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 the historical facts were adjusted to a certain scenario, but this was not always done carefully, so here and there contradictions are found. 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 they all require convincing evidence. Let's discuss it.
First archaeological research
Earth is not too willing to part with its secrets, but sometimes surprises archaeologists. This was also the case with excavations in the area of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, where the researchers first visited in 1911.
Excavations began on a regular basis in these places in 1922, when the Indian archaeologist R. Banarji was lucky: 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.
John Marshall, who led the research of British archaeologists, analyzed the artifacts found in territories 400 km apart 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 "Harrapa" 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 research area was united 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 the Indus civilization and, apparently, its former capital. He is the same age as Ancient Egypt, and the level of its development is evidenced by a carefully thought-out development plan and a network of communications.
For some reason, the city was suddenly abandoned by the inhabitants almost 1000 years after itsgrounds.
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa have significant differences compared to earlier cultures, as well as those that formed later. Archaeologists classify these cities as a mature Harappan era, the originality of which requires a special research approach. The worst would be "squeezing" the civilizations of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa 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 walls and then the streets of Mohenjo-Daro were opened to the eyes of researchers. D. R. Sahin and R. D. Banerjee were amazed at how thoughtful and geometrically verified the parameters of architectural structures and residential areas 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 m. In addition, the directions of the quarters were distributed strictly according to the cardinal points: north-south or east-west.
Buildings in the cities were made in the form of cake packages similar to each other. For Mohenjo-Daro, the following arrangement of the interior of the house is especially characteristic: the central part was a courtyard, around which there were living quarters, a kitchen and a bathroom. Some buildings had flights of stairs, which indicates the presence of two floors that have not been preserved. They were probably wooden.
Territory of ancient civilization
The territory of the Harappan civilizationor Mohenjo-Daro - from Delhi to the Arabian Sea. The era of its origin 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 flowering, not comparable to the level that was before and after it.
Signs of a high degree of development are, first of all, the system of urban development, as well as the existing writing system and numerous beautifully executed creations of ancient masters.
In addition, the discovered seals with inscriptions in the Harappan language testify to 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 valley of the Indus River and its tributaries. As of 2008, a total of 1,022 cities have been discovered. Most of them are located on the territory of 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 number of inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro reached approximately 40,000 people. There are no palaces or other buildings in the city that testify to the vertical hierarchy of government. Most likely, there was an elective system, reminiscent of the structure of city-states.
Public buildingsare 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 supply of cereals for planting. In the area of the central quarter, there are remains of a citadel used as a flood barrier, as evidenced by a layer of red brick that strengthened the foundation of the structure.
The full-flowing Indus allowed farmers to harvest twice a year with the help of irrigation facilities. Hunters and fishermen also did not sit idle: there was plenty of game and fish in the sea.
Especial attention of archaeologists was attracted by carefully thought-out systems of sewerage and water pipes, as well as the presence of public toilets, indicating the level of culture of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Literally, a pipe was connected to every house, through which water flowed, and sewage was removed outside the city.
Trade routes
Crafts in the cities of the Indus civilization were diverse and developed due to trade with such rich countries as Persia and Afghanistan, from where caravans with tin and precious stones arrived. Maritime communications also expanded, facilitated by the harbor built in Lothal. It was here that merchant ships from different countries entered, and Harappan merchants set off from here to the Sumerian kingdom. Traded all kinds of spices, ivory, expensive woods and many goods that are in demand far beyond the Indus Valley.
Crafts and arts of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
During excavationsjewelry 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 gold, silver and bronze jewelry with precious and semi-precious stones such as carnelian, red quartz or mother-of-pearl shells.
Ceramic artefacts 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 mineral steatite ("soapstone") widespread in this territory, which is distinguished by its soft, malleable nature, the craftsmen of the Harappan civilization made many carved items, including seals. Each merchant had his own brand.
The found art objects of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are not numerous, but they give an idea of the level of development of the ancient civilization.
In New Delhi is the National Museum of India, which exhibits all kinds of artifacts found in this area. In it today you can see the bronze "Dancing Girl" from Mohenjo-Daro, as well as the figurine of the "Priest King", striking in the subtlety of the carving.
The sense of humor inherent in the masters of the Indus Valley is evidenced by figurines representing the inhabitants of ancient cities incaricature.
Disaster or slow decline?
