Ancient city of India Mohenjo Daro. Mohenjo Daro or the nuclear mystery of Mohenjo Daro - history of the earth

Mohenjo-Daro (“hill of the dead”) is a city of the Indus Valley Civilization, which arose around 2600 BC. e. Located in Pakistan, in the Sindh province. It is the largest ancient city of the Indus Valley and one of the first cities in the history of South Asia, a contemporary of civilization Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was discovered in 1920 along with the city of Harappa in Pakistan. The cities were clearly built according to the Vedic tradition.

Mohenjo-Daro stands out among other centers of the Indus civilization with its almost ideal layout, the use of baked brick as the main building material, as well as the presence of complex irrigation and religious structures. Among other buildings, noteworthy are the granary and the “large pool” for ritual ablutions with an area of ​​83 square meters. m. and an elevated “citadel” (apparently intended for protection against floods).
The width of the streets in the city reached 10 m. In Mohenjo-Daro, perhaps the first public toilets known to archaeologists were discovered, as well as the city sewerage system. Part of the territory lower city, where commoners settled, was eventually flooded by the Indus and therefore remains unexplored.
A discovery 5000 years ago proved that a highly developed civilization existed in these places. And a culture that has been established for centuries. Judge for yourself if the city of high civilization is 5000 years old, then the civilization itself could not arise in one day, and this civilization has an equally long prehistory. Which means that the civilization and intelligence that built these cities is even older. A simple logical conclusion follows from this. That we can safely add 2000 years to the age of the cities found
In total, the age of civilization itself was no less than 7000 years.
The most interesting thing is that the city of Mahenjadara was destroyed by a nuclear explosion. In the bones of the skeletons discovered at the excavation site of Mohenjo-Daro (Mahenjadara), the level of radiation was several times higher. The river that flowed nearby evaporated in an instant.

For many decades now, archaeologists have been concerned about the mystery of the death of the city of Mohenjo-Daro in India. In 1922, Indian archaeologist R. Banarji discovered ancient ruins on one of the islands of the Indus River. They were named Mohenjo-Daro, which translated means “Hill of the Dead.” Even then, questions arose: how was this destroyed? big city, where did its inhabitants go? The excavations did not answer any of them...

For many decades now, archaeologists have been concerned about the mystery of the death of the city of Mohenjo-Daro in India 3,500 years ago. In 1922, Indian archaeologist R. Banarji discovered ancient ruins on one of the islands of the Indus River. They were named Mohenjo-Daro, which translated means “Hill of the Dead.” Even then, questions arose: how was this large city destroyed, where did its inhabitants go? The excavations did not answer any of them...

The ruins of the buildings did not contain numerous corpses of people and animals, as well as fragments of weapons and signs of destruction. The only obvious fact was that the disaster occurred suddenly and did not last long.

The decline of culture is a slow process; no traces of flooding have been found. Moreover, there is indisputable evidence of massive fires. The epidemic does not strike people calmly walking along the streets or doing business, suddenly and simultaneously. But this is exactly what happened - this is confirmed by the location of the skeletons. Paleontological studies also reject the epidemic hypothesis. With good reason, we can also reject the version of a sudden attack by the conquerors; none of the discovered skeletons contain traces left by bladed weapons.

A very unusual version was expressed by the Englishman D. Davenport and the Italian E. Vincenti. They claim that Mohenjo-Daro survived the fate of Hiroshima. The authors provide the following arguments in favor of their hypothesis. Among the ruins there are scattered pieces of baked clay and green glass (whole layers!). In all likelihood, sand and clay are influenced high temperature first melted and then instantly hardened. The same layers of green glass appear in the desert of Nevada (USA) every time after nuclear explosion. Analysis of the samples carried out at the University of Rome and in the laboratory of the Italian National Research Council showed that melting occurred at a temperature of 1400-1500 degrees. Such a temperature in those days could be obtained in the forge of a metallurgical workshop, but not in a vast open area

If you carefully examine the destroyed buildings, you get the impression that a clear area is outlined - the epicenter, in which all the buildings were swept away by some kind of squall. From the center to the periphery, the destruction gradually decreases. The outlying buildings are the most preserved. In a word, the picture is reminiscent of the consequences of the atomic explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Aerial photography of the city
Is it conceivable to assume that the mysterious conquerors of the Indus River valley possessed atomic energy?” Such an assumption seems incredible and categorically contradicts the ideas of modern historical science. However, the Indian epic “Mahabharata” speaks of a certain “explosion” that caused “a blinding light, fire without smoke” , at the same time “the water began to boil, and the fish were charred.” That this is just a metaphor” D Davenport believes that there is at its core. some real events.

