hidden historical places

i learn alot about moen-jo-daro its really instresting to know about the past people and their life styles . Civilization on the west of Indus Around 3,500 B.C., communities moved from the west side of the Indus to the east. Permanent settlements began to rise, depending entirely on Indus River System. What remains a mystery is how this settlement evolved into an advanced civilization. Moen-Jo-Daro is located 20 kilometers south of Larkana in the province of Sindh. At Moen-Jo-Daro are the most impressive remains of the Indus Valley Civilization. The Indus river flows to the east, five kilometers away. The city of Moen-Jo-Daro The discovery of ruins here was made in 1922 A.D. The whole city is about five kilometers in circumference. It is divided into two distinct parts. There is the hill, the mound, over to the west and the larger lower city down to the east where most of the people lived. The mound, so-called citadel, is man-made, built purposefully higher than the rest of the city, so that the people who lived there, the rulers, could have a clear view out over their domain. Equally, the citizens living down the hill could always be reminded that they were subject to a greater power. The Buildings Several major buildings have been unearthed on one side of the mound. One of these is a large structure, believed to be the base of a huge granary. City fathers must have felt that it was a good idea to have all the grain centrally located under their watchful eye. There is nothing left of the wooden superstructure. Another astonishing and most celebrated citadel buildings is the Great Bath. Steps lead down into the bath at either end. This bath was made water tight by using gypsum mortar between fired bricks and sealing by a course of bitumen. The bath was drained through a brick arch about two metres high and was probably filled from a large well found close by. Many other great buildings have been excavated, but some of them are in need of re-excavation. The Lower City The lower city of Moen-Jo-Daro, where the houses, shops and craft workshops were located, is a fine example of good urban planning. The main streets are about nine meters wide and run at righ-angles to each other, dividing the town into roughly rectangular blocks measuring about 360 meters by 240 meters. Between these main streets run a series of lanes, also at right-angles, usually about 1.5 to 3 meters wide. There is therefore a sense of strong administrative control which is reinforced by a number of small, single-roomed buildings on street corners. These could well have been the night watchmen or policemen's post. The overall quality of domestic accomodation was very high. Fired bricks were used for the construction of the walls. There is evidence that the internal walls were plastered, though the rendering of the external wall is not certain. Most houses were equipped with a flight of stairs which presumably led to either a second storey or at least a flat roof. ... Drainage system Though the streets were paved and presumably very dusty, a series of brick drains ran through them, which were not only of unique quality among contemporary societies, but even today would be the envy of much of Asia. Clearly these drains were sometimes subject to blockage, but they appear to have been regularly cleaned to judge by the brick manholes which were located at intervals along their length. The pipes came in lengths which slotted into each other much in the same way as modern drainpipes. The Fall of the city Moen-Jo-Daro had been the target of floods several times. On at least three occasions, the extent of flooding was so severe that the city was swamped making extensive rebuilding necessary. There was a general decline in building techniques, as indeed in the overall planning. There are various theories explaining the civilization's wild and sudden downfall. One such theory suggests that wild and war-like Aryans invaded from the north. But modern dating techniques negate such a theory because the city fell into decline wel before the Aryans ever arrived. Another theory suggests that the decline was led by population boom. Houses became more and more overcrowded; increasingly, buildings and even courtyards were sub-divided. Space available for occupation diminished due to the steadily rising levels of the Indus. However, as the entire population even after a boom may only have been about 400,000, this seems improbably. Much more likely is the problem created by recurring and ever-worsening floods. But evidence from a number of sites suggests a far worse problem than this. Geologists suggested that movements in the earth's crust had caused southern Pakistan to become slightly raised, effectively damming the Indus and preventing it from running down to the sea. The Indus would have broken its banks and flooded the surrounding plains, submerging many of the fields. Whatever really happened remains a mystery and from this point on Moen-Jo-Daro remained quite uninhabited. The civilization lasted, at its height, from about 2,500 B.C. to 1,500 B.C. Much of what is left behind is totally unique, particularly in the fields of architecture and urban planning, setting itself apart from developments further west.