Allahdino is a small village belonging to the Harappan period, located east of

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. It is an unfortified settlement of 1.4 hectares, established in a coastal area of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. This small but well-organised settlement was abandoned by c. 2000 BCE.

Excavations

Several mud-brick houses, sometimes built on stone platforms were excavated from this site. A large multiroomed house with a mudbrick platform was also excavated. One building had three wells, with diameters of 60 cm to 90 cm. In fact, all the wells found on this site had similarly small diameters. The layout of the settlement and buildings suggest that Allahdino was involved with administrative role.

Artifacts found

Large quantities of

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

objects, triangular terracotta cakes, seals, small

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

jars with profusions of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

, bronze and other ornaments were found. Several jars, one containing gold and silver ornaments, were also found here. A belt containing 36

carnelian Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker (the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often used ...

beads was found, proof of highly skilled workers being settled in the area.

Archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

believe that findings of gold and silver ornaments, as well as the usage of stone at the village indicate some of the residents were well to do. This site is well excavated one and a total of 240,000 vessels and shreds were collected and tabulated.

Importance

Water from the wells of Allahdino would have been used to irrigate nearby fields. Allahdino is also thought to have been associated with textile manufacturing.

References

Archaeological sites in Sindh History of Pakistan Former populated places in Pakistan Indus Valley civilisation sites {{Sindh-geo-stub