But let's return to the city itself...

Reconstruction of the city of the Harappan culture, Mohenjo-Daro also belongs to it
Mohenjo-Daro occupied an area of ​​about 259 hectares and was a network of neighborhoods (the oldest example of such a layout), separated by wide streets with a developed drainage system, which were divided into smaller ones and built up with houses made of baked bricks. The dating of this settlement is still a matter of debate. Radiocarbon dating and connections with Mesopotamia allow it to be dated to 2300-1750. BC

Two versions of the city name: generally accepted and authentic

IN modern science the name “Mohenjo-Daro” has long become familiar and undeniable, but there is no need to talk about its authenticity. The name, taken from the Sindhi language, literally means “hill of the dead” and became widespread only in the mid-twentieth century. The true name of the city remains a mystery, but an analysis of written sources discovered in the complex gives every reason to believe that in its heyday this settlement was called “Kukkutarma”, which translated from the local dialect meant “city of the rooster”. The fact is that in Mohenjo-Daro the cult of this bird was developed, which served more as a ritual element than as food. In addition, it is likely that this city was the birthplace of domestic chicken breeding.

The history of the discovery of an ancient city near the Indus River

For almost 4 thousand years, Mohenjo-Daro remained unknown to science and could have left no trace in history at all if not for the 37-year-old Indian archaeologist Rakhal Das Banerjee. The young scientist worked at the Archaeological Survey of India and was engaged in research in the field of ancient cultures of the East. In 1922, he went to the banks of the Indus because he learned about an ancient Buddhist structure located there. Arriving with his team at the site, he was amazed to discover a huge complex belonging to more early period history than expected. In the same year, Banerjee attracted John Marshall to his project, with whom they carried out the first excavations of Mohenjo-Daro.

Already at the initial stages, the cultural connection of the settlement with other city-states of this period became obvious. The layout of the streets, the location of religious buildings and the artifacts found confirmed the age of the Hill of the Dead. The first expeditions and archaeological excavations were very intensive. For 40 years, groups of scientists from all over the world came to the banks of the Indus to find as much as possible. more information about a unique settlement. Unfortunately, it was only in the 1960s that it became known that existing excavation techniques were very crude and damaged fragile material. This discovery has led to the restriction of work in this area, except for those aimed at conservation and conservation of already open areas.

Mysterious destruction

Like any ancient city, Mohenjo-Daro attracts attention with its buildings, which help to better understand the life and thinking of our ancestors. But one factor makes this settlement much more mysterious and interesting than its neighbors. The thing is that from the first days of excavations, scientists discovered finds that, taken together, testified to a very strange event that once occurred in the village. Around the 15th century BC, a cataclysm struck the city, instantly destroying all its inhabitants. Several factors support this theory:

• firstly, all the buildings of the settlement are completely or partially destroyed, but with one curious nuance: in the center of the city the greatest deformation is observed, while the outermost houses have minor defects. In other words, the city looks as if some kind of bomb was dropped into its center, the waves of which swept from the center to the periphery of Mohenjo-Daro;
• secondly, all the bricks from which houses are built look as if they were baked at a temperature of several thousand degrees, but scientists have not been able to find any devices that could process this building material. In addition, layers of glass were discovered, the melting of which also required temperatures unattainable for humans at that time;
• thirdly, like Pompeii, the remains of people were discovered on the streets of Mohenjo-Daro, whose poses are more likely to indicate carefree walks than attempts to escape from danger.

Together, these finds have been exciting the minds of both scientists and ordinary tourists for decades. Indeed, what kind of catastrophe could lead to such destruction of an entire settlement? All the descriptions of damage are incredibly similar to what was found in the infamous Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the atomic bombs were dropped on them. Some researchers even hypothesize about the existence of an advanced Indus civilization that could have used explosives and similar technologies.

In addition, scientists come to the conclusion that this cataclysm was noticed by the inhabitants of that time and was even reflected in written sources. Sacred texts Hinduism contains records of a “divine fire” that fell on a large city, completely destroying its population. People of that time saw in this event the retribution of the angry gods, which should have served as a warning to neighboring settlements.

