Mohenjo-daro

Mohenjo-daro (moʊˌhɛndʒoʊ_ˈdɑːroʊ; , meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men' and sometimes Mound of Mohan in Sindhi; muˑəni dʑoˑ d̪əɽoˑ) is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2500 BCE, it was the largest settlement of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major cities, contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Minoan Crete, and Norte Chico. With an estimated population of at least 40,000 people, Mohenjo-daro prospered until around 1700 BCE. Mohenjo-daro was abandoned in the 19th century BCE as the Indus Valley Civilization declined, and the site was not rediscovered until the 1920s. Significant excavation has since been conducted at the site of the city, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, the first site in South Asia to be so designated. The site is currently threatened by erosion and improper restoration. The city's original name is unknown. Based on his analysis of a Mohenjo-daro seal, Iravatham Mahadevan speculates that the city's ancient name could have been Kukkuṭārma ("the city [-rma] of the cockerel [kukkuta]"). Cock-fighting may have had ritual and religious significance for the city. Mohenjo-daro may also have been a point of diffusion for the clade of the domesticated chicken found in Africa, Western Asia, Europe and the Americas. Mohenjo-daro, the modern name for the site, has been interpreted as "Mound of the Dead" in Sindhi. Mohenjo-daro is located off the right (west) bank of the lower Indus river in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. It lies on a Pleistocene ridge in the flood plain of the Indus, around from the town of Larkana. Mohenjo-daro was built in the 26th century BCE. It was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, also known as the Harappan Civilization, which developed around 3,000 BCE from the prehistoric Indus culture.