MOHENJO-DARO — MACKAY 439 



the style of and motifs on the painted potterj^, from architectural 

 features, and so on, that the later levels of Mohenjo-daro are practi- 

 cally contemporaneous with the earlier levels of Ur and Kish. In 

 addition to the seal found by Mr. Mackay at Kish, which establishes 

 the pre-Sargonic date of the Indus civilization, i. e., prior to about 

 2750 B. C, Mr. Woolley has found two other seals of Indian origin 

 at Ur. One of these appears to have belonged to an enterprising 

 merchant from one of the Indus Valley cities, who realized that his 

 customers in Sumer could not read his name as written. He accord- 

 ingly had it engraved in cuneiform characters which are quite defi- 

 nitely in the style of about 3000 B. C. And not only his clients, but 

 archeologists of 5,000 years later have reason to be grateful to him. 



In the maze of buildings that have been excavated, those that first 

 catch the eye are naturally the Buddhist stupa and its surrounding 

 monastic buildings. Raised high above the level of the wide alluvial 

 plain, they must have presented a striking landmark when at their 

 zenith. The umbrella that in those days would have crowned the 

 stupa was very probably gilded over, and dazzling would it have been 

 in the brilliant sunshine of Sind. Even now that the umbrella and 

 the dome beneath it exist no longer, the ruined mud-brick drum is 

 seen from miles around. 



These Buddhist buildings, though made of bricks baked by the 

 original inhabitants of the ancient city, are well-nigh 3,000 years 

 more recent in date, for a pot full of coins of King Vasudeva 

 (185-220 A. D.) of the Kushan Dynasty has been unearthed in one of 

 the monk's cells. 



The most striking of the public buildings of the early city itself 

 marks an interesting departure from the temples and palaces of 

 the ancient sites that have been excavated in other countries of the 

 East. It is an imposing structure built around a great tank — ■ 

 entirely of burnt brick, well and truly laid. Indeed, the masonry 

 would reflect high credit on the modern builder with the closeness 

 of its joints and the smoothness, due to rubbing down, of the walls 

 and floor of the tank. The latter measures 39 feet long by 23 feet 

 wide, and the water was entered by flights of steps at its northern 

 and southern ends. These steps appear to have been covered with 

 wood, for there are slots at either end of each tread to take the 

 ends of planks; and it is not unlikely that thin sheet copper was 

 laid over the wood. The tank itself was rendered water-tight by a 

 thick puddling of clay between two thicknesses of its walls, and 

 also — a refinement that speaks volumes for the advanced stage of that 

 ancient civilization — a layer of bitumen, which is still to be seen. 



Surrounding the tank was a wide platform, at the back of which 

 fenestrations in the walls led to a number of rooms of different 