Stairway to the top

Cultural monuments and archaeological finds

But not only mysterious disappearance The city attracts thousands of tourists to these places. The unique layout of the space makes it possible to get acquainted with the features of ancient urban planning, which was extremely logical and practical. Along the perfectly level streets, 10 meters wide, there are identical houses with flat roofs, which also served as terraces. Modern developers could learn from such schematism and ideal stylistic integrity.

In addition, in the center of the city there is a huge citadel, which most likely sheltered residents during possible flooding by river waters. But the presence of the Indus brought more benefits to the inhabitants than inconvenience. Thus, Mohenjo-Daro is one of the first cities with an incredibly developed irrigation and water supply system. Scientists have discovered traces public toilets and even baths. Also on the territory of the city there is a swimming pool with an area of ​​83 square meters. m., which was used during ritual actions and festivities.

It may seem that getting to a city like Mohenjo-daro is not easy, but fortunately it is not. Just one kilometer from the settlement there is an airport that receives regular flights from other cities in Pakistan. Depending on your preferences, you can get from the terminal to the complex in two ways:

For those who want to save money or simply don’t like to fly on an airplane again, the Karachi-Quetta train runs around the region. Having reached the Larkana station on it, all that remains is to transfer to a bus, which takes passengers to the walls of Mohenjo-Daro in 40 minutes.

Previously, the tourism infrastructure in this area was poorly developed. Usually tourists left for Mohenjo-Daro early in the morning and, after spending the whole day in the complex, returned to Karachi - a large city with many hotels, beaches and interesting cultural monuments. IN lately the situation began to change, the government of Pakistan began a project to develop the surroundings of the ancient city-state, and in the near future tourists will be able to spend the night in close proximity to Mohenjo-daro.

I really love historical dramas, especially those that focus on more ancient periods of human existence.

The film “Mahenjo-Daro” should be shot according to all the canons of this genre, all the historicism and eventfulness is confined to one historical character, who is endowed with, well, just everything positive qualities. He is handsome, and strong, and brave, and smart, and moderately cunning, and kind, and courageous, in general, he is not endowed with any human qualities except the desire to love and receive the object of his desire.

The plot does not contain anything beyond the cardinal, as is always the case; the hero, unjustly deprived of his throne and alienated from it, in complete ignorance of what happened to his parents, comes to trade in the majestic city of Mahenjo-daro. And he finds in it everything he was looking for. And the beautiful girl Chaani, and the story of her origin, and her destiny, and of course she becomes the savior of the entire city population, simultaneously having a hand in the creation of the great Ganges River. All this against the backdrop of an ancient city, with songs, dances, bizarre (more fantasy than real) rituals, fights, bug-eyed villains, etc.

I rather disliked the film than liked it.

Scenario It’s like it was written on the knee, I don’t know about the historical accuracy, but about the development of the characters, it’s very bad. It seems that over appearance each character was worked on more than internally, which is not typical for Indian cinema. All heroes are devoid of humanity and therefore seem empty.

Perhaps due to a flaw in the script, all the actors seem rather weak and strained.

Hrithik Roshan ( main character Sarman) tried with all his might to extract at least something from this image, diligently sparkled his eyes and pompously threw back his chin, angrily twitching his nostrils. But it was not possible to create a full-fledged image. He's doing great physical fitness, as always, amazing work in the fight scenes, as always, a great sense of rhythm and dance, but that’s all, there is no internal experience, there is no emotional push from the screen that will make the viewer perk up a little.

Pooja Hegde (Chaani) Well, there’s absolutely no effort here. Very bad, external beauty alone is not enough, not enough stare on camera, empty. Especially when there were sobs or pathetic speeches, horror. The role is not as big as it seems and not as complex, yes Chaani is the beloved of the main character, and it was her marriage that pushed Sarman to do great things, but where is the emotion? Where??? I had an association of white noise in my head when I saw her. There is no emotion, no message, no passion, no all-encompassing love, no inspiration. The only thing that worked perfectly, I don’t know how they achieved it, was the scene of Chaani being strangled, very realistic. Maybe they really strangled her a little in order to get at least something out (sarcasm, angry).

