Moenjo-Daro – The Dead City
Posted On December 2, 2009
Moenjo-daro is also stated as the Mound of the Dead. Moenjo-daro was one of the biggest city-settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization situated in the south Asia located in the province of Sindh and it is a part of today’s’ Pakistan. Moenjo-daro has been constructed around 2600 BC. The city was the part of the few early urban settlements around the entire world. Moenjo-daro existed at the same time when there were the civilizations existing in the ancient Egypt sites of Mesopotamia as well as the Crete. The archaeological remnants of the city are chosen to be a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s list. It is also stated as “An Ancient Indus Valley Metropolis”
Moenjo-daro was constructed nearly around the 2600 BC and was deserted around around the 1900 BC. It was again discovered in the year 1922 by Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay. He was an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India. Buddhist monk, lead him towards the mould. The monk believed that a stupa was been erected there. In the year 1930, huge excavations were carried out under the supervision of K. N. Dikshit, John Marshall, Ernest Mackay and many others. The car which was used by John Marshall and the other site directors is still showcased in the Mohenjo-daro museum. It shows their dedication and the struggle towards Mohenjo-daro. Later the excavations were carried out by Mortimer Wheeler and Ahmad Hasan Dani in the year 1945.
The last most important excavation of Mohenjo-daro was by Dr. G. F. Dales during 1964-65. This was the last and the final excavations later they were banned as numerous damages were taking place due to the exposed structures by weathering. Since the year 1965, the only project which was allowed at this particular location has been the restoration of the excavation, conservation projects as well as the surface surveys. In spite of the prohibition on the chief archaeological projects in the year 1980, teams of Italian and German survey groups which were led by Dr. Maurizio Tosi and Dr. Michael Jansen shared techniques such as surface surveys, architectural documentation also the surface scraping as well as probing, to resolve additional clues regarding the very old civilization.
Moenjo-Daro when constructed was a really well designed out urban; its unique point was to hand out up as a most important trading mark and for agricultural. The Mohenjo-daro remains were among the few most important centers of this age-old society. At its climax, a few archaeologists preached that the Indus Civilization mite had a population of nearly five million peoples.
Mohenjo-daro is situated on a Pleistocene ridge in the center of the flood plain of the Indus River in the Sindh province. The ridge which was famous during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization is now covered by the overflow of the plains. The ridge played an important role as it allowed the site to set out on top of the nearby plain and be high. The site is located in a middle position between the Ghaggar-Hakra on the east and the Indus river valley on the west. Even today, the Indus River still runs down to the east of the city, but the riverbed of Ghaggar-Hakra is dry.
Mohenjo-daro was supposed to be the administrative centers for the entire Indus Valley civilization during the olden times. It is supposed to be the most advanced as well as developed city in South Asia as well as mite be in the entire world during the ancient times. The engineering and planning of the construction and establishment of the city demonstrates the significance of the city to the people living in the Indus valley.
Till today thousands of settlements as well as numerous cities have been established that too mostly in the Indus River valley which is located in Pakistan as well as the northwestern part of India.
The various other cities that were found after the extensive excavation in the Indus valley were Such urban centers include Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Ganeriwala located in modern day Pakistan and also lothal, Dholavira, Rakhinagar, Kalibanagan and Rupar which are located in the modern day India. Almost around 1,052 settlements and cities have been found region of the Indus Rivers as well as its tributaries.
If you are planning to visit Mohenjo-daro take an international flight and get down to Karachi, from there it will take an hour long flight to reach Mohenjo-daro from Karachi. Local guides are easily available near the airports and can you around the city. A long rail route is available to reach the city. The winter month which starts from October and lasts up to March is the best time to visit the city and go for long walks. Near the museum at Mohenjo-daro you will surely find small cottage as for your accommodation. Good quality food is available across the city.
