Harappa, Ancient archaeological site in Sahiwal District, Pakistan.
Harappa is an archaeological site in Sahiwal District, Pakistan, and ranks among the most important discoveries of the Indus Valley Civilization. The site spreads over a large area with streets laid out in a grid pattern, uniform building structures, drainage channels, and a fortified citadel with defensive walls that make the urban layout clearly visible.
The settlement began around the fourth millennium before our era and grew into a major urban center of the Indus Valley Civilization between 2600 and 1900 BCE. Later, the site was abandoned and fell into obscurity until its rediscovery in modern times.
Local families visit the site on weekends and consider the ruins part of their shared memory. Many people from nearby villages see the excavated objects as evidence of an ancient world that still echoes in the region today.
Visitors reach the excavation site through the modern village of Harappa, located about 24 kilometers west of Sahiwal in Punjab province. The area is mostly open for access, though some sections may be closed for ongoing research work.
During British colonial rule, many ancient bricks were removed from the ruins and used to build the railway embankment on the Lahore-Multan line. This removal caused significant loss of original building material before systematic archaeological work began.
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