The archaeological history of Mohenjo-Daro spans over a century, with numerous excavations uncovering the remains of fortifications and city walls. Mr RD Banerji excavated the remains of a fortress at Site No 3 of Mohenjo-Daro in 1922-23. He described the site as an oblong mound built on a small island, featuring structures such as a shrine, a solid square platform, a round pavement of limestone or marble, a brick floor, a brick drain, a sink, a stairway, retaining walls or buttresses, and triangular bastions. These retaining walls were built to protect the structure from Indus River floods. Banerji discovered artifacts including a silver bead, a broken copper bowl, copper implements, tumbler-shaped urns with red vases, and post-cremated urns, as well as a bull seal and a stone Tawiz with a Persian inscription from the 16th to 19th centuries AD.
Banerji's Excavations and Early Theories
In his report, Banerji detailed eight categories of findings: the situation, nature of the structure, masonry, burial customs, pottery, objects of stone, objects of faience and bones, and objects of metal. He also excavated miniature animals including humped bulls, caparisoned horses or donkeys, rhinoceroses, tapirs or hippopotami, birds, and dolls. The Black and Red Ware (BRW) pottery discovered is associated with the Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages in South Asia, dating to 1450-800 BC in the Western Ganges Plains.
Sir John Marshall's Perspective on City Walls
Sir John Marshall, in his 1931 publication, noted that no evidence of city walls had been found at Mohenjo-Daro, but he believed they likely existed and were demolished by brick-robbers or buried under deep alluvium. He observed that the lack of weapons suggested the people were not warlike, though soldiers might have been quartered outside the city. Marshall theorized that the city walls would be buried beneath the surrounding plains.
EJH Mackay's Search for Fortifications
In 1931, Mr EJH Mackay cut a deep trench through an irregular mound (Mound H) to search for fortifications. He found 16 feet of rubbish and pottery but no masonry until near the water level. However, he discovered an unusually thick wall running north-south with a narrow east-west gateway taking two turns, characteristic of a fortified wall. Artifacts included a fine knife and a rim of a lapis-lazuli jar. Mackay also proved that the low ground outside the city was flooded on multiple occasions.
Sir Mortimer Wheeler's 1950 Excavations
Sir Mortimer Wheeler, assisted by Leslie Alcock, excavated the Citadel Mound in 1950. They uncovered the Great Granary, a massive mud-brick wall over 6 meters thick, and a south-east corner tower linked by a parapet containing 1,000 baked clay missile balls. Alcock described the granary as a public building with solid brick cubes, air ducts, and a loading platform. They also found a monumental ramp or stairway leading up to the citadel. Wheeler's team attempted to dig below the water table using pumps, reaching 16 feet below water level, but faced challenges from flooding and trench collapse.
Leslie Alcock's Observations
Alcock noted that while Harappa had a fortified citadel, Mohenjo-Daro's citadel appeared unfortified during its heyday. The massive mud-brick wall found outside the main mounds was likely a flood defense rather than a city wall. He suggested that the citadel thesis required modification, as Mohenjo-Daro had public buildings but no fortifications, whereas Harappa had fortifications but no clear public buildings.
Dr Jonathan Mark Kenoyer's 2025-26 Excavations
Dr Jonathan Mark Kenoyer led a Pak-USA mission at Mohenjo-Daro from May 2025 to January 2026. Excavations focused on Wheeler's trench west of the Great Bath and Granary. On June 2, 2026, the team discovered a massive mud-brick perimeter wall or city wall, approximately 6.5 meters wide, made of bricks measuring 10x20x40 cm. This wall was found 90 cm below the surface. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the lowest levels of the wall gave a date of 2708-2576 cal BC, corresponding to the Early Harappan period (2800-2600 BC).
Key Discoveries and Radiocarbon Dates
The team recovered 581 artifacts, including terracotta bangles, stoneware bangles, copper artifacts, shell bangles, stone tools, limestone fragments, and inscribed sherds. Kot Dijian pottery was found in deep coring, indicating occupation prior to the wall construction, dating to 3300-2800 BC. Charcoal samples from upper layers dated to 2460-2280 cal BC, suggesting the wall began eroding during Harappan 3B. The discovery provides the first concrete radiocarbon date for the Early Harappan wall at Mohenjo-Daro.
Conclusions from Recent Excavations
Dr Kenoyer's team confirmed that the mud-brick perimeter wall was a significant structure, though erosion and later deposits limited artifact recovery. The excavations demonstrated that Mohenjo-Daro had a city wall from its earliest phases, contradicting earlier assumptions of an unfortified city. The wall's construction and subsequent erosion align with patterns seen at Harappa, suggesting shared architectural traditions. Further excavations are needed to fully understand the wall's extent and the city's defenses.
