1The World’s First Smart Cities
Around 4,500 years ago, while the ancient Egyptians were busy building the pyramids, a group of incredible engineers in the Indus Valley were building the world’s first "planned" cities. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were home to over 40,000 people each! Unlike other ancient towns that grew in messy tangles, these were laid out in perfect blocks, almost like a giant LEGO city. The streets were perfectly straight, and the houses were made of strong, baked clay bricks that were all exactly the same size, no matter which city you visited. This shows that the people were master builders who used math to make everything perfect.
2High-Tech Ancient Plumbing
One of the most mind-blowing things about these mystery cities was their plumbing. Long before modern bathrooms, these ancient citizens had indoor toilets! They built a brilliant drainage system where waste was carried away from homes through covered sewers made of brick. They even had "rubbish chutes" to keep their neighborhoods clean. It was probably the cleanest place on Earth at the time, showing that these people really cared about being healthy and organized. They even built a massive "Great Bath" in Mohenjo-Daro, which was like a giant public swimming pool used for special ceremonies.
3The Secret of the Missing Kings
The biggest secret of all is that archaeologists cannot find a single palace, golden throne, or giant statue of a king. In almost every other ancient empire, like Egypt or Mesopotamia, there was a powerful leader in charge of everyone. In the Indus Valley, it seems like everyone worked together as one big team. Instead of one ruler, experts think groups of merchants or wise elders made the decisions. This "mystery of the missing kings" makes the Indus Valley one of the coolest puzzles in history, proving that people can achieve amazing things through cooperation and community rules.
