indus valley

2. Architecture of indus valley civilization is contained in structure of Mohan-jodaro which were found
by the archaeologists (by J. Fleet, prompting an excavation campaign under Sir John Hubert
Marshall in 1921-22 and resulting in the discovery of the civilization at Harappa by Sir John
Marshall)and in the existence of Harappan city.
INTRODUCTION
Indus River valley flourished in 2,6 00 B.C.E
It is the largest of the four ancient urban civilization of Egypt ,
Mesopotamia, india and china.
Harappa supported of
population 50,000
Excavation continue in 1920’s

3.  The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–
1300 BC, flowered 2600–1900 BC)
was an ancient civilization thriving
along the Indus River and the
Ghaggar-Hakra River in what is now
Pakistan and north-western India.
 The two greatest cities, Mohenjo-
daro and Harappa, emerged circa
2600 BCE along the Indus River
valley in Punjab and Sindh.
 The Indus Valley Civilisation is also
known as the Harappan Civilisation,
after Harappa, the first of its sites to be
excavated in the 1920s

4.  A sophisticated and
technologically advanced
urban culture is evident in the
Indus Valley Civilization.
 The streets of major cities such
as Mohenjodaro or Harappa
were laid out in perfect grid
patterns and crossed by others
at right angles.
 They have well laid plumbing
and drainage systems,
including indoor toilets.
 The houses were protected
from noise, odors, and
thieves.
 Houses opened only to inner
courtyards and smaller lanes.

5. The buildings were made by
burnt bricks which were devoid
of decoration
There were no windows & entrances
were placed in narrow by ways.
Each & every street had its brick-lined drainage
channel and small lane.

6. GREAT BATH
STREETS
GRANARY
WELLS

7. The great public bath was made of burnt brick
The Great Bath is one of the best-known
structures among the ruins of the ancient
Indus Valley Civilization at Mohenjo-daro
in Sindh, Pakistan
Measures approximately 12 meters north-
south and 7 meters wide, with a maximum
depth of 2.4 meters
Two wide staircases lead down into the
tank
•The floor of the tank is water tight due to
finely fitted bricks laid on edge with
gypsum plaster and the side walls were
constructed in a similar manner.
•To make the tank even more water tight, a
thick layer of bitumen (natural tar) was laid
along the sides of the tank and presumably
also beneath the floor
GREAT BATH

8. MOHENJO-DARO AND HARAPPA
•The city was laid out in a grid iron with the
main streets about 30 feet wide
•The streets were all aligned from east to
west or from north to south
•This would suck the stagnant air out of the
smaller street and lanes running at the
angles thereby amply ventilating them

9. It is a brick structure that was built on a massive brick foundation over 45 meters
north south and 45 meters east-west. Two rows of six rooms that appear to be
foundations are arranged along a central passageway that is about 7 meters wide
and partly paved with baked bricks.
Each room measures 15.2 by
6.1 meters and has three
sleeper walls with air space
between them.
GRANARY AT HARAPPA

10. This ancient town had more than 700 wells, and most houses in Mohenjo-Daro had at
least one private well.

12. DRAINAGE SYSTEM

13.  Materials from distant regions were used in the
cities for constructing seals, beads and other
objects.
 The seals have images of animals, gods and
other types of inscriptions.
 Some of the seals were used to stamp clay on
trade goods and most probably had other uses.

14.  A stone staircase in the Siddikui area of the ancient Indus Valley
civilization of Mohenjo-Daro
Dated ca. 3rd-2nd century B.C

15.  Harappan engineers followed the decimal division of
measurement for all practical purposes, including the
measurement of mass as revealed by their hexahedron
weights.
 Brick sizes were in a perfect ratio of 4:2:1 and the decimal
system was used. Weights were based on units of 0.05, 0.1,
0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500, with each unit
weighing approximately 28 grams, similar to the English
Imperial ounce or Greek uncia, and smaller objects were
weighed in similar ratios with the units of 0.871.

16.  Unique Harappan inventions include an
instrument which was used to measure whole
sections of the horizon and the tidal dock. In
addition, Harappans evolved new techniques
in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze,
lead and tin.
The engineering skill of the Harappans was remarkable, especially
in building docks after a careful study of tides, waves and currents.

