddesses were used for religious purposes.