As one of the greatest cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, Harappa had certain features that were quite different from many contemporary urban centres of the time.

Some of the common features of the Harappan buildings were as follows:

• The residential buildings were built on an elevated mound that provided protection from floods

• The sizes of the houses varied. They consisted of single room tenants to bigger houses having courtyards, private wells and toilets.

• Almost every individual house had covered drains connected with the drainage in the streets.

• Most of the houses were constructed using burnt bricks instead of stones.

For further reading check the following articles:

• Prehistoric Age in India
• Indus Valley Civilization
• Prehistoric Rock Painting