So, judging by the artifacts found, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are the oldest cities, the growth and influence of which on the Indus 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 far ahead of the era in its development, is striking. What happened? Let's try to figure it out 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 stopped almost instantly;
- the residents did not have time to prepare for a sudden disaster;
- the disaster that hit the city was due to high temperatures;
- it couldn't be a fire as the heat reached 1500 degrees;
- a lot of melted objects and ceramics turned into glass were found in the city;
- judging by the findings, the epicenter of the heat was in the central part of the city.
In addition, there are unverified and undocumented reports of high levels of radiation found in the surviving remains.
Version 1: water disaster
Despite the obvious signs of heat affecting the city, some researchers, notably Ernest McKay (in 1926) and Dales (in the middle of the 20th century), considered floods as a possible reason for the disappearance of Mohenjo-Daro. Their reasoning was as follows:
- Indus River during seasonal floods couldpose a threat to the city;
- Arabian sea level rose, causing flooding to become a reality;
- the city grew, 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 purposes and for grazing;
- an ill-conceived management system led to soil depletion 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 4500 years the level of the Indus rose by 7 meters, so today it is impossible to explore this part of Mohenjo-Daro.
Conclusion: aridization as a result of uncontrolled development of natural resources led to an ecological disaster, which resulted in large-scale epidemics, which led to the decline of the Indus civilization and the mass exodus of the population to more attractive regions for life.
Vulnerability of the theory
The weak point of the flood theory is the point in time: civilization cannot perish in such a short period of time. Moreover, soil depletion and river floods do not occur instantly: this is a long process that can be suspended for several years, then resumed again - and so on many times. And such circumstances could not force the inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro to abruptly leave their homes: nature provided them with the opportunityto think, and sometimes gave hope for the return of better times.
Besides, in this theory there was no place to explain the traces of mass fires. Epidemics were mentioned, but in a city where a contagious disease is rampant, people are not up to walking or routine activities. And the remains of the inhabitants found testify precisely to the fact that the inhabitants were taken by surprise during everyday activities or leisure.
Thus, the theory does not stand up to scrutiny.
Version 2: Conquest
The option of a sudden invasion of the conquerors was put forward.
This could have been true, but among the surviving skeletons there is not a single one on which traces of defeat by any cold weapon were diagnosed. In addition, the remains of horses, the destruction of buildings characteristic of the conduct of hostilities, as well as fragments of weapons, should remain. But none of the above was found.
The only thing that can be said with certainty is the suddenness of the cataclysm and its short duration.
Version 3: nuclear holocaust
Two researchers - an Englishman D. Davenport and a scientist from Italy E. Vincenti - offered their version of the causes of the disaster. Having studied the glazed layers of green color and melted pieces of ceramics found on the site of the ancient city, they saw a striking similarity of this rock with the one that remains in large numbers after nuclear weapons tests in the Nevada desert. The truth is that modern explosions occur with the release of prohibitively hightemperatures - over 1500 degrees.
It should be noted some similarity of the put forward theory with fragments of the Rigveda, which describes the clash 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. Specialists of the Italian National Research Council confirmed the hypothesis of D. Davenport and E. Vincenti: the rock was exposed to a temperature of about 1500 degrees. Given the historical context, it is impossible to achieve it in natural conditions, although it is quite possible in a metallurgical furnace.
The theory of a directed nuclear explosion, no matter how incredible it may sound, is also confirmed by a view of the city from above. From a height, a possible epicenter is clearly visible, within the boundaries of which all structures were 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 the atomic explosions in August 1945 in Japan. By the way, Japanese archaeologists also noted their identity…
Instead of afterword
Official history does not allow lab-supported version of the use of nuclear weapons over 4,500 years ago.
However, the creator of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, did not rule out such a possibility. It should be noted that he was very keen on studying the Indian treatise Mahabharata, which describes the catastrophic consequences of an explosion, identical to those that can be observed after a nuclear one. and D. Davenport with E. Vincenti also consider these events to be real.
So, we can suggest the following as a conclusion.
There were ancient civilizations in 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 that are very reminiscent of modern nuclear weapons. This hypothesis is confirmed by laboratory studies, as well as materials from the ancient epic "Mahabharata", which indirectly testify in favor of the theory put forward.
And one more thing: since 1980, archaeological research of the ruins of Mahenjo-Daro is impossible, because this city is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And therefore, the question of the presence or absence of nuclear or other similar weapons on our planet in those distant times remains open.
