History of Architecture - III: Indus Civilization

History of Architecture - III
ARCH-2105/CREDIT-3
PART –A
Indian sub-continental Architecture
01. Introduction to gupta Period
02. Evolution of Temples
03. Dravidian Style
04. Northern Indo-Aryan Style
PART –B
Indus Civilization
01.
02. Vedic Civilization
03. Early Mauryan Dynasty
04. Buddhist Period
05. Rock-cut Architecture
06. Hynayana Phase
07. Mahayana Phase
PART –B
.Indus Civilization
01
02. Vedic Civilization
03. Early Mauryan Dynasty
04. Buddhist Period
05. Rock-cut Architecture
06. Hynayana Phase
07. Mahayana Phase
PART –B
01. Indus Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of

Pakistan and parts of southwestern India and
Afghanistan. extending from Pakistani Baluchistan in the
west to Uttar Pradesh in the east, northeastern
Afghanistan to the north and Maharashtra to the south of
India. The geography of the Indus Valley put the
civilizations that arose there in a highly similar situation
to those in Egypt and Peru with rich agricultural lands
being surrounded by highlands, desert and ocean.
Harappans architecture is about the ancient people who

lived in the Indus valley from about 3300 BC TO 1300
BC. The Harappans were advanced for their time,
especially in architecture. Mohenjo-Daro has a planned
layout based on a street grid of rectilinear buildings. Most
were built of fired and mortared brick, some incorporated
sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures. The
covered area of Mohenjo-Daro is estimated at 300
hectares. The city, and its provision of public buildings
and facilities, suggests a high level of social organization.
PART –B
significant findings of society as civilization

01.The advanced architecture of the Harappa’s is shown by
their impressive dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick
platforms, and protective walls. The massive walls of Indus
cities most likely protected the Harappans from floods and
may have dissuaded military conflicts.
02. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban
culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization making
them the first urban centers in the region. The quality of
municipal town planning suggests the knowledge of urban
planning and efficient municipal governments which placed a
high priority on hygiene or, alternatively, accessibility to the
means of religious ritual.
03. Most city dwellers appear to have been traders or
artisans, who lived with others pursuing the same occupation
in well-defined neighborhoods.
04. The prehistory of Indo-Iranian borderlands shows a steady
increase over time in the number and density of settlements.
PART –B

05. This urban plan included the world's first known
urban sanitation systems ,Within the city, individual
homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells.
From a room that appears to have been set aside for
bathing, waste water was directed to covered drains,
which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to
inner courtyard and smaller lanes. The house-building in
some villages in the region still resembles in some
respects the house-building of the Harappa’s. The ancient
Indus systems of sewerage and drainage that were
developed and used in cities throughout the Indus region
were far more advanced than any found in contemporary
urban sites in the Middle East and even more efficient
than those in many areas of Pakistan and India today.
06. All the houses had access to water and drainage
facilities. This gives the impression of a society with
relatively low wealth concentration, though clear social
leveling is seen in personal adornments.
PART –B
07. The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp

contrast to this civilization’s contemporaries,
Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt , no large monumental
structures were built.
08. There is no conclusive evidence of palaces or
temples—or of kings, armies, or priests.
09. Some structures are thought to have been granaries.
Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath (the
GREAT BATH) which may have been a public bath.
Although the citadels were walled, it is far from clear that
these structures were defensive. They may have been built
to divert flood waters.
10. Various sculptures, seals, pottery , gold jewelry and
anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta , bronze, and
steatite have been found at excavation sites.
PART –B
11. The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great

accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time. They
were among the first to develop a system of uniform
weights and measures. A comparison of available objects
indicates large scale variation across the Indus territories.
Harappa engineers followed the decimal division of
measurement for all practical purposes, including the
measurement of mass as revealed by their hexahedron
weights.
12. A number of gold, terracotta and stone figurines of
girls in dancing poses reveal the presence of some dance
form. These terracotta figurines included cows, bears,
monkeys, and dogs. The animal depicted on a majority of
seals at sites of the mature period has not been clearly
identified. Part bull, part zebra, with a majestic horn, it
has been a source of speculation. As yet, there is
insufficient evidence to substantiate claims that the image
had religious or cultic significance, but the prevalence of
the image raises the question of whether or not the
animals in images of the religious symbols.
PART –B
Settlement Division
Western part
Religious , institutional , cultural
(monastery/great bath)
North
Agricultural, industries
South
Administration, trade, commerce and
fortifications.
The city is divided into two parts, the so-

