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The Buddhist stupa mound above the excavated city of Mohenjo-daro, Sindh
The Buddhist stupa mound above the excavated city of Mohenjo-daro, Sindh. Photo: Saqib Qayyum · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Ancient worlds · Indus Valley · c. 2500–1900 BCE

Mohenjo-daro: The Planned City of the Indus

Established2500 BCE – 1900 BCESindh, Pakistan

A Bronze Age city with a grid of streets, private wells and covered drains.

Research draft · editor review pending. Every claim below is linked to a checked source, but this dossier has not yet been reviewed by a human editor. Spot an error? Corrections are logged.

Mohenjo-daro was one of the largest cities of the Indus Valley Civilization and one of the world's earliest major cities, flourishing at the same time as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Its brick buildings were laid out along planned streets, and many houses had their own bathing areas connected to drains running beside the roads.

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Connected dossiers

Linear A: The Minoan ScriptSame open question · Another Bronze Age script that remains undeciphered.Angkor: The Hydraulic CityComparable case · Both cities depended on engineered water systems.

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How to read the labels

EstablishedSupported by strong, converging evidence.
ContestedEvidence exists but qualified scholars disagree.
UnresolvedThe question is open; evidence does not settle it.
LegendComes from myth, literature or tradition, not physical evidence.
SpeculativeA hypothesis with little direct evidence so far.

Hero image: The Buddhist stupa mound above the excavated city of Mohenjo-daro, Sindh. Photo: Saqib Qayyum · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons. Evidence labels describe the written claims, not the image. Version 1 · updated 2026-10-22.