Architecture in Harappan civilisation for UPSC
Architecture in Harappan civilisation for UPSC
Harappa and Mohenjodaro reval a remarkable of town planning. The town were laid out in a rectangular grid pattern. Roads ran in North - South and East -west, cut each other at right angles.
Three types of building found in the excavation sites
1. Dwelling houses
2. Public building
3. Public bath
City was divided into two parts
1. Upraised citadel - western part were used for construction of large dimension eg :- granaries, administrative building, pillared Hall, courtyard, residents of rulers and aristocrats.
2.Lower part - small one room found for working class people. Some of the house have been found stairs which indicate they might have double storied.. Mostly building have private wells and properly ventilated bathroom.
Important featured of the harappan sites, which indicate the importance of ritualistic cleansing in their culture. These bath also have Arrey of galleries and room surrounding it.
The Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro is called the "earliest public water tank of the ancient world". It measures 11.88 × 7.01 metres, and has a maximum depth of 2.43 metres. ... A hole was also found at one end of the Bath which might have been used to drain the water into it.The Great Bath is part of a large citadel complex that was found in the 1920s during excavations of Mohenjo-daro, one of the main centres of the Indus civilization. The bath is built of fine brickwork.
Advanced drainage system
Drains were covered allow regular cleaning and maintenance. Cesspits were placed at regular intervals.
. Sculptures of harappan civilisation.
Most sculptor at three dimensional volumes.
Commonly found seals, bronze figures and potteries
Seals - size square, triangular, rectangular, circular. Steatite the most common material used to make seals. Yet agate, chert, copper, faience, terracotta seals also found . Some instances of gold and ivory seals also been found.
Seals inscriptions in pictography script, yet to be deciphered, most written from right to left but Bi-directional writing style means right to left one line and left to right another lines.
Common animals motifs unicorn, humped bull, rhinoceros, tiger, elephant, Buffalo, bison, goat, markour, ibex, crocodile etc found. No evidence of cow.
The seals had an animal or human figure on one side and an inspiration on the opposite side or inscription on the opposite sides, inscription on both the sides, some seals have third side as well. Primarily used for commercial purpose, some seals with a hole found on dead bodies indicating use as amulet, mathematical images have also found on some seals used of education purpose. Seals with symbol similar to swastika design have also been found.
Excavation sites Mohenjodaro approx 2500 BC. Made of steatite, depicts a human figure or a deity seating cross logged, wear headgear and surronded by animal.
An elephant and a tiger on the left side of the figure
Rhinoceros and a Buffalo on the right side.
Two antelope below the seat of the figure.
3.4 cm height × 3.4 cm length × 1.4 cm width
Unicorn seals
The first seals found at harappa. Sir Cunningham 1872-73. The unicorn is the most common motif on Indus seals and appears to represent a mythical animal that Greek and Roman sources trace back to the Indian subcontinent.
A relatively long inscription of eight symbols runs along the top of the seal. The elongated body and slender arching neck is typical of unicorn figurines, as are the tail with bushy end and the bovine hooves. This figure has a triple incised line depicting a pipal leaf shaped blanket or halter, while most unicorn figures have only a double incised line. The arching horn is depicted as if spiraling or ribbed, and the jowl is incised with multiple folds.
A collar or additional folds encircle the throat. In front of the unicorn is a ritual offering stand with droplets of water or sacred liquid along the bottom of the bowl. The top portion of the stand depicts a square grid or sieve, that actually may have been a circular cylinder.
Bronze figure
Bronze statue were made using lost wax technique or cire predue. Eg:- bronze dancing girl of mohenjodaro, bronze bull of Kalibanga
Dancing girl
World oldest bronze sculpture
Found mohenjodaro
1926 -27 excavated by D. R. Shani
2300-1750 BCE
Made lost wax casting
Depicts a nacked girl wearing only ornament, which includes 25 bangles in left arm and amulet and bracelet on the right arm , stands in a tribhanga dancing posture and right hand on her hip
Bronze bull of Kalibanga
charging bull which is considered to signify the “realistic and powerful folk art of Harappan Age” has been found at Kalibangan.
The mother goddess
Found in many indus sites. Crude figure of a standing female adorned with necklace hanging over prominent breast, also wear fan shaped headgear, probably worship for prosperity, she might also have a goddess of fertility cults. 2.2 cm height, 8.5 cm width, 3.4 cm.
Bearded priest
Mohenjodaro
Made of steatite
Figure of a bearded mam, draped in a shawls with trefoul pattern. The eyes are elongated and half closed as in meditation, some scholar consider it the yogi
Pottery
Plain pottery
Painted pottery - also known red and black pottery
3 main purpose
Household, decorative purpose, some of the potteries were perforated with a large holes across the sides, they might have been used for straining liqour.
Ornaments
collection of gold and agate ornaments includes objects found at both Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. At the top are fillets of hammered gold that would have been worn around the forehead.
The other ornaments include bangles, chokers, long pendant necklaces, rings, earrings, conical hair ornaments, and broaches. Such ornaments were never buried with the dead, but were passed on from one generation to the next. These ornaments were hidden under the floors in the homes of wealthy merchants or goldsmiths.
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