Architectural Comparison of Citadel and Lower towns of Mohenjo-Daro
Introduction: Mohenjo-Daro, located on the right bank of the Indus River about 400Km upstream from the ocean, it is the best-known of large Indus cities. Mohenjo-Daro was laid out in two separated by empty space.(Lost,86 )
The Citadel rose some 5m above the surrounding plain by virtue of its giant brick platform that covered about 8 hectares. The lower, where, people lived and worked, extended over 80 hectares or more and held perhaps 20,000 people. The individual residential units, set around courtyards, contained anywhere from one to dozens of rooms, with staircases leading to the roof or upper storeys.
Covered drains, connected to the toilets of private houses, ran under the streets in a surprisingly sophisticated sewerage system.(Lost,86 )
Thesis statement: There is a clear demarcation of the citadel and the lower area in Indus valley town planning.
Hypothesis: The two towns of the same city has a line of separation between the citadel and lower town, there may be a caste system or there may be the existence of other communities. The great bath, stupa, granneries only in citadel it may point that elites lived in the citadel.
Objectives:
⦁ To study comparative Architecture of Citadel and Lower town
⦁ To study specific buildings in Citadel and lower town
⦁ To know fortification of Citadel and lower as well.
⦁ To the known purpose of high wells in lower town.
Research Questions:
Why such high wells are not present in Citadel but in lower town?
How the buildings of both areas are structurally differen from each?
Whether there's any other specification of buildings of lower and higher town?
The significance of Study: Although many kinds of research have been conducted by many scholars but the wells of lower town have not been categorized and why citadel did not contain high wells that are in lower town.
Scope of Study: The present researcher will redocumente both towns and will analyse the Architecture of Citadel and lower town and it will answer the above research questions and will give wells a specified category although the number of total wells is documented by Michael Jansen.
Literature review: The division of the two cities of the same Urban city has a specific meaning from people that resided 5000 years ago in the first Urban city of Mohenjo-Daro.
The Citadel has 5m hight from the surrounding plain by virtue of its giant brick platform.
Citadel covered 8 hectares while the lower town is extended in 80 hectares(Lost 1997).
In this book, Paul G. Bhan has given an assumption of the population as well as the height of the citadel from surroundings. He also has given a point of two towns separation from each other.
The lower town hosted many different workshops where goods of daily life were made. Potters, who decorated many of their products with painted representation of plants, fish and animals, were concentrateed in the northern end of town with more isolated kilns scatered throughout the city.(lost 1997) In this book Paul G. Bhan has given a specific location of kilns and workshops that were under use by indus people and located in the lower town.
Markenoyer in his book ( Ancient cities of Indus valley civilization ) has given description about private wells, public wells, main streets for travellers
Markneyor in his book 'Ancient cities of Indus valley civilization' writes that Late Walter Fairservis proposed that as many as 41,250 people lived in the lower town at Mohenjo-daro, which he calculated as being 76.6 hectares of the total size. The population probably fluctuated considerably when people from the surrounding countryside and distant villages came to the city for special festivals or during trading seasons.
In the book of Ancient INDUS civilization Dk site has been given preferences for the lower town, in this book the author has mentioned that comparing to other sectors the Dk-sector has more liberal planning with more open spaces, spacious baked brick refus dumps, commonly known as dustbins, and a number of public buildings. The author has also specified that the Dk-sector is not meant exclusively for the more affluent members of the society.(pg.104)
In this book the author also mentions that the Citadel or acropolis is almost five meters above the platform and provided with gateways and bastions on all sides. whereas the author has given geometric shape(parallelogram) of the Citadel but Marknoyer in his book ( ancient cities of indus valley civilization) has not given the shape of the citadel.
The Author Rafi.U samad in his book ( Ancient INDUS civilization) has specific bullets for the architecture of buildings of lower town as well as citadal in his book. The author has mentioned various categories of buildings followed by different architectural designs and simillar designs too.He writes that most houses had private bathing areas, latrines, and wells.
The rooms were constructed around a courtyard with stairs leading to the upper stories.
the statement about the houses he has given in his book is quite praisable'The houses were constructed in various sizes, depending on the wealth and status of the owner. They were one, two and sometimes three stories high.'
Methodology: The present researcher will go through primary and secondary sources and will conduct surveys on the site and will conduct interviews from official employees as well as local people, and will go through the Archives.
Bibliography: G.BAHN,PAUL. Lost cities.Newyork:WELCOME RAIN,1999.print
Danish, Ihsan. Sindho Sabheeta jo Azeem Warso Mohenjo-Daro,Hyderabad:Sindhi Adabi Board,2012.print
Samad, U Rafi. Ancient INDUS Civilization.Karachi:Royal Book company,2000.print
Mark Kenoyer, Jonathan. Ancient cities of the Indus valley Civilization.Karachi:Kagzi Printers,1997.print
Jansen,Mulloy, et al. Forgotten Cities on the Indus. Karachi:Sindhica Academy,2005.print