Kabir Bedi (Maham) an evil villain, very evil and very Indian. Somehow he reminded me of the main Indian villain Amrish Puri when his eyes widened. Kabir worked as much as the director allows, again the shortcomings are not of the actor, but rather of the screenwriter and director, there is no clear motive and development of his anger. Why there was so much greed in him, where the development of anger towards the whole world, there is no general idea.

Arunodai Sinkh (Munja) one of the few who have more or less clear emotions and experiences. A handsome, bearded heir to a false ruler, with ambitions as much for power as for personal love. There is both good and bad in it, the hero's moral vacillations are shown, which gives the image of Munji more realistic features. What the main character doesn't have, the question is why? After all, Hrithik is much more experienced.

Manish Chaudhary (priest) attracted attention in “I swear by you, my love,” but here again they were not allowed to open up; the impression was created that the actor was a little cramped in this image. Of all the available facial expressions, the actor most likely was given the mask of "surprise", "extreme surprise", "discouragement", "bashful surprise".

I don’t remember the name of the villain’s wife, much less the actress who played her, but she’s the only one who can get a 6.0 for technique and acting. Alive and full image, apparently due to the insignificance of the character, they found time for internal fullness.

Some scenes were completely bewildering:

1. Scene with Chaani walking in simple clothes. Why is she destroying everything around? Why does she pour water on passers-by, break craftsmen's pots, and damage the property of strangers? Why??? She came out for the first time in simple clothes, no one would recognize her, and instead of curiosity, carelessness, joy, there was outright hooliganism. It's unclear! It doesn’t characterize the heroine in any way, doesn’t express a sense of freedom in any way, and it also goes against her decent image.

2. Scene with Maham cutting the rope before the flood. Well, he had already started cutting, so why didn’t he finish it, I understand, they wanted to show his struggle to the end, a weak ray of hope for salvation, but why did he remain on the pole? It would have been much stronger if he had cut the rope and started running, and the stream of water overtook him somewhere in the city or at the exit from the city. I was left with the feeling that they were trying to portray it, nothing else came to mind, they started doing it and in the end they didn’t finish it and forgot about it.

3. It’s not the scene, but what shocked me was that the main character’s outfit changes five times during his stay in Mahenjo-Daro! How?! he is a simple peasant, clothes were expensive then, or rather, where did so much come from? And Chaani’s headdress changes only three times! and then one of them is wedding. In my opinion, it looks like a flaw or over-processing.

4. All scenes with a unicorn! Why computer graphics? For what? The horn in Sarman's turban looked much more realistic than this creature. It’s not that there wasn’t enough realism, there wasn’t enough beauty and aesthetics in this animal, because the unicorn is a sacred, inspiring symbol.

What I really liked: music and dancing!

The film is more like someone's thesis with a big budget. I can compare it to an unripe pear, which I bought quite expensively. On the one hand, there is scope and famous actors, and only because of this you try to find at least something worthy, but alas. Even a high price will not make a green pear ripe.

The city of Mohenjo-Daro is another of the treasures of ancient civilizations and evidence of their existence. The city is located in the Indus River Valley, namely in Pakistan, in the Sindh province. The city of Mohenjo-Daro is one of the oldest cities in the world and the very first city in South Asia. ( 11 photos)

The city was built 2 thousand years BC, lived and actively developed for about nine hundred years. The city is still shrouded in mystery, very little is known about it, and a number of questions remain open: who built it? when exactly? How did they manage to build such a city? and the main question is why the city was abandoned by its inhabitants? So far, Mohenjo-Daro is the main subject among archaeologists and historians. It is believed that Mohenjo-Daro was “the administrative center of the ancient inhabitants of the Indian civilization.

Only a few remains of the city have survived to this day, you yourself understand how much time has passed, but with the help latest technologies scientists were able to establish that about 50,000 people lived in the city. This is a very large city for that time. The city was made of clay bricks, isn’t it interesting, 2000 BC these are bricks, and not just some kind of cakes, but baked bricks. Subsequently, local residents stole them to build their houses and all other needs.

It is also surprising that the city already at that time had a clear architectural focus, all alleys and streets were clearly measured and had a right angle, the city did not have any dead ends or incomprehensible labyrinths, which we can see in other ancient cities. The streets in the city were clearly coordinated, and the length was 8 meters, that is, on such a road two carts could easily pass each other, so there was no crowding on the street.

