The Indus Civilization c5.64

c5.64

The four well-paved aisles separated by the rows of columns are aligned north to south and there are unpaved strips about three and a half feet wide running between them. Raised benches must have originally stood along these strips, though all traces of them have now perished, and Sir John Marshall has compared this arrangement with the Buddhist rock-cut temples where the monks sat side by side in long rows. It is conceivable that the building was used for religious assemblies, but at the same time it is at least two thousand years earlier than any Buddhist structure, and the writer is more inclined to the view that it was intended for a large market-hall, with lines of permanent stalls along the aisles.