The Grid and Modular Measures in The Town Planning of Mohenjodaro and Kathmandu Valley

Abstract

This paper studies the street and block plans of Mohenjodaro and Sirkap of Pakistan, and Thimi of Kathmandu Valley. Mohenjodaro was a reknowned city of Indus civilization, while Sirkap of Taxila, was an important cultural center in later half of first millennium BC. While both of the cities are archaeological remains, Thimi is still a living town. The three cities, apparently separated by enormous time span and geographic space, exhibit certain features that is striking to draw the attention of archaeologists and urban historians. This study finds that all the three settlements employ exactly the same grid dimension in making the division of urban blocks. The standard modules conform to 'danda' and 'rajju', which are stated in Arthasastra, the work of Kautilya who lived during the later quarter of 4 th century BC. This paper makes a morphological analysis of the revealed plans of Mohenjodaro, Sirkap and Thimi, and demonstrates a relationship in their town plan, the division of quarter blocks and the plot divisions as shown by the built clusters and street boundaries. This is the first direct evidence to link the urban civilization of Indus with the living settlements that continue to exist up to modern times.

Madhyapurthimi Tourism: Reviews on Local Development

“…Historical accounts indicate the existence of Madhyapurthimi in the 13 th century, and it is possible that the town was settled long before during the Lichchhavi period (5 th -9 th ) century. The urban planning of the city Madhapurthimi is similar to Mohenjo-Daro and Taxila in its measurements of streets and entrances that is based on Kautillya's Arthasastra (Pant & Funo, 2005). Thus the study is theoretically based on Kautilly's design.…”

Review of Episodic Voyage of Engineering Surveying and Cartography in India

“…They have a remarkable contribution to the astronomy domain. Aryabhata was the first noted surveyor of India to report a year consisting of 365 days, 6 hours, and 12mnts, and 30 seconds [10]. Until the 17 th century, records reveal that the captains of British and French ships conveyed the positioning of stars, sun, and moon in their voyage diaries of India [11].…”

Lessons from the World Sustainable Housing (Past Experiences, Current Trends, and Future Strategies)

“…Mohenjo-Daro, city is the best-preserved and most extensive city, estimated to have had a population of 40,000. Mohenjo-Daro has a planned layout with rectilinear buildings arranged on a grid plan [18]. ln contrast to both Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Indus settlements seem to have been relatively egalitarian societies.…”