What do we know about the history of our civilization? In fact, not so much: the last 2000 years are described in relatively detail, but not always reliably. One gets the impression that historical facts were adapted to a specific scenario, but this was not always done carefully, so here and there contradictions are revealed. For example, the origin and death of the cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa raises many questions. There are several versions of the answers, but all of them require convincing evidence. We discuss this.
The first archaeological research
The earth is not too willing to part with its secrets, but sometimes presents surprises to archaeologists. This also happened with excavations in the Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa regions, where researchers first visited in 1911.
Excavations on a regular basis began in these places in 1922, when luck smiled at the Indian archaeologist R. Banardzhi: the remains of an ancient city were found, which later became known as the City of the Dead. Work in the Indus Valley continued until 1931.
The head of the research of British archaeologists, John Marshall, analyzed the artifacts found in areas remote from each other for 400 km, and concluded that they were identical. Thus, both cities, located in the Indus Valley and separated by an impressive distance even by today's standards, had a common culture.
It should be noted that the concepts of "Indian civilization", "Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa" are similar in archeology. The name "Harrap" coincided with the city of the same name, not far from which the first excavations began in 1920. Then they moved along the Indus, where the city of Mahenjo-Daro was discovered. The entire area of research was combined under the name "Indian Civilization."
Ancient civilization
Today, the ancient city, whose age varies from 4000 to 4500 years, belongs to the province of Sindh, which is the territory of Pakistan. By the standards of 2600 BC e., Mohenjo-Daro is not just big, but one of the largest cities of Indian civilization and, apparently, its former capital. He is the same age as Ancient Egypt, and a carefully thought-out development plan and communications network testify to the level of its development.
For some reason, the city was suddenly abandoned by residents almost 1,000 years after its founding.
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa have significant differences compared with earlier cultures, as well as those that formed later. Archaeologists consider these cities to be a mature Harappan era, the originality of which requires a special research approach. The worst thing would be to “squeeze” the civilizations of Mohenjo-Daro and Harapp into the framework of the official historical path of development, of which Darwin's theory is an integral part.
Urban device
So, back to the events of 1922, when the eyes of researchers opened the walls, and then the streets of Mohenjo-Daro. D.R.Sakhin and R.D. Banerjee were amazed at how thoughtful and geometrically verified the parameters of architectural structures and residential quarters were. Almost all the buildings of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were made of red burnt bricks and were located on both sides of the streets, the width of which in some places reached 10 meters. In addition, the directions of the quarters were distributed strictly to the cardinal points: north-south or east-west.
Buildings in the cities were made in the form of similar to each other packaging for cakes. For Mohenjo-Daro, the following arrangement of the inner part of the house is especially characteristic: the central part was a courtyard, around which there were living quarters, a kitchen and a bathroom. In some buildings there were flights of stairs, which indicates the presence of two floors that have not been preserved. They were probably wooden.
The territory of ancient civilization
The territory of the Harappa or Mohenjo-Daro civilization is from Delhi to the Arabian Sea. The era of its occurrence dates back to the III millennium BC. e., and the time of sunset and disappearance - to the second. That is, over a period of a thousand years, this civilization has reached an incredible heyday, not comparable to the level that was before and after it.
Signs of a high degree of development are, first of all, the urban development system, as well as the existing writing system and numerous beautifully executed creations of ancient masters.
In addition, the discovered seals with inscriptions in the Harappa language indicate a developed system of government. However, the speech of more than five million people who made up the population of the Harappan civilization has not yet been deciphered.
The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are the most famous of those found in the Indus Valley and its tributaries. According to 2008 data, a total of 1,022 cities were discovered. Most of them are located in modern India - 616, and another 406 are located in Pakistan.
Urban infrastructure
As mentioned above, the architecture of residential buildings was standard, and its difference consisted only in the number of floors. The walls of the houses were plastered, which, given the hot climate, was very prudent. The population of Mohenjo-Daro reached approximately 40,000. There are no palaces or other buildings in the city, indicating a vertical hierarchy of government. Most likely, there was an electoral system resembling the structure of city-states.
