Question

Where is the courtyard? Where are the two staircases? What is the entrance to the house like?

Answer 1

1. The courtyard is situated as the large, open central space of the residential structure, represented on the architectural map by the areas labelled 18 and 18a. In Harappan domestic architecture, the courtyard functioned as the household’s primary hub, with rooms built around it. It served as the focus for daily activities such as cooking, spinning, and weaving, particularly during hot and dry weather conditions, while also providing light and ventilation to the surrounding rooms.
2. The two brick staircases are built in separate sectors of the house to provide access to the upper roof or a second story. The first staircase is located near the main entrance toward the front of the house in the small room labelled 6. The second staircase is located deep within the residential plan, situated at the back in the upper-left section next to room 16. The presence of these dual staircases indicates that Harappan houses were multi-level structures with functional rooftops or upper-floor living quarters.
3. The entrance to the house, located at the bottom-left corner of the layout, is deliberately designed to protect the privacy of the interior household. It is built such that an outsider standing in the street or entering the main doorway cannot look directly into the central courtyard. Visitors had to walk through an initial transition room or make a sharp turn, ensuring that the inner courtyard and surrounding rooms remained completely shielded from public view.