Module: General Practice
Q19: Consider the following statements regarding the civic infrastructure and building materials specifically found at Lothal:
1. In Lothal, the standard residential houses were constructed using mud bricks, reflecting a localized adaptation to available building materials.
2. Despite the use of mud bricks for houses, the public street drains in Lothal were strictly constructed using durable burnt bricks to prevent water seepage.
3. A massive baked-brick basin structure excavated at Lothal has been widely identified by archaeologists as a tidal dockyard connected to the Gulf of Khambhat.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
2. Despite the use of mud bricks for houses, the public street drains in Lothal were strictly constructed using durable burnt bricks to prevent water seepage.
3. A massive baked-brick basin structure excavated at Lothal has been widely identified by archaeologists as a tidal dockyard connected to the Gulf of Khambhat.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
✅ Correct Answer: D
🎯 Quick Answer:
Option D is correct as all three statements accurately describe the specialized civic infrastructure at the Harappan port town of Lothal.Structural Breakdown: The site displays a highly deliberate dichotomy in material usage.
Mud bricks, which are cheaper but vulnerable to water, were deemed sufficient for domestic housing.
However, high-quality, water-resistant burnt bricks were mandated for all municipal drainage channels.
Additionally, Lothal features a massive trapezoidal basin (214 x 36 meters) built entirely of baked bricks.
Historical/Related Context: Archaeologist S.R. Rao excavated Lothal and identified this massive structure as a dockyard.
It featured a sophisticated inlet channel connected to the nearby Bhogava river (which flows into the Gulf of Khambhat) and a spillway mechanism to lock in water, allowing ships to remain afloat during low tides.
Causal Reasoning: The Harappans demonstrated advanced civil engineering priorities.
They understood that unbaked mud-brick drains would quickly dissolve and collapse from continuous wastewater flow, leading to structural failure and disease.
Therefore, they strictly reserved their expensive, labor-intensive burnt bricks for critical, water-facing civic infrastructure like drains and dockyards.