An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c24.s1: 19.1 Harappa
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c24.s1
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19.1 Harappa
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*19.1.1 Swords or dirks.* Marshall, 1931, p. 35, was of the view that there were no swords in the Harappa civilization [4.9], probably basing his conclusion on the fact that the discovered blades were thickened in the middle and had blunt blades, thus making them ineffective for being thrust into the body of the enemy. However in 1930-1 were found double-edged swords in a hoard (Mackay, 1938). One of them, 40 cm in length and with a maximum thickness of 10 mm, has two rivet holes at the junction of the blade and the rectangular tang with its thickest part 17 mm wide. Another piece in the same hoard, about 46 cm long and 17 mm thick at the junction of the blade and the tang, also has two rivet holes, slightly chamfered, piercing the blade close to the tang, and has a stout medial rib on both sides of the blade. It was probably used for slashing and not for thrusting. Another broken copper casting appears to be the point of an unfinished sword. All these three, along with another of a similar type with a slight medial thickening and diamond-shaped section, probably represent short swords or dirks. Considering their foreign affinities Mackay, 1938, p. 467, observes that in India, Sumer and Palestine the short sword was used as early as or before 2500 B.C. [the date of course depending on the date of the Indus civilization itself].
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*19.1.2 Arrowheads.* They have been found in the smaller houses in DK area of Mohenjo-daro (Mackay, 1938, p. 461). Thin flat pieces of copper with long narrow barbs but no tang, they were probably inserted into split bamboos or wooden shafts. Perhaps the prototypes of these arrowheads are the swallow-type arrowheads of the Stone Ages. While a few stone arrowheads have been found at Harappa, there is no such specimen at Mohenjo-daro.
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*19.1.3 Knives.* It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between a knife and a dagger, but the basic function of a knife is to sever and that of a dagger to thrust. Those that can be regarded as cutting weapons and therefore as knives can be divided into: (1) broad leaf-shaped blade (Mackay, 1938, pls. CXV, 11, CXVII, 9, CXIX, 5, CXX, 4, 5, 10, 11, etc.), the commonest type, in some cases a copper strip wrapped round the short tang in order to thicken it; (2) leaf-shaped blade with a curved tip, the only example being from Harappa (*ASI-AR 1926-7*, pl. XXII, 4, 5); (3) narrow and straight, comparatively small in size, the edges narrow and parallel and the blades shwoing signs of repeated sharpening; (4) triangular with upturned points, one from Harappa (*ASI-AR 1926-7*, pl. XXII, 12) and two from Mohenjodaro (Mackay, 1938, pls. CXX, 22, 23, CXXII, 4, 5), perhaps used for cutting leather; (5) broad curved-edged, three specimens coming from Mohenjo-daro, the tang riveted to the blade, one (Mackay, 1938, pl. CXXX, 23) still having a handle of wood, *Dalbergia sissu* Roxb., sticking to it; (6) narrow curved-edged, five specimens from Mohenjo-daro (Mackay, 1938, pls. CXIX, 3, CXX, 24, CXXII, 2, 3, CXXX, 22, 27), their backs straight and edges slightly curved; (7) hollow-backed, one specimen from Mohenjo-daro (Mackay, 1938, pl. CXX, 13), with a thick concave back from which it gradually fines down towards the convex edge; and (8) double-curved, again a single specimen from Mohenjo-daro (Mackay, 1938, pl. CXX, 14).
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*19.1.4 Daggers.* The following varieties occur: (1) knife-cum-dagger, which could have been used either for cutting or thrusting or for both; (2) shouldered, with abrupt shoulders which would have withstood considerable pressure and must have provided ample bearing for the haft; (3) mid-ribbed, in some cases with a sharp tang; and (4) narrow double-edged, their concave sides suggesting their use for thrusting. No dagger sheath has been discovered.
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*19.1.5 Spearheads.* It is difficult to distinguish between certain types of spear- and lance-heads and the larger knives and daggers. The longest one, from SD area of Mohenjo-daro, measures about 39 cm in length, about 13 cm in breadth and 4 mm in thickness: it has two small holes at the bottom of the blade to secure it in a split wooden shaft (Mackay, 1938, pl. CXX, 14). Another, about 25 cm long, 36 cm wide and 33 mm thick, is without tie-holes (Mackay, 1938, pls. CXXI, 33, CXII, 7, CXVII, 8, 11, CXX, 7, 9). A spearhead has become very short due to repeated sharpening and looks like a knife blade or lance (Mackay, 1938, pl. CXVII, 9). Another spearhead (Mackay, 1938, pl. CXVII, 11) has a thin and well-preserved blade and an edged tang-end to facilitate its insertion into a wooden shaft. The holes at the lower base of the blade are wide apart which suggests that the rib was of considerable width. In Egypt broad blades were used as a kind of long sword for slashing (Petrie, 1917, p. 31); on this basis a similar use may be assumed for these specimens also. The spearheads of the Harappa civilization are primitive in form and thin and broad in the blade without any mid-rib and have a tang instead of a socket unlike those from Egypt and Sumer. Most of them could buckle on impact. The leaf-shaped spearhead is universal. No barbed blade has been found, but it has a clear representation on a Mohenjo-daro seal (Mackay, 1938, p. 366, pl. 88, 279).
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*19.1.6 Lance-heads.* The blades are similar to those of spearheads but being smaller in size they have been classed as lance-heads. More or less triangular in shape, double-edged and pointed, their average length is 8 to 10 cm.
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*19.1.7 Mace-heads.* While copper specimens come only from Harappa, those of stone—alabaster, sandstone, cherty limestone and green-coloured stone—were doubtless used as weapons. Three shapes have been noticed: (1) pear-shaped, the commonest, as it was indeed in other ancient civilization (Marshall, 1931, p. 36); (2) lentoid; and (3) circular (Mackay, 1938, p. 460, where it is observed that the lentoid variety occurs at Susa and in pre-Dynastic Egypt but not in Mesopotamia). They are very suitable for hand-to-hand fight. The perforation is hourglass-shaped bored from both ends; they were probably lashed to a handle with leather thongs. 'The general type is widespread in time and space; it is found at Susa, in Egypt, in the Caucasus, and extensively in prehistoric Europe ... More distinctive is a bronze or copper mace-head of the late Harappa or Jhukar phase at Chanhu-daro' (Wheeler, 1968, p. 76).
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*19.1.8 Missiles.* Clay missiles have been grouped into three types (Wheeler, 1968, p. 76): (1) pellets, either round, about 3 cm in diameter, or ovoid up to 5·5 cm in length; and (2) and (3) lumps first compressed in the hand and then lightly baked, the difference between the two being that (2) is lighter, about 170 g, and (3) heavier, about 340 g. Found in large numbers, their shape, material and findspot (near the Mohenjo-daro granary and in the defences of the citadel) make their use as weapons of offence and defence possible. It is however not clear whether they were thrown by hand or projected from a sling. [At least some of them may be terracotta cakes, 6.27.]
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*19.1.9 Armour.* Several small domed pieces of copper, each perforated with two holes, have been found at Mohenjo-daro (Marshall, 1931, 2, p. 533; Mackay, 1938, p. 54). They were perhaps sewn on to a garment to be used as a coat-of-mail.
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Mackay, E.J.H., 1938, *Further Excavations at Mohenjo-daro*, 2 vols, Delhi, Marshall, J., 1931, *Mohenjo-daro & the Indus Civilization*, 3 vols, London, Petrie, F., 1917, *Tools & Weapons*, London. Wheeler, M., 1968, *Indus Civilization*, Cambridge.—G.N. PANT