Harappan Civilization (Art, Culture & Heritage of India)
Harappan Civilization (Art, Culture & Heritage of India)
Why In News:
The Gujarat government has announced plans to build a life size experiential town recreating Harappan urban life, complete with markets and dockyards, aimed at popularising the state's rich Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) heritage among the public and tourists.
Source: The Indian Express, Page 1, 20 July 2026 - 'Coming soon in Gujarat: A life size Harappan town with markets, dockyards'
Major Harappan Sites in Gujarat
Lothal: Excavated by S.R. Rao, it is famous for its dockyard, indicating the site's role as a maritime trade hub.
Dholavira: Located in the Rann of Kutch, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021. It is known for its sophisticated water conservation and harvesting system, a unique signboard, and a distinctive three part urban layout.
Surkotada: Known for the earliest evidence of a domesticated horse in the subcontinent, a claim that remains debated among historians.
Harappan Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), also known as the Harappan Civilization flourished around 2500 BCE in the northwestern region of South Asia, covering parts of present-day Pakistan and western India.
The Indus Valley Civilization was the largest among the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China.
In the 1920s, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted excavations in the region, leading to the discovery of major cities like Mohenjodaro and Harappa.
In 1924, John Marshall, then Director-General of the ASI, officially announced the discovery of this ancient civilization to the world.
Town Planning and Structures
The Harappan Civilization is well known for its advanced town planning system.
Cities like Harappa and Mohenjodaro had a citadel (acropolis), likely inhabited by the ruling class, and a lower town where common people lived in brick houses.
The layout of cities followed a grid pattern, with streets intersecting at right angles.
Most houses had their own courtyard and bathroom, and some, like those in Kalibangan, even had private wells.
Sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat) were fortified, with internal divisions marked by walls, showing planned urban segregation.