Indus – Sarasvati civilization is also called Harappan civilization as earlier excavation sites were Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. The initial excavation was carried by a famous British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham in 1853 and then it was abandoned. Later in 1919, the signs of the ancient civilization were found during an ASI excavation under R.D. Banerji. This led his superior John Marshall to conduct many other extensive excavations in the region. Thus, the ruins of an extraordinary ancient city were found. The use of firebricks for constructing the houses, the roads crossing at the right angle, deep well, community baths, bathtubs in the toilets etc. are the evidence of the symmetrical urban planning by the habitants of Indus-Sarasvati civilization. This civilization is estimated to be in between 7,000 BCE to 2,600 BCE. It is believed that this civilization depleted gradually due to ecological degradation.