TO unique qualities architecture can be attributed to the presence of centralized nationalization and complete water supply. They thought that the first and only water supply appeared in the great ancient Rome, as you can see, the ancient inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro also reached this stage of development. More specifically, the city had “public baths” equipped with a hot water supply, and most houses had a primitive (for our time) and not constant water supply, but still, this speaks of high intelligence civilization. All sewer water flowed into special drainage pits, usually located outside the city.

The height of the houses reached 7 meters in height, the architecture of the city had a fairly clear form of structures, the city was even divided into two tiers, of course, the main life took place below, but the houses had a second floor, and the roof of the first floors served as balconies. The city was also highly developed economically, Mohenjo-Daro was in excellent geographical location, next to it was the Indus River, in fact Mohenjo-Daro was shopping center, traders came here from all over Asia to exchange goods.

A large building with good ventilation passages was also discovered, perhaps it was a barn for storing grain. It can be assumed that religion in the city was also at a special level; an ancient mosque was found, to which a long street leads. Unfortunately, now most of the city is submerged under a multi-meter layer of silt; excavations are also hampered by groundwater that covers the city.

It is not clear why such an intelligent and well-developed civilization disappeared without a trace, all the people literally evaporated, archaeologists found the remains of only about 2,000 people out of 50,000. There are various theories on this matter, perhaps people simply left the city due to the constantly flooding river bed, this is an opinion arose after the discovery of a large wall, with which residents may have tried to protect themselves from floods.

The remains of the townspeople were found completely intact, that is, they did not die a violent death, and the remains of any weapons were not found in the city. Which automatically cancels the theory about the attack of the Aryan civilization. Lovers of the mystical world actively claim the movement of people to another time, and the abduction of people by aliens.

It is not known for certain why the city was abandoned, perhaps it was an earthquake of unprecedented strength, or a unique discharge of several ball lightnings, the force of the explosion can be equated to a nuclear one. The remains of the residents were radioactive, which allows scientists to claim an explosion atomic bomb, but what kind of bomb was it at that time, at least it’s not logical, it means some kind of explosion natural origin, electric discharge as an option.

Despite all the efforts of archaeologists and historians on how and why the city was abandoned, Mohenjo-Daro stubbornly keeps all its secrets. And we can only guess and comment on the article)

"At dawn Indian history An urban civilization existed in the Indus River valley for two thousand years. It is called Indus or Harappan (after the name of the first open city). Now the earth ancient civilization The subcontinent is located on the territory of two states - India and Pakistan."

In modern science, the question of the origin of the Harappan civilization is debated. Some scientists suggest that it was founded by people from Mesopotamia. Their opponents go so far as to claim the opposite: people from the Indus Valley founded Sumer. Others consider builders Mohenjo-Daro representatives of the first wave of Indo-European migrations to the subcontinent.

Research in the second half of the 20th century showed that Harappan civilization was the result of the development of local agricultural crops. Urban civilization in the Indus Valley began to develop around 3300 BC. After 2600 BC The Mature Harappan period begins. After 1900 BC its decline begins, which lasted several centuries and ended with the disappearance of cities in the Indus Valley.

The largest city of the Harappan civilization was Mohenjo-Daro. He inherited this name from the name of the area in the 19th century - “hill of the dead”. We do not know what the inhabitants themselves called the city.

History of discovery

The honor of discovering one of the largest cities of the Harappan civilization belongs to an Indian. This man's name was Rakhal Bannerjee. He was born in West Bengal, in the small town of Baharampur. Bannerjee graduated from Presidency College, Calcutta in 1907 with honors in history. Rakhal continued his education and received a degree in history from Calcutta University in 1911.

A year before graduating from university, the young scientist began working in the archaeological section of the Indian Museum. Kolkata. A year later he took part in the first archaeological excavations.

Until 1922, Mohenjo-Daro was known only for its poorly preserved Buddhist stupa. Bannerjee, while exploring the area, discovered a flint scraper there and suggested that the hill might have more ancient history. In 1922, an Indian began excavations.

Archaeologists They found there seals with inscriptions in an unknown language, copper tools and the remains of an ancient brick city. Bannerjee suggested that they had discovered an ancient settlement that predated the Mauryan era.

