Indus valley civilisation is considered as one of the oldest civilisation of the world. It is also known as Harappan civilisation or Bronze age civilisation. There is no doubt in saying that history of India starts with the birth of Harappa civilization or Indus valley civilization. There are many important sites of Indus valley civilization which we are going to learn in this article.
This civilization was found in the Indus river as well as in Ghaggar-Hakra river basins, that’s why we can also called it Ghaggar-Hakra civilization.
- In 1921, Daya Ram Sahni discovered Harappa.
- In 1922, R.D. Banerjee discovered Mohenjodaro.
- In 1924, John Marshall (Director general of Archaeological Survey of India) reported this civilisation in London weekly and he termed this civilisation as Indus valley civilisation. This civilisation was contemporary of Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisation.
- After independence of India, Ropar was also discovered.
- In 1990s, two important sites were discovered i.e. Dholavira(Gujarat) and Rakhigarhi(Hisar).
Chronology of this civilisation :- Its chronology is disputed.
- According to John Marshall :- 3250BC to 2750BC
- According to modern historians, acceptable date for the matured harappa civilisation :- 2300BC to 1750BC
Important sites of Indus valley civilization are as :
| Sr.No | Place | Discovery | Year of Discovery |
| 1. | Harappa | Daya Ram Sahni | 1921 |
| 2. | Mohenjodaro | Rakhal Das Banerjee | 1922 |
| 3. | Lothal | S.R. Rao | 1954 |
| 4. | Dholavira | R.S. Bisht | 1990-1991 |
| 5. | Rakhigarhi | Surajbhan | 1969 |
| 6. | Chanhudaro | N.G. Majumdar | 1931 |
| 7. | Amri | N.G. Majumdar | 1935 |
| 8. | Sutkagendor | Stein | 1929 |
| 9. | Kalibangan | Ghose | 1953 |
| 10. | Surkotada | J.P.Joshi | 1964 |
| 11. | Banwali | R.S. Bisht | 1974 |
| Sr. No. | Indus Valley Civilisation Sites | On the banks of Rivers |
| 1. | Harappa | Ravi |
| 2. | Mohenjodaro | Indus |
| 3. | Lothal | Bhogwa |
| 4. | Ropar | Sutlej |
| 5. | Kalibangan | Ghaggar |
| 6. | Manda | Chenab |
| 7. | Alamgirpur | Hindon |
| 8. | Bhagwanpura | Saraswati |
| 9. | Sutkagendor | Dasht |
| 10. | Daimabad | Pravara |
| 11. | Chanhudaro | Indus |
| 12. | Amri | Indus |
| Sr. No. | Indus Valley Civilisation Sites | Location |
| 1 | Rakhigarhi | Hisar (Haryana) |
| 2 | Harappa | Montgomery district (Punjab, Pakistan) |
| 3 | Mohenjodaro | Larkana district (Sindh, Pakistan) |
| 4 | Lothal | Ahmedabad (Gujarat) |
| 5 | Kalibangan | Hanumangarh (Rajasthan) |
| 6 | Dholavira | Kutch (Gujarat) |
| 7 | Ropar | Punjab |
| 8 | Chanhudaro | Sindh, (Pakistan) |
| 9 | Surkotada | Kutch (Gujarat) |
| 10 | Rangpur | Saurashtra (Gujarat) |
| 11 | Dadheri | Ludhiana (Punjab) |
| 12 | Banawali | Fatehabad (Haryana) |
| 13 | Kunal | Fatehabad (Haryana) |
| 14 | Metathal | Bhiwani (Haryana) |
| 15 | Bhagwanpura | Kurukshetra (Haryana) |
| 16 | Desalpur | Gujarat |
| 17 | Kotdiji | Sindh, (Pakistan) |
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