called Citadel and the Lower City. The
Citadel – a mud-brick mound around 12
meters (39 ft.) high – is known to have
supported public baths, a large residential
structure designed to house about 5,000
citizens, and two large assembly halls. The
city had a central marketplace, with a large
central well.
PART –B
Religion
01. The religion and belief system of the Indus valley
people have received considerable attention, especially
from the view of identifying precursors to deities and
religious practices of Indian religions that later developed
in the area.
02. Due to the scarcity of evidence, which is open to
varying interpretations, and the fact that the Indus script
remains un-deciphered, the conclusions are partly
speculative and largely based on a retrospective view
from a much later Hindu perspective.
03. One Indus valley seal shows a seated, figure with a
horned headdress, surrounded by animals, identified the
figure as an early form of the Hindu god Shiva (or
Rudra), who is associated with asceticism, yoga, and
linga; regarded as a lord of animals; and often depicted as
having three eyes. The seal has hence come to be known
as the Pashupati Seal, after Pashupati (lord of all
animals), an epithet of Shiva.
PART –B
Urban Elementary Features -

Streets
01. The main street running north south
along the east edge of the Great Bath ends
with this unique brick platform. The
hollow sockets would have held wooden
beams that may have formed a gate or
traffic control device. A small alley leads
directly east under the stupa mound.
02. At Mohenjo-Daro narrow streets and
alleyways branch off of the major streets,
leading into more private neighborhoods.
Many of the brick houses were two stories
high, with thick walls and high ceilings to
keep the rooms cool in the hot summer
months.
PART –B

Limestone Drain Covers
01. Some of the large drains was partly

covered along its length with large flat
blocks made out of limestone from the
Rohri hills, which are located to the north
and on the other side of the Indus River.
02. Covered Drain having down slope on
Major Street leading to the Great Bath.
PART –B

Well and Platform
Large Well
Wells were made with wedge shaped
bricks to make a strong circular structure.
Some bricks were made with special
grooves to keep the ropes from sliding
sideways when drawing water.
Small well and platform
Small well and platform in some area,
with HR Area in the background and VS
dyer's shop across the street to the right.
PART –B

Well and Platform
Oval Well
This oval well is located in room 19
northeast of Great Bath. It is the only well
with an oval structure and may have been
used to draw water for nearby bathing
platforms or for filling the Great Bath.
Public well
Although most wells were located inside
private buildings, the city planners of
Mohenjo-Daro provided some public wells
that could be accessed directly from the
main street. These well and nearby walls
have been covered with mud brick to
protect them from salt crystallization.
PART –B

Well and Platform
Well and platform

This well was associated with a finely
constructed bathing platform. A stairway
leads up to the well and platform from a
lower room. The walls and well have been
covered with mud brick and sprayed with
clay slurry to protect them from salt
crystallization.
Private Well
Each block of buildings at Mohenjo-Daro
was supplied with one or more wells such
as this one in DK-G Area. When
archaeologists excavated the fill around
the well they were left standing to show
the final levels of use.
PART –B
Close-up view of ground Urban Elementary Features -

floor drain outlet from the Well and Platform
street side, showing a brick
Bathing platform
on edge with a notch was
placed across the drain hole This bathing platform is located next to
to keep objects from flowing the street, and is made with bricks laid flat.
out with the bath water. A small drain running along one side of
the bathing floor channels dirty water out
to the street. A brick on edge with a notch
was placed across the drain hole to keep
objects from flowing out with the bath
water. It is possible that such bathing
floors were also used to wash clothes that
may have washed out with the rinse water.
Drain outlets
The ground floor drain of the bathing
platform empties out into the street next to
tapered chute from a roof drain or a
second story bathing area.
PART –B

