Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro

File:Great bath view Mohenjodaro.JPG

The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro

The Great Bath is part of a large citadel complex that was found in the 1920s during excavations of Mohenjo-daro, one of the main centres of the Indus civilization.

Description

The bath is built of fine brickwork and measures 897 square feet (83 square metres). It is 8 feet (2.5 metres) lower than the surrounding pavement. The floor consists of two skins of sawed brick set on edge in gypsum mortar, with a layer of bitumen sealer sandwiched between the skins.

Water was evidently supplied by a large well in an adjacent room, and an outlet in one corner of the bath led to a high corbeled drain that disgorged on the west side of the mound. The bath was reached by flights of steps at either end, originally finished with timbered treads set in bitumen.

Importance

The significance of the structure is unknown, but it is generally thought to be linked with some sort of ritual bathing. Indeed, while lacking impressive palaces or monuments, Mohenjo-daro featured numerous baths—most homes had washrooms—and an extensive sewage system, suggesting that a priority was placed on cleanliness and sanitation.

Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro Media

• Mohenjodaro Sindh.jpeg

  The Great Bath was found in 1926 during archaeological excavations

• The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro. Wellcome L0005461.jpg

  During 1922-1927 archaeological excavations

• The Great Bath of Moenjodaro.jpg

  This is a photo of a monument in Pakistan identified as the

• Mohenjo-daro.jpg

  Excavated ruins of Mohenjo-daro, with the Great Bath in the foreground and the granary mound in the background

• View of tank with both staircases

• This is a photo of a monument in Pakistan identified as the

• This is a photo of a monument in Pakistan identified as the