amri
Sights/Landmarks
Amri or Aamri is an archaeological site dating back to 3600 BC with the remains of a pre-Harappan fortified town. The site is located south of Mohenjo-daro on Hyderabad-Dadu Road about 110 km north of Hyderabad, and 60 km (50 min drive) east of Nawabshah. This site has multi-level occupation, although it was never a big city.
Seemingly little more than a mound made of generations of mud houses built on top of one another, Amri is in fact an important prehistoric site (20 km north of the Sann crossroads). Glazed and molded pottery from the Mughal period were found at the upper level, below which were pieces from the late and mature level of Harappan occupation. At the lowest level was found pottery that showed no affinity with Harappa or Moenjo Daro and has been named Amri-ware. The most importantpieces are exhibited at the National Museum in Karachi.
The original inhabitants of Amri pre-date the Harappan people, and represent a quite distinct culture. As opposed to the predominantly black-on-red style of Indus Valley pottery, Amri-ware typically uses fine buff and pale pink paste in bands around the mouth of the vessels, with geometric patterns in-filled with checkered work, chevrons and diamonds. Potsherds dating
from 3000 BC and also Indus bricks of a millennium later have been found.
The absence of a large settlement has led to the belief that the Amri people lived in scattered villages, possibly using a somewhat better placed, larger and more important village as a centre for trading. The pastoral tribes appear to have preferred the hills, with sheltered valleys and springs. They were slowly forced to move from the west through pressure of population on the land and the changes in climate, and were not attracted by the plains of the Indus.
Pre-Harappan stage
The earliest phase was a fortified town which flourished from 3600 to 3300 BC, and belonged to the Pre-Harappan stage of the Indus Valley Civilization. Situated near foothills of Kirthar Mountains, this was an important earlier urban center in Lower Sindh. Amri is close to Balochistan where development of earlier farming communities from 6000 BC to 4000 BC ultimately led to urbanization. On timeline, Amri is dated after Rehman Dheri.
The ancient mounds of 8 hectares on the west bank of Indus River have been extensively excavated. The pottery discovered here had its own characteristics and known as Amri Ware. Like other pre-Harappa towns, no writings were found at this site. There is evidence of widespread fire at the town around 2500 BC.
Based on the evidence from this site, it is believed that the Indus culture was probably not developed directly from the Amri culture. Also, at least at this location, rather than suddenly being replaced by the Amri culture, both cultures co-existed.
Coordinates: 26.173119, 68.016255
Seemingly little more than a mound made of generations of mud houses built on top of one another, Amri is in fact an important prehistoric site (20 km north of the Sann crossroads). Glazed and molded pottery from the Mughal period were found at the upper level, below which were pieces from the late and mature level of Harappan occupation. At the lowest level was found pottery that showed no affinity with Harappa or Moenjo Daro and has been named Amri-ware. The most importantpieces are exhibited at the National Museum in Karachi.
The original inhabitants of Amri pre-date the Harappan people, and represent a quite distinct culture. As opposed to the predominantly black-on-red style of Indus Valley pottery, Amri-ware typically uses fine buff and pale pink paste in bands around the mouth of the vessels, with geometric patterns in-filled with checkered work, chevrons and diamonds. Potsherds dating
from 3000 BC and also Indus bricks of a millennium later have been found.
The absence of a large settlement has led to the belief that the Amri people lived in scattered villages, possibly using a somewhat better placed, larger and more important village as a centre for trading. The pastoral tribes appear to have preferred the hills, with sheltered valleys and springs. They were slowly forced to move from the west through pressure of population on the land and the changes in climate, and were not attracted by the plains of the Indus.
Pre-Harappan stage
The earliest phase was a fortified town which flourished from 3600 to 3300 BC, and belonged to the Pre-Harappan stage of the Indus Valley Civilization. Situated near foothills of Kirthar Mountains, this was an important earlier urban center in Lower Sindh. Amri is close to Balochistan where development of earlier farming communities from 6000 BC to 4000 BC ultimately led to urbanization. On timeline, Amri is dated after Rehman Dheri.
The ancient mounds of 8 hectares on the west bank of Indus River have been extensively excavated. The pottery discovered here had its own characteristics and known as Amri Ware. Like other pre-Harappa towns, no writings were found at this site. There is evidence of widespread fire at the town around 2500 BC.
Based on the evidence from this site, it is believed that the Indus culture was probably not developed directly from the Amri culture. Also, at least at this location, rather than suddenly being replaced by the Amri culture, both cultures co-existed.
Coordinates: 26.173119, 68.016255
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