Well and Platform
Bathing platform
A bathing platform in SD area with brick
floor made with flat paved bricks. Many
bathing platforms were made with
watertight floors constructed with bricks
laid on their edge.
Almost every house unit at Mohenjo-Daro
was equipped with a private bathing area
with drains to take the dirty water out into
a larger drain that emptied into a sewage
drain. Many of these bathing areas had
water tight floors to keep moisture from
seeping into the other rooms nearby or
below.
PART –B
Urban Elementary Features –

Drains
A small drain leads from the well and finely

fitted brick floor of the dyer's workshop to a
covered drain at the edge of the street.
Excavated by the Harappa Archaeological
Research Project in 1993, this large
corbelled drain was built in the middle of an
abandoned gateway at Harappa to dispose of
rainwater and sewage.
PART –B

"Great Bath" , Mohenjo-Daro
01. The "great bath" is without doubt the earliest public water tank in the ancient world. The tank itself measures approximately 12
meters north-south and 7 meters wide, with a maximum depth of 2.4 meters.
02. Two wide staircases lead down into the tank from the north and south and small sockets at the edges of the stairs are thought to
have held wooden planks or treads.
03. At the foot of the stairs is a small ledge with a brick edging that extends the entire width of the pool. People coming down the
stairs could move along this ledge without actually stepping into the pool itself.
04. 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.
05. Brick colonnades were discovered on the eastern, northern and southern edges. The preserved columns have stepped edges that
may have held wooden screens or window frames.
PART –B

"Great Bath" , Mohenjo-Daro
06. Two large doors lead into the complex from the south
and other access was from the north and east.
07. A series of rooms are located along the eastern edge of
the building and in one room is a well that may have
supplied some of the water needed to fill the tank.
08. Rainwater also may have been collected for these
purposes, but no inlet drains have been found.
09. Most scholars agree that this tank would have been
used for special religious functions where water was used
to purify and renew the well being of the bathers.
PART –B

“ Granary ” , Harappa.
01. The so-called "granary" of Harappa is found on

Mound F. It is a brick structure that was built on a
massive brick foundation over 45 meters north south and
45 meters east-west.
02. 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.
PART –B

03. A wooden superstructure supported in some places

by large columns would have been built on top of the
brick foundations, with stairs leading up from the
central passage area.
04. Small triangular opening may have served as air
ducts to allow the flow of fresh air beneath the hollow
floors.
05. The interpretation of these structures as granaries is
based on comparisons with Roman buildings and has
no parallels with any building tradition in South Asia.
PART –B

To the south of the "granary" or "great hall" at Harappa is an area
with numerous circular working platforms that were built inside
small rooms or courtyards. These circular working platforms may
have been used for husking grain. One of these circular platforms
had what may have been a large wooden mortar placed in the center.
Most scholars agree that there is little evidence for the construction
of massive granaries at either Mohenjo-Daro or Harappa and that
these structures should only be seen as evidence for large public
buildings. Rulers and state officials probably did meet in such large
public buildings and many of them may have been used for specific
religious functions, but their specific function will always remain a
mystery.
PART –B

City Walls
01. Each city in the Indus Valley was surrounded by massive
walls and gateways. The walls were built to control trade and
also to stop the city from being flooded.
02. Each part of the city was made up of walled sections. Each
section included different buildings such as: Public buildings,
houses, markets, craft workshops, etc.
03. Mohenjo-Daro had no series of city walls, but was fortified
with guard towers to the west of the main settlement, and
defensive fortifications to the south.
04. Considering these fortifications and the structure of other
major Indus valley cities like Harappa, it is postulated that
Mohenjo-Daro had an administrative center.
PART –B

City Walls
05. Both Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro share relatively the same
architectural layout, and were generally not heavily fortified like
other Indus Valley sites.
06. It is obvious from the identical city layouts of all Indus sites
that there was some kind of political or administrative centrality,
but the extent and functioning of an administrative center
remains unclear. Mohenjo-Daro was successively destroyed and
rebuilt at least seven times.
07. Each time, the new cities were built directly on top of the
old ones. Flooding by the Indus is thought to have been the
cause of destruction.
PART –B

