Mohenjo-daro is an archaeological site located in the Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan. It was built around 2500 BCE and was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. This city existed at the same time as the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Minoa, and Norte Chico.
The city had a population of at least 40,000 people and thrived for many years. However, it was abandoned around 1700 BCE, along with other major cities of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Mohenjo-daro was rediscovered in the 1920s. Since then, archaeologists have conducted important excavations at the site. In 1980, the site was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, becoming the first in South Asia to receive this designation. Today, the site faces challenges such as erosion and poor restoration efforts.
Etymology
The original name of the city is not known. Iravatham Mahadevan, after studying a seal from Mohenjo-daro, suggests that the city may have been called Kukkuṭārma, which means "the city of the cockerel." Cockerel fighting might have been important in religious or ceremonial practices in the city. Mohenjo-daro may also have been a place where a group of domesticated chickens spread to regions such as Africa, Western Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
The modern name "Mohenjo-daro" is believed to mean "Mound of the Dead" in the Sindhi language.
Location
Mohenjo-daro is located on the west bank of the lower Indus River in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is found on an ancient ridge in the area near the Indus River that sometimes floods, approximately 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the town of Larkana.
Historical context
Mohenjo-daro was built around 2500 BC. It was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, which began around 3000 BC from the earlier Indus culture. At its height, the Indus Civilization covered parts of modern Pakistan and North India. It extended west to the Iranian border, south to Gujarat, India, and north to an outpost in Bactria. Major cities included Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Dholavira, and Rakhigarhi. Mohenjo-daro was the most advanced city of its time, with very advanced civil engineering and urban planning. Around 1700 BCE, the Indus Civilization quickly declined, and Mohenjo-daro was abandoned.
Rediscovery and excavation
The ruins of the city were not recorded for about 3,700 years until R. D. Banerji, an officer from the Archaeological Survey of India, visited the site between 1919 and 1920. He found what he believed was a Buddhist stupa (from 150 to 500 CE) and a flint scraper, which made him believe the site was very old. This discovery led to large excavations at Mohenjo-daro, with Kashinath Dikshit leading from 1924 to 1925 and John Marshall from 1925 to 1926. In the 1930s, major excavations continued under Marshall, D. K. Dikshitar, and Ernest Mackay. In 1945, Mortimer Wheeler and his trainees, Ahmad Dani and F. A. Khan, conducted more excavations. The last major excavations happened in 1964 and 1965, led by George Dales. After 1965, excavations were stopped because the exposed structures were damaged by weather. Only salvage excavations, surface surveys, and conservation projects have been allowed since then. In the 1980s, German and Italian teams led by Michael Jansen and Maurizio Tosi used less harmful methods like architectural documentation, surface surveys, and localized probing to learn more about Mohenjo-daro. In 2015, a dry core drilling by Pakistan's National Fund for Mohenjo-daro showed the site is larger than the area already uncovered.
Architecture and urban infrastructure
Mohenjo-daro had a planned layout with buildings arranged in a straight-edged grid pattern. Most buildings were made of bricks that were fired and held together with mortar; some used sun-dried mud bricks and wooden parts. The total area of Mohenjo-daro is estimated to be about 300 hectares. A reference in The Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History suggests the city may have had a peak population of around 40,000 people.
The city’s large size and public buildings, such as baths, assembly halls, and a marketplace, show that people were highly organized. The city was divided into two parts: the Citadel and the Lower City. The Citadel was a large mud-brick mound about 12 meters high and included public baths, a large building that may have housed 5,000 people, and two assembly halls. The city had a central marketplace with a large well. Smaller wells provided water to individual homes. Waste water was directed into covered drains along the streets. Some homes had rooms for bathing, and one building had an underground furnace, possibly for heating water. Most homes had inner courtyards with doors opening to side streets. Some buildings had two stories.
In 1950, Sir Mortimer Wheeler identified a large building as a "Great Granary," noting that its wooden structure had areas for storing grain with air ducts to dry it. However, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer pointed out no grain was found there, suggesting it might instead be a "Great Hall" with an unknown purpose. Near the "Great Granary" was a large public bath, called the Great Bath. It was built in a courtyard with steps leading to a waterproof brick pool lined with bitumen. The pool was 12 meters long, 7 meters wide, and 2.4 meters deep. Other buildings included a "Pillared Hall" and a "College Hall," which had 78 rooms and may have been a home for religious leaders.
Archaeologists found the remains of mud-brick walls that once surrounded Mohenjo-daro. The city was also protected by guard towers to the west and defensive walls to the south. Based on these features and similarities to other Indus Valley cities like Harappa, scholars believe Mohenjo-daro may have been an administrative center. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had similar layouts but were less heavily fortified than other Indus Valley sites. The identical city designs across Indus Valley sites suggest some level of political or administrative coordination, though the exact role of such centers is unclear.
Mohenjo-daro was built quickly, with water systems and wells among the first planned structures. Excavations have uncovered over 700 wells, along with drainage and bathing systems. This number is much higher than in other ancient civilizations like Egypt or Mesopotamia, with one well for every three homes. The large number of wells suggests the city relied on rainfall and the nearby Indus River for water. The circular brick well design found at Mohenjo-daro and other Harappan sites may have been an invention of the Indus civilization, as no similar designs are found in Mesopotamia or Egypt. Waste from homes was disposed of through a centralized drainage system running alongside streets, likely directing waste toward the Indus River.
