Indus cities were made up of both small and large private houses and larger public structures. Many buildings were built on top of earlier ruins or newly constructed mud-brick platforms that raised the level of the house above the street level to protect it from flooded streets. Over time, this construction practice resulted in neighborhoods that were much higher than the streets and as noted above, cities as a whole rose high above the plain. At Mohenjo-daro the highest walled mound is located in the west with a series of lower mounds on the east, and one or two habitation areas to the north and south of the high mound. The site of Harappa has a high mound in the west and much larger mound that is almost as high extending to the east. Lower suburbs are located to the north, northeast, south, and east of these two main mounds. Dholavira has a unique layout with three nested rectangular city walls and a higher citadel located on a hill in the south. Some of the smaller settlements are also divided into separate mounded areas, or have a single large walled area divided by an internal wall. The segregated habitation areas associated with a single city may indicate competing economic or political groups, and with the exception of Dholavira, no single area appears to have dominated the total settlement.
Bricks used for constructing buildings and city walls were of a standardized ratio of 1:2:4 (thickness: width:length). The absolute size of unfired mud bricks for city walls and large platforms was approximately 10 cm X 20 cm x 40 cm. The size for bricks used in the construction of houses was approximately 7 cm x 14 cm X 28 cm. Over 700 years, these ratios did not change and there was very little variation in absolute size. Most houses in the large cities were constructed with smaller fired bricks, while unfired small bricks were used for temporary walls and foundation repairs. In regions where stone was plentiful, such as Kutch and Saurasthra, roughly hewn and carefully dressed stone blocks were also used in architecture. While some effort was made to maintain the 1:2:4 ratio, this was not rigorously imposed in stone construction.
There is no standardization in the layout of Harappan houses, but private houses were generally laid out with a central space surrounded by living and storage rooms. Many houses had entryways from a side alleyway rather than from the main street, and usually windows were maintained only on the second storey. The roof and second floor were made with wooden beams and covered with reeds and plaster to create a sturdy floor. Doors and windows were made with wood and some windows had wood or stone latticework to allow airflow, and at the same time a degree of privacy.
Although there are numerous large building complexes in the larger cities, most appear to be the result of growth and remodeling over time. The core building may have belonged to a wealthy merchant or landowner, with numerous smaller units inhabited by relatives or servants. None of these structures appear to have been used as a central palace or temple. Many smaller private buildings as well as some of the larger structures are associated with manufacturing debris from specialized crafts, and small craft workshops are often found in association with domestic architecture. At sites such as Chanhudaro and Lothal, some buildings and open areas may have served as specialized factories for bead making or copper working, but most crafts associated with kilns were located at the edges of the sites (see the section on ‘specialized crafts’) or in what appear to be abandoned structures.
World History
