Urban drainage and brick-lined wells
Drenaje pluvial y pozos urbanos de ladrillo
- Date
- c. 2600 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, Pakistan; Dholavira, India
- Credited to
- Indus Valley Civilisation
- Field
- Tools
What it is
Hundreds of wedge-brick cylindrical wells and channels that drained monsoon rainfall, plus the cisterns and dams of Dholavira. It is the first comprehensive management of the urban water cycle.
What it led to
- Drinking-water supply in every neighbourhood, independent of the river
- Hydraulic engineering for catchment and storage in arid areas (Dholavira)
- Standardisation of brick (1:2:4 ratio) across the Indus, a sign of a shared technical authority