The city also had large platforms, possibly built to protect against flooding. Some archaeologists, including Sir Mortimer Wheeler, believed the city may have been flooded and rebuilt multiple times. Others, like Gregory Possehl, suggested the city was abandoned due to repeated small floods and overuse of the land for farming, brick-making, and pottery, rather than a single catastrophic flood.
Notable artefacts
Archaeologists found many objects during excavations at Mohenjo-daro, including seated and standing figures, copper and stone tools, carved seals, balance-scales and weights, gold and jasper jewelry, and children's toys. Many bronze and copper items, such as figurines and bowls, were discovered, showing that the people of Mohenjo-daro knew how to use the lost wax technique. Furnaces at the site were likely used for working with copper and melting metals, not for smelting. There is evidence of a section in the northeastern part of the city dedicated to making items from shells. Important copper objects found include tablets with examples of the Indus script and images. While the script has not been translated, some images on the tablets match others, and the same caption appears on three tablets with a mountain goat image.
Pottery and broken pieces of terracotta were found, with many pots containing ash. This suggests the pots may have been used to hold ashes or to heat homes. Some of these items, called braziers, could have been used for heating, cooking, or straining liquids.
Artifacts from Mohenjo-daro were first kept in the Lahore Museum but later moved to the ASI headquarters in New Delhi. A new museum was planned for the British Raj's capital, and some items were displayed there. As India gained independence, Pakistani officials asked for the return of Harappan artifacts found on their territory. An agreement was made to divide the 12,000 objects (mostly pottery sherds) equally between India and Pakistan. In some cases, items like necklaces were split into two piles. Pakistan received the "Priest-King" sculpture, while India kept the "Dancing Girl" and the Pashupati seal.
Most Indian artifacts are now in the National Museum of India in New Delhi, and those returned to Pakistan are in the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi. Some items are also displayed at the Mohenjo-daro museum itself. In 1939, a small group of artifacts was sent to the British Museum by the Archaeological Survey of India.
In 1931, John Marshall discovered a statue that resembles the Mother Goddess of early Near Eastern civilizations. Many female figurines were found, possibly linked to religious practices. Marshall noted that these figures were not clearly categorized, so their exact locations in the city are unknown. One figure, 18.7 cm tall, is displayed in the National Museum of Pakistan. Marshall described the exaggerated female features as offerings to the goddess, though some scholars suggest the figures may represent ordinary women used in rituals.
A bronze statue called the "Dancing Girl," 10.5 cm tall and about 4,000 years old, was found in 1926. It is now in the National Museum of India. Mortimer Wheeler, a British archaeologist, called it his favorite artifact. John Marshall described the statue as a young girl in a confident pose, while Gregory Possehl noted that the figure may have been a skilled dancer. The statue showed that the civilization used advanced metalworking techniques and valued dance as part of their culture.
In 1927, a seated male soapstone figure was found in a building with ornate brickwork. Though no rulers were confirmed, archaeologists named the figure the "Priest-King." The sculpture is 17.5 cm tall, showing a bearded man with a fillet on his head, an armband, and a cloak with red designs. His eyes may have originally been inlaid.
A seal discovered at Mohenjo-daro shows a seated, cross-legged figure surrounded by animals. Some scholars believe the figure is a yogi, while others think it represents a three-headed "proto-Shiva," a god associated with animals. Sir Mortimer Wheeler believed the artifact was at least 4,500 years old. A necklace with an S-shaped clasp and 1,600 bronze beads is in a private collection in India.
The Indus Valley civilization used ivory rulers to measure length around 1500 BC. The Mohenjo-daro ruler was divided into units of 34 mm, with precise decimal subdivisions. A similar ruler found at Lothal measured to 1.6 mm, showing advanced accuracy. The base unit, called the "angula" (finger), was about 17 mm. A shell fragment from excavations had lines spaced 6.7 mm apart. Ancient bricks in the region also match these measurements.
Conservation and current state
An agreement to fund the restoration of the site was made through the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris on 27 May 1980. Other countries also contributed money to support the project.
Preservation work at Mohenjo-daro stopped in December 1996 because the Pakistani government and international groups no longer provided funding. Conservation efforts began again in April 1997, using money from UNESCO. A 20-year plan provided $10 million to protect the site and its structures from flooding. In 2011, the responsibility for preserving the site was given to the government of Sindh.
Today, the site faces dangers from salt in the groundwater and poor restoration work. Many walls have already fallen, and others are breaking apart from the bottom up. In 2012, Pakistani archaeologists warned that, without better protection, the site might be lost by 2030.
In January 2014, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan People's Party selected Mohenjo-daro as the location for the Sindh Festival’s opening ceremony. This event would have involved activities like digging and drilling, which are not allowed at archaeological sites. Farzand Masih, head of the Department of Archaeology at Punjab University, said such actions are banned by the Antiquity Act, explaining, “You cannot even hammer a nail at an archaeological site.” A legal case was filed in the Sindh High Court to stop the Sindh government from holding the event. Despite protests from historians and educators worldwide, the festival took place at the historic site.
Climate
Mohenjo-daro experiences a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), characterized by very hot summers and mild winters. The highest temperature ever recorded was 53.5 °C (128.3 °F) in May 2010, and the lowest temperature was −5.4 °C (22.3 °F) in January 2006. Rainfall in Mohenjo-daro is low and occurs mainly during the monsoon season (July–September). The average annual rainfall is 100.1 mm, with most precipitation happening during this time. The highest annual rainfall recorded was 1023.8 mm in 2022, while the lowest annual rainfall was 10 mm in 1987.