Chanhu-daro, a Major Urban Planned City for Better Understanding the Internal Development of the Indus Valley Civilization

Résumé En

Since its discovery by N.G. Majumdar in 1931 and the excavations carried out by E.J.H. Mackay in 1935-1936, Chanhu-daro is considered in the archaeological literature as a major urban and artisanal centre of the Indus Valley Civilization and, perhaps, one of the most important sites for better understanding the internal development of this civilization between 2600/2500 and 1900 BCE. This paper summarizes the results of past excavations at Chanhu-daro and outlines the research questions and objectives of the new field-work carried out since 2015 by the French Archaeological Mission in the Indus Basin in cooperation with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Archaeology, Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Archives Department, Government of Sindh. Through extensive excavations, the aim of this new research work is, in particular, to better document the architectural and craft developments during the first centuries of the Indus Civilization still little-known in the lower Indus Valley