Harappa

Harappa was a settlement in Punjab, Pakistan, about 24 kilometres (15 miles) west of Sahiwal, which takes its name from a modern village near the former course of the Ravi River. The Ravi now runs eight kilometres (five miles) to the north. At its greatest extent, in the Mature Harappan phase (2600 BC - 1900 BC), the city is believed to have had as many as 23,500 residents and occupied about 150 hectares (370 acres) with clay brick houses, which was large for its time.

The Harappan Civilization has its earliest roots in cultures such as that of Mehrgarh, around 5200 BC. The two greatest cities, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, emerged along the Indus River valley in Punjab and Sindh. The earliest recognisably Harappan sites date to around 3300 BC, the mature phase lasted from 2600 BC to 2000 BC, and from around 2000 BC there was a steady disintegration that lasted till 1300 BC, usually called Late Harappan. There is no sign that the cities were laid waste by invaders; the evidence strongly points to natural causes, and studies show the area of today's Thar Desert was once far wetter and gradually became drier.

The Indus civilization was an urban culture sustained by surplus agricultural production and commerce, including trade with Elam and Sumer. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro both have flat-roofed brick houses and fortified administrative or religious centers, though their layouts are in fact quite dissimilar. Weights and measures were highly standardised, distinctive seals were used, and copper and bronze were in use but not iron. Cotton was woven and dyed, wheat and rice were cultivated, and wheel-made pottery with animal and geometric motifs has been found in profusion. Trade routes along the Indus went as far as the Persian Gulf, Mesopotamia and Egypt, with carnelian and lapis lazuli among the most valuable goods.

The site was badly damaged in 1857, when engineers building the Lahore-Multan railway used bricks from the ruins as track ballast, although an abundance of artefacts has nevertheless been recovered. The civilization was rediscovered in the 1920s after excavations at Mohenjo-daro and at Harappan cities in west Punjab.

Today the current village is less than one kilometre (5/8 mi) from the ancient site, and modern Harappa is a small crossroads town of 15,000 people. In 2004 the site was added to the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In 2005 a controversial amusement park scheme at the site was abandoned when builders unearthed many archaeological artefacts during the early stages of building work.

The Harappan Civilization has its earliest roots in cultures such as that of Mehrgarh, around 5200 BC. The two greatest cities, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, emerged along the Indus River valley in Punjab and Sindh. The civilization, with a possible writing system, urban centres, drainage infrastructure and diversified social and economic system, was rediscovered in the 1920s also after excavations at Mohenjo-daro in Sindh near Larkana, and Harappan cities, in west Punjab south of Lahore. A number of other sites stretching from the Himalayan foothills in the East Punjab, to Gujarat in the southeast, and Balochistan, Pakistan in the southwest, have also been discovered and studied. Although the archaeological site at Harappa was damaged in 1857 when engineers constructing the Lahore-Multan railway used bricks from the ruins for track ballast, an abundance of artefacts has nevertheless been recovered.

Due to falling sea-levels, certain regions were abandoned during the late Harappan period. In its later stages, the Harappan civilization lost features such as writing and hydraulic engineering. As a result, the Ganges Valley settlement gained prominence and Ganges' cities developed.

The earliest recognisably Harappan sites date to around 3300 BC. This early phase lasts till around 2600 BC. The civilization's mature phase lasted from 2600 BC to 2000 BC. This is when the great cities were at their height. Then, from around 2000 BC, there was a steady disintegration that lasted till 1300 BC – what is usually called Late Harappan. There is no sign that the Harappan cities were laid waste by invaders. The evidence strongly points to natural causes. A number of studies show that the area which is today the Thar Desert was once far wetter and that the climate gradually became drier.