I noticed that there is a group of archaeologists who are excavating archaeological sites in Sindh. I heard they are trying to excavate an ancient India city, Mohenjo-Daro. I never heard about this ancient civilization before, so I asked them if I can join them. They accepted my request, and John Watson, an archaeologist who also graduated from Cambridge, introduced this amazing city to me.
Mohenjo-Daro is established at 2600 BCE and vanished at 1500 BCE. It is located near the Indus River, this river brings enough water and fertile soil for agriculture. Actually, almost all of the ancient indian civilizations locate near Indus River. Just like ancient mesopotamia and Egypt. Because Indus River brings water and fertile soil for agriculture, and the weather is also very nice.
They thrived on this land for 1000 years and they left some really outstanding and amazing accomplishments. I am really impressed by their intellectual level because they have abundant knowledge in engineering, geology, medicine, math, and physics. Let me just make and example out of the drainage system they have. This is probably the earliest and most well developed drainage system at that time. The drains are made of standardized bricks and clay. They run through the city and carry the dirty water from houses and citadel to a central well. Indians capacity of making this system means they have knowledge in engineering and geology. Also, they have a sense that hygiene is important.
The amazing part is not just about the drainage, the Big Well that all the drains connect to is also very well designed. We found a downward spiral staircase inside the well. The staircase might be used to clean the water and surface by professional cleaners. Even today, same style water wells are in daily use in rural areas of Sindh.
Their streets are made of mud bricks that have the same size. And also, the width of these streets are also the same. Main streets run from North to south, secondary streets, which is half of the width of main streets, run from East to West. Their streets are definitely well planned, because they connect the whole city together.
The standardized mud bricks and the delicate traffic system suggest that Mohenjo-Daro was ruled by a strong administrative authority which can set up a standardized measurement and plan how to build this city.
Tomorrow, John is going to show me the houses that they just excavated. I am really excited now!
I like the creative story you have added into your blog, the broken down train was a great idea!
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