Harappa (
Urdu/
Punjabi:
ہڑپہ,
pronounced [ɦəɽəppaː]) is an
archaeological site in
Punjab, northeast
Pakistan, about 35 km (22 mi) west of
Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village located near the former course of the
Ravi River. The current village of Harappa is 6 km from the ancient site. Although modern Harappa has a train station left from the British times, it is just a small (pop. 15,000), Pakistani crossroads town.
The site of the ancient city contains the ruins of a
Bronze Age fortified city, which was part of the
Cemetery H culture and the
Indus Valley Civilization, centered in
Sindh and the
Punjab.
[1] The city is believed to have had as many as 23,500 residents—considered
large for its time.
The ancient city of Harappa was greatly destroyed under the British Raj, when bricks from the ruins were used as track ballast in the making of the Lahore-Multan Railroad.
In 2005 a controversial
amusement park scheme at the site was abandoned when builders unearthed many archaeological artifacts during the early stages of construction work. A plea from the prominent Pakistani archaeologist
Ahmed Hasan Dani to the Ministry of Culture resulted in a restoration of the site.
[2]