The Indus Valley civilisation
Grid cities with sewers — and no trace of kings
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Harappa and Mohenjo-daro together covered over a million square kilometres with a strikingly uniform system of weights and measures, standardised bricks and advanced sanitation. The absence of monumental royal tombs, great temples and battle scenes in the art sets the culture sharply apart from Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Indus script remains undeciphered, so we know no names and no stories. The decline from around 1900 BCE is linked to a weakening monsoon and shifting river courses.
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Along the Indus river stood cities with straight streets, wells in every block and sewers under the ground — 4,500 years ago. But archaeologists have found no palaces or royal tombs. Perhaps they governed themselves in a completely different way from their neighbours.
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Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org