The Great Bath

A 2.4-m-deep, 12-m-long, and 7-m-wide pool in the centre of higher settlement is the best-known structure of Mohenjo-daro. It is made of fine baked waterproof mud bricks and a thick layer of bitumen (natural tar – presumably to keep water from seeping through the walls), which indicates that it was used for holding water. Many scholars have suggested that this huge deep bath could have been a place for ritual bathing or religious ceremonies. It is the earliest public water tank of the ancient world. Adjacent to it is a well that was used to supply water to the bath.

• history