Mohenjo Daro and Ancient cities of the Indus valley and India

Vinita Dhume, Savills

Chaired by Meenakshi Bhagat, IUDI 

20th May, 12.00-13.00 BST    4:30-5.30 IST. 

How studying ancient cities can help us to understand the cities of today

India and Pakistan provide the location of some the world's first cities.  By studying them we can gain insight into the social, political, economic and environmental factors that influence the design, success, and fate of cities not just then, but today. 

The Indus Civilization's cities were large and well-planned, showcasing advanced Bronze Age technology and impressive architecture .  Mohenjo-daro, meaning "Mound of the Dead," was one of the largest and most advanced cities, flourishing around 2500-1900 BCE in present-day Sindh, Pakistan.

It has a grid-like layout with wide, straight streets, buildings made with bricks of a standard size, and an intricate drainage and sanitation system that included individual household toilets and public baths including the "Great Bath", "earliest public water tank of the ancient world".  The city had multi-story houses, some of which had bathrooms, and "wind-catchers" to provide cooling. The city lacked grand palaces or tombs or obvious signs of a ruling elite, suggesting that society was relatively egalitarian.

Despite its impressive infrastructure and long period of prosperity, Mohenjo-daro's decline and eventual abandonment remain a subject of debate, with theories ranging from environmental changes to invasions.  Its well-preserved ruins offer invaluable insights into the advanced civilization that once thrived in the Indus Valley.

Mohenjo-daro was abandoned around 1900 BCE - around 4000 years ago. The reasons for its decline are still debated by scholars.  Reasons suggested include:

• environmental changes (shift in the course of the river Indus, rainfall decline).
• social and political factors (invasions, internal strife).

There is no conclusive evidence to support any single theory.  The true cause of Mohenjo-daro's abandonment remains a major unsolved mystery of ancient history.