The Indus Civilization c5.2

c5.2

FROM their foundation the cities of the Indus Valley appear to have been laid out in accordance with some pre-arranged scheme, whose nature is, however, easier to discern in the case of Mohenjo-daro, which is so much better preserved than Harappa. Here the streets run in straight lines, and are crossed by others at right angles, although a certain amount of inaccuracy has crept in, and there are several instances of a marked divergence from the straight; this is not altogether surprising when the date of the site is taken into consideration. In spite of these minor discrepancies it is quite clear that some definite authority must have existed to control the development of the city and to avoid tortuous alleys such as distinguish the older parts of Sukkur and Rohri, the largest living towns in the neighbourhood, and were also a feature, at a much later date, of the cities of mediæval Europe.