UPSC Prelims Exam: Must Know Facts about Indus Valley Civilization Part V

UPSC Exam: Must Know Facts about Indus Valley Civilization.

Along with the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and the Chinese civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilization, also known as Harappan Civilization, was one of the four great ancient civilizations. It was a truly sophisticated one quite advanced and ahead of its contemporaries in its way of life. We bring you a series of articles on must-know facts about the Indus Valley Civilization. This is the fifth edition in the series which will be useful for the UPSC prelims examination.

Fact# 23: Harappan houses were multi-storied buildings

• So advanced was their architecture and masonry that Harappa had two and three-storied houses.
• These spacious houses had central courtyards and accessible flat terraces too.

Fact# 24: The Indus Valley houses could keep off dust and noise

• None of the houses in the Indus Valley had windows facing the main streets.
• The houses had only one door.
• All the windows and the door of the houses would open into the central courtyard.
• Thus, they were strategically designed to avoid noise and dust.

Fact# 25: Houses with attached bathrooms

• Indus Valley civilization was perhaps the first in the world to have houses with attached bathrooms.
• They also had access to running water.
• In addition, they had toilets with advanced drainage facilities.

Fact# 26: The world’s first rainwater harvesting was here

• The Harappan civilization had systems to store rainwater.
• They had complex and efficient water management systems.
• The world’s public water tank, named The Great Bath was found here.
• The city of Mohenjo-Daro also had a large water management system with 80 public toilets and about 700 wells.
• The wells were strategically placed to supply water to every locality.

Fact# 27: Every city had its own Great Bath

• Every city in the civilization had at least one Great Bath.
• It is believed that they might have had a religious purpose.

Also Read | Indus Valley Civilization – Part 4   Indus Valley Civilization – Part 6

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