Harappa is one of the two sites of the Indus Valley civilization in Pakistan. Located in the Punjab Province, it is about 35 kilometers southwest of Sahiwal and 250 kilometers from Lahore. As per archeologists, the Harappan culture/Indus Valley Civilization was established in 2600 B.C. This civilization, with a writing system, urban centers, and diversified social and economic system, was rediscovered in the 1920s and is bigger than Moenjo Daro. Unfortunately, it was ravaged during the British Raj in 1857, when British engineers used bricks from Harappa ruins as track ballasts for the construction of Lahore-Multan Railroad, and consequently many of its treasures were lost.
Ever since its discovery some 90 years ago, Harappa has been attracting archeologists as well as students from all over the world. Excavations here have revealed the richness and the sophistication of the Harappan culture. Today, historians are unanimous in affirming that Harappan civilization was excellent in urbanism and town planning. The city is believed to have had as many as 23,500 residents.
A visit of Harappa reveals that the houses here were built in burned brick with proper drainage system. Every house had a well as an integral part of it. Roads were wide and very well connected to the streets. Excavations have unearthed a number of artefacts that provide a glimpse of the way of life and various customs and traditions prevalent in Harappa. The cemeteries discovered on the site confirm that the Indus valley people buried their dead, many of them wearing finger rings, necklaces of steatite beads, anklets of paste beads, earrings and shell bangles.
A tour to Harappa takes you back to one of the oldest civilizations in the world and gives you a glimpse of the area’s glorious past. It helps us understand how modern and progressive the Indus Valley civilization was. The museum houses some rare artefacts from the Indus Valley civilization, which include terracotta toys, animal figurines and bronze utensils. The most exquisite and obscure treasure unearthed to date are the small, square steatite (soapstone) seals engraved with human or animal motifs. Many bear pictographic inscriptions generally thought to be a form of writing or script. It is unknown if they reflect proto-Dravidian or other non-Vedic languages.
Indus Valley civilization also enjoyed trade with Mesopotamia. Both Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are generally characterized as having "differentiated living quarters”, flat-roofed brick houses, and fortified administrative or religious centers. Although such similarities have given rise to arguments for the existence of a standardized system of urban layout and planning, the similarities are largely due to the presence of a semi-orthogonal type of civic layout, and a comparison of the layouts of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa shows that they are in fact, arranged in a quite dissimilar fashion. Copper and bronze were in use as well as cotton wheat and rice; while a variety of vegetables and fruits were cultivated. Animals were also domesticated. Pottery with animal and geometric motifs has been found in profusion at all the major Indus sites. Archeologists are still unable to establish a link between the findings of Harappa and those of Kot Diji because of their stunning resemblance.
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