Public buildings are represented by an impressive pool (83 sq. M.), Which, according to some researchers, had a ritual purpose; a granary was also found, which probably contained a public stock of cereals for planting. In the central quarter, there are remains of the citadel, which was used as a flood barrier, as evidenced by a layer of red brick that strengthened the foundation of the structure.
The deep-water Indus allowed farmers to harvest twice a year using irrigation facilities. Hunters and fishermen also did not sit idle: there were plenty of game and fish in the sea.
Archeologists paid special attention to carefully thought-out sewage and water supply systems, as well as the availability of public toilets, indicating the level of culture of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Literally, a pipe was brought to each house, through which water flowed, and sewage was discharged outside the city.
Trade routes
Crafts in the cities of Indian civilization were diverse and developed thanks to trade with rich countries such as Persia and Afghanistan, where caravans with tin and precious stones came from. Maritime ties also expanded, facilitated by the harbor built in Lothal. It was here that merchant ships came from different countries, and from here the Harappa merchants set off for the Sumerian kingdom. They traded all kinds of spices, ivory, expensive varieties of wood and many goods that are in demand far beyond the Indus Valley.
Crafts and art of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
During the excavations, jewelry worn by women was found. Moreover, they live everywhere, from the center of the ancient Indian civilization of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa to Delhi.
These are jewelry made of gold, silver and bronze with precious and semiprecious stones, such as carnelian, red quartz or mother-of-pearl shells.
Ceramic crafts have also been discovered, which are distinguished by their originality and local color, for example, red dishes decorated with black ornaments, as well as animal figurines.
Thanks to the steatite mineral (“soapstone”), which is widespread in this area, and is distinguished by its soft, malleable nature, the masters of the Harappan civilization made many carved articles, including seals. Each merchant had his own brand.
The found art objects of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro cannot be called numerous, but they give an idea of the level of development of ancient civilization.
In New Delhi, there is the National Museum of India, which exhibits all kinds of artifacts found in this territory. In it today you can see the bronze "Dancing Girl" from Mohenjo-Daro, as well as the statuette of the "Priest King", striking the fineness of the thread.
Figurines representing the inhabitants of ancient cities in caricature testify to the sense of humor inherent in the masters of the Indus Valley.
Catastrophe or slow decline?
So, judging by the artifacts found, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are the oldest cities whose growth and influence on Indian civilization was undeniable. That is why the fact of the disappearance from the historical arena and from the face of the earth of this culture, which was much ahead of the era in its development, is striking. What happened? Let's try to understand and get acquainted with several versions that currently exist.
The conclusions made by scientists after studying the remains of Mohenjo-Daro were as follows:
- life in the city ceased almost simultaneously;
- residents did not have time to prepare for a sudden disaster;
- the disaster that struck the city was associated with high temperature;
- it could not be a fire, because the heat reached 1,500 degrees;
- in the city were found many melted objects and ceramics that turned into glass;
- judging by the finds, the epicenter of the heat was in the central part of the city.
In addition, there is unverified and not documented evidence of a high level of radiation found in the surviving remains.
Version number 1: water related disaster
Despite the obvious signs of the effects of high temperatures on the city, some researchers, in particular Ernest Mackay (in 1926) and Dales (in the middle of the 20th century), considered the Mohenjo-Daro flood to be a possible cause. The course of their reasoning was as follows:
- the Indus River during seasonal spills could pose a threat to the city;
- the level of the Arabian Sea has risen, as a result of which the flood could become a reality;
- the city was expanding, and the needs of its population for food and development grew;
- active development of fertile lands in the Indus valley was carried out, in particular, for agricultural needs and for grazing cattle;
- an ill-conceived management system has led to depletion of the soil and the disappearance of forests;
- the landscape of the area was changed, which led to a massive migration of the population of cities to the southeast (the current location of Bombay);
- the so-called lower city, inhabited by artisans and peasants, was covered with water over time, and after 4,500 years the Indus level increased by 7 meters, so today the study of this part of Mohenjo-Daro is impossible.