During the archaeological season of 1925-1926, excavations at Mohenjo-Daro continued under the leadership of John Marshall. Archaeologists found large residential areas with well-built houses, straight streets, thin gutters, and a brick swimming pool called the “Big Bath.” During the excavations, two famous figurines were discovered - a bust of the “priest king” and a figurine of a dancer.

The dancer figurine is a bronze figurine of a naked girl. There are 25 bracelets on her left hand and four on her right hand. The figurine is made of bronze, its creation dates back to the 26th century BC. A few years later, archaeologists found another figurine of a dancing girl in Mohenjo-Daro, which dates back to approximately the same time of creation.

After the finds in Mohenjo-Daro and other cities, Indologists began to try to decipher the inscriptions on the seals. Researchers tried to find commonalities in the signs from the Indus Valley and the inscriptions of the Sumerians, Minoans, Etruscans, Hittites, the Indian Brahmi syllabary and even the Rongorongo script of the inhabitants of Easter Island. Naturally, the attempts did not yield results. There was a discussion about the language of the inscriptions from Mohenjo-Daro. Marshall insisted that the language of the Harappan civilization belonged to the Dravidian family.

In 1944, the English archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler came to India. His mission was to train a new generation of Indian archaeologists in modern field techniques. When Wheeler first visited Mohenjo-Daro, he discovered the city's fortified citadel. In 1947, after the separation of Pakistan from India, Sir Mortimer served for three years as an adviser on archeology to that country.

In 1950, he again conducted excavations at Mohenjo-Daro. Wheeler completed the excavation of the Great Bath. Based on excavations, the English archaeologist formulated his concept of the Indus civilization, which for a long time was popular both in science and in the public consciousness. According to Sir Mortimer, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were the two capitals of a great state, headed by priest-kings.

Since the 1980s, Mohenjo-Daro has been excavated by teams from the United States, Germany and Italy in collaboration with Pakistani scientists. Their goal was to revise the ideas made on the basis of previous excavations.

The emergence of Mohenjo-Daro

Soon after 2600 BC, agricultural settlements in the Indus basin began to change radically. The specialization of artisans developed, writing appeared, and coastal cities began to trade with Asian countries. Cities were built in accordance with the plan: they had wide streets, houses made of baked bricks, defensive walls made of clay and brick.

High level groundwater at the location of Mohenjo-Daro does not allow archaeologists to excavate the most ancient layers of the settlement. Most of the excavated buildings date back to the Mature Harappan period.

Probably Mohenjo-Daro was largest city in that era. It occupied an advantageous position between the Indus and Eastern Nara rivers. To the north of the city was Harappa, the second largest city of the Indus civilization, to the south was Dholavira. From Mohenjo-Daro there were roads to the highlands of Southern Balochistan and the valley of the Saraswati River. The city was ideally suited to control the communications of the entire Indus Valley, and perhaps this is what it was founded for.

The citadel of the city housed the “Great Bath,” a reservoir surrounded by a complex of rooms. Now this complex is considered religious, the cult of which was associated with water.

The appearance of the city

The Indus city was the social, administrative and religious center of the surrounding lands. It is believed that the bulk of the townspeople had high level life. Central position, size and individual unique features lead some scholars to suggest that it was not just a city, but the capital of a state. But there is no other evidence for this.

Mohenjo-Daro consisted of a citadel in the west and a lower city in the east. They were separated by a deep depression. A huge platform of sand and silt was prepared for the citadel, reinforced by a retaining wall of mud brick. The area of ​​the citadel was 200 by 400 meters. Her separate structures, such as the Big Bath, had their own platforms. The citadel, according to archaeologists, was built from the very beginning as a single complex.

The location of the citadel away from the lower city suggests that it was built to be a separate part settlement. Most likely, access there was controlled by guards. At the south-eastern corner of the citadel there was an entrance to the temple of the upper city.

The northeastern part of the city's citadel is located under a Buddhist stupa and therefore has not yet been excavated. Excavations around it show that large buildings stood on the site of the stupa. Southern part occupied the citadel large complex, which included a pillared hall and possibly a temple. The buildings of this part of the citadel were intended both for everyday life and for social events.

The pillared hall was presumably used for public meetings. Researchers have found similarities between it and the assembly halls in Mauryan Pataliputra and the monastic halls in Buddhist monasteries. This hall was part of more large complex, possibly a palace similar to the residences of the rulers of the Middle East.

