Question

Discovery and history of excavation of indus valley civilization

Answer 1

Answer:

Indus Valley Civilisation

 

Duration: 3300 BC to 1700 BC

Indus Valley Civilization was an ancient civilization that thrived in the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys, now in Pakistan, along with the northwestern parts of India, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The civilization, which is also known as Harappan Civilization, lasted from 3300 BC to 1700 BC. The discovery of the Ancient Indus River Valley Civilization was made, when the Harappan city, the first city of Indus Valley, was excavated.  

Discovery

The first description of the ruins of Harappa is found in the Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and Punjab of Charles Masson. It dates back to the period of 1826 to 1838. In 1857, the British engineers accidentally used bricks from the Harappa ruins for building the East Indian Railway line between Karachi and Lahore. In the year 1912, J. Fleet discovered Harappan seals. This incident led to an excavation campaign under Sir John Hubert Marshall in 1921-1922. The result of the excavation was discovery of Harappa by Sir John Marshall, Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni and Madho Sarup Vats and Mohenjodaro by Rakhal Das Banerjee, E. J. H. MacKay, and Sir John Marshall.  

Further Excavations

Even though most of the Mohenjodaro city had been unearthed by 1931, the excavation campaigns continued to be undertaken. Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the then director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), led one such campaign in 1944. After the partition of India in 1947, the area of the Indus Valley Civilization was divided between India and Pakistan. In 1949, Sir Mortimer Wheeler conducted excavations as the Archaeological Adviser to the Government of Pakistan. The next three decades were full of discoveries of the remnants of civilization.  

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