Moenjodaro History

History

About 4000 BC, when the Mesopotamian civilisation flourished on the Euphrates, Moenjodaro began to develop as one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilisation. The quality of the architecture and town planning was exceptional.

Moenjodaro (meaning ‘Mound of the Dead’) thrived roughly from 2500–1500 BC with a population believed to have reached at least 50, 000. However, the population declined abruptly for reasons that are still unclear. Long after its demise, Buddhist monks of the Kushan era erected a stupa over 70m high here. That too is now in ruins, but still rises 11m above the surrounding area and was for a long time the only visible monument.

The Indus Valley civilisation extended more than 1500km along the Indus and its tributaries. Its main cities were Harappa and Moenjodaro, but this is the better-preserved site. It appears that secular law was reinforced by the power of a priest caste, although the exact political structures remain a mystery. Figurines found here suggest that the religion incorporated belief in a mother-goddess combined with tree and animal worship, especially of the bull.

Originally Moenjodaro was surrounded by fertile land with a climate far cooler and rainier than the present wasteland suggests. The Indus now flows around 5km to the west, although at the time it was beside the town.

There are three clear levels of occupation, the top two built on top of an earlier, destroyed layer. There are several theories about how Moenjodaro came to an end. One is that it collapsed in an earthquake, another that it was destroyed by a flood. Rising water levels at several times in the city’s history certainly did require much of it to be rebuilt or abandoned. Building standards also declined over the years as one new level was built over another. The city became more crowded as the rising Indus reduced the habitable area. Since the 1990s much archaeological work has gone into preserving the ruins from further water and salt damage.

The discovery of several skeletons of inhabitants who had obviously met a violent end, and had never been properly buried, has led many scholars to claim that Moenjodaro was sacked by unknown invaders. Some archaeologists purport the Indus Valley civilisation was destroyed by Aryan invaders in the mid-2nd millennium BC.