QAMAR-E-BANI HASHIM SCHOOL MOEN-JO-DARO PREPARED BY: ALI LAROSH QAMAR-E-BANI HASHIM SCHOOL

MOEN-JO-DARO INTRODUCTION: Moen-jo-daro means MOUND OF THE DEAD. Moen-jo-daro is one of The oldest cities of the world. It is located at the distance of 27 kilometres from Larkana on the right bank of river Indus. Few people live there today, but four thousand and five hundred years ago it was a large, busy city. Nobody knew anything about it until 1992, when some villagers found pieces of old smooth pots and bricks at the place, where now stands the uncovered city.

DISCOVERY OF MOEN-JO-DARO: The pieces of old pots and bricks were brought to Sir John Marshall, an English civil servant, whose work was to look after historical remains. When he looked at them carefully, he at once knew that they were pieces of very old pots. About the bricks he said, “Perhaps there was once a town or a city which lies under these mounds of clay and sand. Let us dig here, may be we shall uncover the remains of an old city. So the men start digging and as they dug, more and more such pieces came up, till there appeared bit by bit a city of straight roads and well-built houses.

HOUSES: In Moen-jo-daro each house was made up of large baked bricks and had a bathroom and servant-quarters close by. Covered drains ran beside the streets. Even the streets were made of baked bricks.

TRANSPORT: People of Moen-jo-Daro used animal carts for traveling. They also used boats for transportation as they live very near to the river Indus.

EMPLOYMENT: The people of Moen-jo-Daro must have been great traders, with the river Indus. They do farming and grow wheat, rice and cotton. Mainly the people of this city were concerned with trading and agriculture.

BUILDINGS: In Moen-jo-Daro the buildings are made up of large baked bricks. Walls are plastered. Stairs and windows are present in the buildings. In the city the buildings are built in such a manner that it can be rightly said that 4,500 years ago it was a very civilized city.Several major buildings have been discovered from the mound. One of these is a large structure, believed to be the base of a huge granary. City fathers must have felt that it was a good idea to have all the grain centrally located under their watchful eye. Another astonishing and most celebrated citadel buildings is the Great Bath. Steps lead down into the bath at either end. This bath was made water tight by using gypsum mortar between fired bricks and sealing by a course of bitumen. The bath was drained through a brick arch about two metres high and was probably filled from a large well found close by. Many other great buildings have been excavated, but some of them are in need of re-excavation.

SKILLS: People of Moen-jo-Daro were skilled craftsmen who worked in gold, silver and ivory. They make dolls and carts for children to play. They make jewellery, seals, toys, weapons and painted pottery. They make metal objects, tools and statues. A metal statue of a dancing girl and a head of a bull have also been found from Moen-jo-Daro. These people were literate. No one yet been able to determine the meaning of the words written on the seals and pottery.

RELIGION: The religion of the people of Moen-jo-Daro was budhism. They were budhist. A lot of statues of budha have been found from the ruins of Moen-jo-Daro.

TRADE: The people of Moen-jo-Daro must have been great traders, with the river Indus so near and the sea within easy reach. The country side must have been fertile since wheat, rice and cotton grew there and they were exported. They worked in gold, silver, copper and ivory and buy and sell them to parts of the world through the river. People carried out trade by the means of boats.

PRESENTATION DESIGNED BY: ALI LAROSH QAMAR-E-BANI HASHIM SCHOOL