One of the early Bronze Age civilizations was Mohenjo-Daro (Mound of the Dead) one of the major urban centers of the Harappa Culture or Indus Civilization. Located on the right bank of the Indus about 400 km south of Karachi, Pakistan, Mohenjo-Daro was a deliberately planned city built around 2450 B. C. over a relatively short time period (Jansen, 1989). This planned city, located in a semi-arid environment, was serviced by at least 700 wells, with an average frequency of one in every third house (Jansen, 1989). The cylindrical well shafts were constructed using wedge-shaped bricks. Probably these circular brick-lined wells were invented by the Harappan people of the alluvial plain. Possibly the wells were built for security purposes in the event of a siege.
Water consumption was large indicated by the bathing platforms in almost every house and the density of the effluent network (Jansen, 1989). The Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro measured 52 m north-south by 32.4 m east-west with an area of 1,700 m2. The center piece of the Great Bath was the pool, a sunken rectangular basin approximately 12 x 7 m and 2.4 m deep. The sewage system was a network of effluent drains (built of brick masonry) constructed along the streets. These drains, located along one side of the street, were U-shaped approximately 50-60 cm deep. The drains were built of bricks set in clay mortar with covers made of loose bricks, flagstones or wooden boards. Covers could be removed for cleaning purposes. Wall drain chutes were used through which effluent flowed into the public drain or into a catchment basin. So in the 3rd millennium B. C. time period the Indus civilization had bathrooms in houses and sewers in streets and the Mesopotamians were not far behind (Adams, 1981).
World History