Houses
1. The open to sky courtyard around which the hos
was built solve very effectively the problem of urban
housing in a hot and dry climate.
2. The central court could ventilate and light all
room surrounding it, making opening towards the
street unnecessary. And thereby affording the
requisite privacy.
03. The central court Provide a space for open air
living, within the house in which the harshness of the
tropical sun was duly controlled.
04. Most houses had inner courtyards, with doors that
opened onto side-lanes. Some buildings had two stories.
PART –B

Houses
01. Houses and other buildings were made of sun-
dried or kiln-fired mud brick. These bricks were so
strong, they have stood up to thousands of years of
wear.
02. Each house had an indoor and outdoor kitchen.
The outdoor kitchen would be used when it was
warmer (so that the oven wouldn't heat up the house),
and the indoor kitchen for use when it was colder. In
present day, village houses in this region still have
two kitchens. Indoor kitchens are used mostly as
store houses and are only used for cooking when it
rains. Otherwise, residents prefer to use the outdoor
kitchens because the dry shrub and cow dung used as
cooking fuel are very smoky, making indoor cooking
difficult. There was a well in all houses.
PART –B

City Layout
01. Both Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were nearly a square mile
in plan set within crenellated defensive wall.
02. The layout of either town was a grid – iron pattern of streets
about 30 ft. (9 m) wide, running in the north-south and east-west
direction.
03. The streets divided the city into 12 blocks , each measuring
approximately 1200 X 800 ft. (365 m X 244 m).
04.Appart from central western block ,the remaining on was
largely residential.
05. The basic unit of the later was house of different size and
stories, constructed with brick walls, roofed by brick tiles laid
over timber rafter.
PART –B

City Layout
06. It was planned as a series of rooms around an open to sky

central courtyard.
07. From the main streets the resident approached the individual
houses through irregular , narrow and shaded walkways.
08. The residential unit had no entrances opening direct to the
main street, even no windows towards the subsidiary walkways.
09. It depends for its light and ventilation entirely on the open
central court ,very much like most traditional housing in India
even today.
PART –B

Cubical Weights
Cubical weights in graduated sizes. These weights conform
to the standard Harappans binary weight system that was
used in all of the settlements. The smallest weight in this
series is 0.856 grams and the most common weight is
approximately 13.7 grams, which is in the 16th ratio. In the
large weights the system become a decimal increase where
the largest weight is 100 times the weight of the 16th ratio
in the binary system. These weights were found in recent
excavations at Harappa and may have been used for
controlling trade and possibly for collecting taxes. So, the
people of the Indus Civilization achieved great accuracy in
measuring length, mass, and time. They were among the
first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures.
A comparison of available objects indicates large scale
variation across the Indus territories. Harappa engineers
followed the decimal division of measurement for all
practical purposes, including the measurement of mass as
revealed by their hexahedron weights.

History of Architecture - III: Indus Civilization

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History of Architecture - III

The Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of

Harappans architecture is about the ancient people who

significant findings of society as civilization

significant findings of society as civilization

significant findings of society as civilization

07. The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp

significant findings of society as civilization

11. The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great

The city is divided into two parts, the so-

Urban Elementary Features -

Urban Elementary Features -

01. Some of the large drains was partly

Urban Elementary Features -

Urban Elementary Features -

Urban Elementary Features -

Well and platform

Close-up view of ground Urban Elementary Features -

Urban Elementary Features -

Urban Elementary Features –

A small drain leads from the well and finely

Urban Elementary Features –

Urban Elementary Features –

Urban Elementary Features –

01. The so-called "granary" of Harappa is found on

Urban Elementary Features –

03. A wooden superstructure supported in some places

Urban Elementary Features –

Urban Elementary Features –

Urban Elementary Features –

Urban Elementary Features –

Urban Elementary Features –

Urban Elementary Features –

Urban Elementary Features –

06. It was planned as a series of rooms around an open to sky

Urban Elementary Features –

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