Conclusion: aridization as a result of uncontrolled development of natural resources led to an environmental disaster, which also led to large-scale epidemics, which led to the decline of Indian civilization and the mass exodus of the population into more attractive regions for life.
Theory vulnerability
The weak point of flood theory remains the point in time: civilization cannot perish in such a short period. Moreover, soil depletion and river spills do not occur instantly: it is a lengthy process that can be suspended for several years, then resumed again - and so many times. And such circumstances could not force the residents of Mohenjo-Daro to abruptly leave their homes: nature gave them the opportunity to think, and sometimes gave hope for the return of better times.
In addition, in this theory there was no place to explain the traces of mass fires. It was a question of epidemics, however, in a city where a contagious disease is rampant, people have no time for walks or routine business. And the found remains of residents testify to the fact that the residents were taken by surprise during everyday activities or rest.
Thus, the theory does not stand up to criticism.
Version number 2: aggressive
The option of a sudden invasion of the conquerors was advanced.
This could have been true, but among the surviving skeletons there is not one that could be diagnosed with traces of defeat by any kind of cold steel. In addition, the remains of horses, the destruction of buildings characteristic of warfare, as well as fragments of weapons should remain. But none of the above were found.
The only thing that can be stated with certainty is the suddenness of the cataclysm and its short duration.
Version number 3: nuclear disaster
Two researchers - the Englishman D. Davenport and the scientist from Italy E. Vincenti - offered their version of the causes of the disaster. After examining green glass layers found on the site of the ancient city and melted pieces of ceramics, they saw a striking resemblance of this breed to the one that remains after testing nuclear weapons in the Nevada desert. The truth is that modern explosions occur with the release of prohibitively high temperatures - over 1,500 degrees.
It should be noted some similarity of the theory put forward with fragments of the Rig Veda, which describes the collision of the Aryans, supported by Indra, with opponents who were destroyed by incredible fire.
Scientists brought samples from Mohenjo-Daro to the University of Rome. Experts from the Italian National Research Council confirmed the hypothesis of D. Davenport and E. Vincenti: the rock was exposed to a temperature of about 1,500 degrees. Given the historical context in natural conditions, it is impossible to achieve, although in a metallurgical furnace it is quite likely.
The theory of a directed nuclear explosion, no matter how incredible it may sound, is also confirmed by an inspection of the city from above. A possible epicenter is clearly visible from above, within the boundaries of which all structures are demolished by an unknown force, but the closer to the outskirts, the lower the level of destruction. All this is very similar to the consequences of atomic explosions in August 1945 in Japan. By the way, Japanese archaeologists also noted their identity ...
Instead of an afterword
The official history does not allow the adoption of a version confirmed by laboratory research on the use of nuclear weapons that took place more than 4,500 years ago.
However, the creator of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, did not rule out this possibility. It should be noted that he was very keen on studying the Indian Mahabharata treatise, which describes the catastrophic consequences of the explosion, identical to those that can be observed after the nuclear one. And D. Davenport and E. Vincenti also consider these events real.
So, we can offer the following as a conclusion.
Ancient civilizations existed on the territories of modern Pakistan and India - Mohenjo-Daro (or Harappa), which were quite developed. As a result of some confrontation, these cities were exposed to weapons, very reminiscent of modern nuclear. This hypothesis is confirmed by laboratory research, as well as materials of the ancient epic Mahabharata, which indirectly support the theory put forward.
And yet: since 1980, archaeological research of the ruins of Mahenjo-Daro is impossible, because this city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Therefore, the question of the presence or absence in those days of nuclear or other similar weapons on our planet remains open.