The most famous building of the citadel Mohenjo-Daro- “Big Bath”. It has been called the oldest public water reservoir in ancient world. Its area was 11 by 7 meters, and its depth was almost two and a half. To get into the pool there were two ladders, and at one end of the tank there was a hole for draining the water. The bottom and walls of the tank were strong thanks to clay, bricks and plaster. The walls were also strengthened by a thick layer of bitumen.

It is assumed that Big bathhouse used for religious ceremonies, during which the participants were washed. To the north of the Great Bath there was a block of eight rooms with water tanks arranged in two rows. Each room had a staircase leading to the upper floor. It is believed that in these rooms there were people serving the Great Bath.

Behind the block, separated from it by a street, was the so-called College of Priests(College of Priests). It was a building consisting of many small rooms, several courtyards and one large courtyard. The College had seven entrances, so it is assumed that it was associated with the government of the city.

The building next to the Great Bath of the citadel is identified as a granary. But no grains were found during excavations of the building, making its identification as a granary controversial.

The lower city was also built on an artificial embankment - the remains of its retaining wall were discovered. There were three main streets and several secondary streets in the city from north to south. The street lines deviated from the north-south orientation by no more than two degrees. From east to west there were also streets and alleys that divided Mohenjo-Daro for several blocks. The main street of the city was ten meters wide.

The houses in the lower city were two- and three-story. They contained several rooms. The houses had courtyards. The entrance to the dwelling was located in the alleys; only the walls of the houses looked onto the wide streets. Some buildings are identified as workshops. On the outskirts of the settlement there were areas in which craft activities were concentrated. Near the houses there were small brick platforms on which free time Residents of the city sat and talked with each other. Material for buildings Mohenjo-Daro there was a burnt brick. Wood was used for doors and window frames.

One of the buildings in the lower city was identified as a temple, the other as a caravanserai. There were about 700 wells in the city. This number was due to the distance Mohenjo-Daro from the Indus. In the next Harappa there were only about 30 wells. Sewage drains ran down the center of the streets. Trees grew along the streets, giving people shade and possibly having religious significance.

Below, beyond the artificial hills Mohenjo-Daro suburbs were located. The largest were to the south and east of the city. In addition to residential buildings, there was an extensive industrial zone.

Feature of most cities Indus civilization– inability to accurately identify public buildings. Here it is difficult to find majestic temples and palaces that are known from other civilizations Ancient East. Some of the houses in the lower city at Mohenjo-daro had internal platforms which must have given them an imposing appearance. Other houses had a network of courtyards.

One of the buildings of Mohenjo-Daro consisted of two rows of rooms. Each of them included two rooms separated by a partition. There was a bathtub in the floor of one of the rooms. Presumably, the building was a hotel for merchants or officials arriving in the city.

Mohenjo-Daro occupied an area of ​​more than 250 hectares, and its population is estimated from 40 to 100 thousand people. A six-meter artificial hill raised the city to a height that could not be reached by the waters of the flooded Indus.

Seals from Mohenjo-Daro

The issue of power in the cities of the Harappan civilization is debated. The sparse data opens up the possibility of the most contradictory interpretations. On the one hand, there is a developed system of handicraft production, urban planning, and uniformity in artifacts. On the other hand, there are no such signs of solid individual power as monumental palaces. Archaeological data does not provide evidence of the presence of strong armies and police forces in the Indus cities. Other eastern civilizations left palace archives. Perhaps the archival documents of the Indus cities were written on material that has not survived the millennium.

The main evidence of existence in Mohenjo-Daro political structure - the press. Square artifacts made of soapstone in large quantities discovered in Mohenjo-Daro and other cities. They are found on the territory of Sumer and Elam - lands with which the Indus cities traded.

The seals were worn around the neck. Most often they are found along roads or in workshops where owners have lost them. Seals were never found in the graves, probably because the seal was not a personal item, but an attribute of office. Leaving the post, the person parted with the seal.

An inscription and an image were placed on the seal. Not decrypted yet Harappan script, the inscriptions on the seals cannot be read. They may have provided the name and title of the owner to whom the goods belonged. The most popular design on the seal was the unicorn. About 50 seals from Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa contained the image of a bull. It is even rarer to find images of an elephant, antelope and others.

