1 Around 2000 BC, at the peak of its growth, the city of Mohenjo Daro contained approximately 40,000 inhabitants. These people lived in blocks of houses separated by straight roads and lanes. The main avenue was almost 35 ft (10 m) wide and was used by pedestrians and bullock carts
2 The main building material was fired bricks. These were waterproof, which was of crucial importance in an area under constant threat of flooding. Walls were further coated with mud and chopped grass plaster. Windows were used only sparingly, to keep out the intense sunlight and perhaps burglars.
3 Public sanitation was a central concern. Well maintained public sewers ran through all the main streets. Houses emptied their waste into these drains through terracotta pipes or chutes high up in the walls. This sewer was covered with flat stones so as not to hinder the traffic.
4 This broad entrance gave access to the house of a wealthy family. Some houses consisted of a few rooms only, but many, like this one, had an upper floor. No traces of doors were found and the entrance was probably constantly guarded by a porter from a small room opposite.
5 The central feature of the house was the courtyard which provided light and air. Underneath the pavement ran a drain, which was connected to pipes from different parts of the house, including upstairs. The main drain continued through the bathroom into the public sewer outside.
6 Bathing was obviously important to the people of Mohenjo Daro and may have had a ritual significance. This house had its own private well. Water was passed on from the well room to the adjacent bathroom through an opening in the wall, by means of vessels or maybe a wooden conduit.
7 The floor of the bathroom was paved with tiles and enclosed within a low brick curb. The bather would pour water over him or herself with a pot. Clothes washed here could be passed out through the window and hung to dry in the courtyard. Some houses contained not only a bathroom, but also a private toilet.
8 The second storey was built of timber and bricks. It probably contained living and sleeping rooms, which could be reached from the balcony. Two staircases gave access to the upper floor. One stair was located in the bathroom area: this may have been intended for a servant to stand on, to pour water over the bather.
9 The north-west corner of the courtyard functioned as a kitchen. It was covered by a small roof and used for cooking and preparing food. Wheat ,which was a major staple of the diet, was ground on milling stones and stored in large terracotta jars.
10 The rooms on the west side of the house could be reached from the courtyard, but also through a more private entrance next to the porter's lodge. It is possible these rooms were used as a guest apartment.
100 Around 2000 BC, at the peak of its growth, the city of Mohenjo Daro contained approximately 40,000 inhabitants. These people lived in blocks of houses separated by straight roads and lanes. The main avenue was almost 10m wide and was used by pedestrians and bullock carts.