17.  Various sculptures, seals, pottery,
gold jewelry and anatomically
detailed figurines in terracotta,
bronze and steatite have been
found at the excavation sites.
 A number of bronze,
terracotta and stone figurines
of girls in dancing poses
reveal the presence of some
dance form.
Mother goddess from the Indus Valley
civilization.

18. Indus Maze Games and Dice
These maze games and dice are from the
Indus Valley Civilization and are currently
housed in the National Museum of New
Delhi.

19.  A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus
seal and two shell objects found at Lothal
indicate the use of stringed musical
instruments.
 Seals have been found at Mohenjo-daro
depicting a figure standing on its head, and
one sitting cross-legged
 A horned figure in an advanced yogic pose has
been interpreted as one of the earliest
depictions of the Lord Shiva.

20.  The story of Indian art and sculpture dates back to the Indus
valley civilization of the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC.
 Tiny terra-cotta seals discovered from the valley reveal
carvings of peepal leaves, deities and animals.
 These elemental shapes of stones or seals were enshrined
and worshipped by the people of the civilization.
Indus Valley Seals - The first one
shows a Swastika, a prominent
symbol in Hinduism.

21.  The Great Stupa at Sanchi is perhaps the finest
surviving relic of the Mauryan Empire and is a
renowned Buddhist monument.
 Its finely carved gateways depict Buddhist
legends and lifestyles of two thousand years ago.
 The foundation of the Stupa was laid by Ashoka
and he set up monasteries here as a retreat for the
Buddhist monks.
 The Great Stupa is fifty-four feet high and is
surrounded by a stone railing and four elaborately
carved gateways on each side.

22. The gateway reliefs depict tales of Buddha's incarnations, his
life as a prince, his moment of enlightenment, his sermons and
his worshippers.
This site at Sanchi also includes remains of smaller stupas,
pillars and monasteries.

23. Hindu
Artthis era was also marked by the emergence of innumerable
images of popular Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
Images of Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, the Sun-God and goddess
Durga evolved in this period.
The Udaigiri caves in Madhya Pradesh house a colossal image
of Vishnu.
Here he is presented as the great savior who rescued 'mother
earth' from the depths of the ocean, in his incarnation as a
varha (boar).
Other statues of this period found in various temples and
museums are indicative of the various dimensions of early
Hindu art and sculpture.

24. Sculpture Head From Indus Valley Settlement
The link between dance, drama,
literature and art became crucial
to aesthetic expressionism in
centuries to come.
This new era in art and
sculpture witnessed a unique
fusion, a synthesis embodied in
the caves at Ajanta and Ellora
and the temples of central and
South India.

25. Ajanta and Ellora
North-east of Bombay, near Aurangabad are two astonishing
series of temples carved out of living rock over the course of
fourteen centuries.
During the 4th century AD. in a remote valley, work began
on the Ajanta caves to create a complex of Buddhist
monasteries and prayer halls. As centuries passed, numerous
Buddhist monks and artisans excavated a set of twenty-nine
caves, some cells, monasteries and Buddhist temples.
All of these were carved from the rock cliff at Ajanta.
These caves are adorned with elaborate sculptures and
paintings which have withstood the ravages of time.

26. The sculptures are finely wrought images of animals, guards and deities while
the paintings tell ancient tales of courtly life and depict hundreds of Buddhist
legends. Amid the beautiful images and paintings are sculptures of Buddha,
calm and serene in contemplation.
Pillars, podiums, spires and towers combine to produce an awe-inspiring
representation of Shiva's Himalayan abode.

27. Elephanta Caves
The most profound aspect of the mighty Shiva is in
evidence at the Shiva temple in the Elephanta caves.
Situated near Bombay, these caves present an
introduction to some most exquisitely carved
temples. One can witness a symphony in stone in
praise of Lord Shiva, created by India's expert stone
carvers of the sixth century.

28. The central attraction here is a twenty-foot high bust of the
deity in three-headed form. The Maheshamurti is built deep
into a recess and looms up from the darkness to fill the full
height of the cave.