July/August/September, 2006

Digital Dharma

With all the debate over ancient Indian history, you may have wondered, "What do we really know about the ancient Indus civilizations?" Well, thanks to the years of dedication and sacrifice by archeologists and a competent web team an historical "revelation " awaits you at www.harappa.com and its sister site http://www.mohenjodaro.net.

Does history normally put you to sleep? Well, this could be your wake-up call. These sites may get your heart pounding, unfolding a remarkable ancient civilization and a fascinating tale of discovery. The two cities of this 5,000-year-old civilization, located in what is now Pakistan, come alive with flash movies, sound bites, 2,151 substantive web pages with images, essays and movies. Did you know that the city of Harappa, started around 3300 bce and had an estimated 40,000 population?

If the Aryan Invasion debate gets a bit heavy at times, you will find these sites refreshingly free of opinions on the subject. For those, see http://www.archaeologyonline.net.

Meanwhile, here is just a tiny glimpse of images offered at these sites [left to right, top to bottom:] the great bath of Mohenjodaro, 12 meters long, 7 meters wide, 2.4 meters deep; Richard Meadow photographs the "Great Granary; " the famous Mohenjodaro "priest-king " sculpture with "eye bead " ornament; Harappan steatite bead necklace fragments, fired and glazed, ca. 3100 bce; stoneware bangle; faience swastika button seal; Mohenjodaro bath and "granary " at dawn; clearing outside the southeast corner of the "granary; " hand-built pot, ca. 3100 bce; large square unicorn seal, a symbol found throughout the culture; deep digging at the "granary " reveals buildings dated to ca 2450 bce. The visible "granary " appears to have been constructed ca. 2300 bce, with a third structure built on top after 2200 bce.