Mohenjo‑daro and the Great Bath
A ten‑minute look at the urban planning, waterworks, seals and script of the Indus city of Mohenjo‑daro and its sister city Harappa.
Chapters
- 0:07 City Planning
- 0:25 Water Management and the Great Bath
- 0:59 Seals, Script and Trade
- 1:23 Historical Context
On-screen text
- 0:16 Public granary with ventilated brick rooms at Harappa Historical record · R. D. Banerji, Harappa Excavations (1930)
- 0:25 Water Management and the Great Bath
- 0:41 Twin staircases lead into the Great Bath Historical record · J. M. Kenoyer, Harappa and the Indus Civilization (1998)
- 0:59 Seals, Script and Trade
- 1:06 Seals, Script and Trade
- 1:23 Historical Context
- 1:38 No contemporary written records survive; knowledge derives from archaeology. The Institute's interpretation · George Possehl, The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective (2002)
- 1:58 Megasthenes described an Indian city with organized streets. Tradition / scripture · Megasthenes, Indica (2nd c BCE)
Sources
Historical record: John Marshall, Mohenjo‑daro and the Indus Civilization (1931) · R. D. Banerji, Excavation Report of Mohenjo‑daro (1931) · John Marshall, The Harappa Excavations (1931) · John Marshall, Harappa and the Indus Civilization (1931) · R. D. Banerji, Harappa Excavations (1930) · Mortimer Wheeler, Excavations at Mohenjo‑dari (1948) · Mortimer Wheeler, The Great Bath of Mohenjo‑dari (1948) · J. M. Kenoyer, Harappa and the Indus Civilization (1998) · J. M. Kenoyer, Water Management at Mohenjo‑dari (1998) · British Museum, Seal BM 124789 (catalogue) and Asko Parpola, The Indus Script (1994) · J. M. Michell, Weights and Measures of the Indus Civilization (1976)
Tradition / scripture: Megasthenes, Indica (2nd c BCE)
The Institute's interpretation: Mortimer Wheeler, The Function of the Great Bath (1948) · Asko Parpola, The Decipherment of the Indus Script (1994) · J. M. Kenoyer, Sealings from Harappa (1998) · George Possehl, The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective (2002)
Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 97 s of CPU.
Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (43) — the next things to make
- Aerial view of Mohenjo‑daro ruins showing intersecting streets, 2600 BCE
- City Planning: Understand the grid layout, brick technology, and Harappa’s parallel urbanism
- Aerial view of Mohenjo‑daro ruins showing intersecting streets, 2600 BCE
- Aerial view of Mohenjo‑daro ruins showing intersecting streets, 2600 BCE
- Excavation plan drawing with rectangular blocks, workers measuring
- Excavation plan drawing with rectangular blocks, workers measuring
- Masons shaping and firing uniform bricks near a construction site
- Excavated streets of Harappa forming rectangular blocks
- Excavated streets of Harappa forming rectangular blocks
- Workers loading grain into a tall brick granary, shafts visible
- Air flowing through narrow brick shafts above a granary interior
- Air flowing through narrow brick shafts above a granary interior
- Water Management and the Great Bath: See how drainage and the Great Bath reflect sophisticated engineering
- Workers clearing a brick‑lined underground drain, water flowing
- Workers clearing a brick‑lined underground drain, water flowing
- Reconstruction of the Great Bath interior, water reflecting light
- Reconstruction of the Great Bath interior, water reflecting light
- Laborers hauling water from a well into the bath, water exiting a drain
- Laborers hauling water from a well into the bath, water exiting a drain
- Workers digging a soak pit beside a street, water seeping in
- A group gathered around the pool, possibly performing a ceremony
- A group gathered around the pool, possibly performing a ceremony
- Archaeologists sorting small stone seals on a cloth table
- Archaeologists sorting small stone seals on a cloth table
- Close‑up of a seal impression showing the unicorn and side animals
- Close‑up of a seal impression showing the unicorn and side animals
- Scholars comparing seal impressions on a wooden board
- Scholars comparing seal impressions on a wooden board
- Workers imprinting seals onto wet clay tablets in a warehouse
- Workers imprinting seals onto wet clay tablets in a warehouse