Some researchers see generic symbols in the drawings. According to others, these are symbols of cities. The unicorn is the sign of Mohenjo-daro, and the prevalence of such seals demonstrates the influence of this city. Another hypothesis is that the symbol on the seal reflects the status of its owner and the area of ​​​​his operations. Outside the Indus Valley, bull seals are found. It was probably a symbol of a person engaged in foreign trade.

Classes

Cotton clothing was produced in Mohenjo-Daro. Cotton was grown in the Indus Valley and Baluchistan. Residents of the city used indigo and madder root to dye it. Fabrics dyed red with madder were discovered during excavations at Mohenjo-Daro.

The inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro used lifting mechanisms to extract water from rivers and canals. The city preserves an image of such a device - a vertical pole with a bucket on one side and a counterweight on the other.

As noted above, more than 700 wells were dug in Mohenjo-Daro. Houses were rebuilt from decade to decade, and the level of the city rose. The wells were also completed so that they were at the same level in relation to the pavement. During excavations of the old streets of Mohenjo-Daro, brick wells cleared of centuries-old debris rose above the researchers like towers.

Some cities of the Indus Valley specialized in one craft, while larger ones were centers of many crafts. The second type was Mohenjo-Daro. The needs of settlers and fishermen stimulated the development of water transport. A clay tablet and seal found during excavations of the city show what a river boat might have looked like. It is a punt with a cabin on deck, reminiscent of modern Indian houseboats. She had a high stern and sides, and two steering oars. Presumably, the boats were made from bundles of reeds. For the cabin, four reed pillars were made, on which fabric was thrown. Such boats could easily navigate both shallow river waters and the sea. But their lifespan was limited to a few months.

Two birds sit on the stern of the boat depicted on the Mohenjo-Daro tablet. It is believed that they could have been released while swimming so that the birds would show the way to land.

Residents of Mohenjo-daro and others Indian cities Copper was widely used, which was used to make everyday tools. It was probably mined in the Aravalli mountain range of Hindustan. Spectral analysis showed that copper artifacts from Mohenjo-Daro contained nickel and arsenic. These elements are found in the copper of the Aravalli and Oman regions with which the ancient Indians traded. Most likely, local copper was the main, but not the only source for Mohenjo-Daro. Copper was delivered from mountain mines to the city Cat-Digi, and from there to Mohenjo-Daro.

Chicken bones were discovered in Mohenjo-Daro. Scientists admit that chickens could have been domesticated in this region. Modern domestic chickens are thought to be descended from birds domesticated in Thailand, but in the Indus Valley this may have been done independently Southeast Asia. Perhaps the city residents kept domestic ducks. But they definitely continued to hunt wild ones. Game chips from Mohenjo-Daro are decorated with images of ducks.

Indian gray mongooses were kept in Mohenjo-Daro. Perhaps the Indians used them to protect themselves from snakes. Wild elephants were hunted for meat and bones. Tamed elephants were used as working animals. The city made works of art from ivory. Domestic camels began to be used in these lands after the decline of Mohenjo-Daro.

The outskirts of the city were full of wood suitable for construction. At Mohenjo-Daro, Dalberia sissu wood was used for rafter beams. Tamarisk was used as fuel. Rosewood, obtained from Dalberia, was used to make furniture, tools, cart wheels, and coffins. For the construction of buildings in Mohenjo-Daro, pine trees and Himalayan cedars were brought from the heights.

The cities were self-sufficient when it came to providing residents with food. The largest of them depended on the rural district. But there was also trade in food products, as evidenced by the finds of date seeds in Mozhenjo-Daro.

Decline

The last period of Mohenjo-Daro's existence is characterized by the decline of urban life. Houses were poorly built, residents neglected hygiene - the sewage system fell into disrepair. The dead were dumped in abandoned houses or left on the streets rather than undergoing funeral rites. The big sauna stopped working. Some cult statues were deliberately destroyed. A similar picture was typical for other cities of the Indus Valley.

The reason for this decline of Mohenjo-Daro is seen in epidemics. A study of skeletons from the upper levels of the city shows that the inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro died from diseases, in particular malaria. Mohenjo-Daro and other cities, with their abundance of water in wells, reservoirs and drainage tanks, were ideal places for the spread of malaria and cholera. The last inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro huddled in a few dilapidated dwellings.