Archaeological Report: Harappa

Below is a fake archaeological report based on research of the actual Harappa excavation in 1920.

Harappa Site: Investigation of the Indus Valley Civilization during 1920-21

Figure 1

Harappa is one of the two best-known sites of the Indus Valley, much work has been done in this site and the findings have contributed to our understanding of the ancient civilization. It is quite difficult to excavate in the Indus Valley due to the shape of a valley.

Harappa was originally found by railway workers who were building a track through the city. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work on the site myself. During my work, we excavated Mound AB and Mound F, which is pictured in Figure 1. Both Mounds provided many artifacts that we can use to understand the civilization better.

Figure 2

Mound AB, also known as the Citadel Hill (figure 2), contained remains of fortifications, a well and a few buildings. The buildings were made of stone that were covered in a polish that we think is of “Mauryan” characteristic. From this Mound we also found several clay seals (figure 4). The pictographs on the seals are yet to be deciphered. The pictographs are many of animals, these seals were most likely used by Merchants to show what they were trading. They are much like the ones found by Sir Alexander Cunningham in his excavation in Harappa in 1872 - 1873.

Figure 3

In Mound F, we made a trench that was 500 feet long and 16 feet wide. In the trench we found something very unexpected, a large granary (figure 3)! A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain. In the granary we found a few farming tools. This suggests that the civilization was focused on farming! In this area we also found statues of dancing temple women (figure 45, suggestive of a mother goddess.

Figure 4

By observing the whole site, we can see that the city is very organized and carefully laid out. There are separate areas in the city for certain buildings. For example: one area for homes and another for public buildings. The remains of fortification are parts of the wall that protected the city. The city also has advanced bathing facilities and drains.

Figure 5

I feel that this excavation has been useful in the ongoing quest of finding more about the Indus Valley Civilization. The artifacts found in this excavation have contributed to our knowledge about the culture of the Indus Valley Civilization. I expect to return soon and work on the other mounds in Harappa.