Harappa

Proper noun

Harappa

1. A village in Punjab, in eastern Pakistan.
2. An archaeological site near the village; the ancient city excavated at the site.
   • The site, known as Harappa, contained evidence of a culture over 1,000 years older than any other yet discovered in South Asia and one which dated back to c. 2350 BCE, making it one of the four oldest centers of civilization in the world.1995, Karl J. Schmidt, An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History, page 12
   • Now considered the first urban culture of the Indian subcontinent, the Harappan civilization was unknown to scholars until the twentieth century. Intrigued by large, earth-covered mounds at Harappa, on the Ravi River in the Punjab province of present-day Pakistan, archaeologists began excavating...1996, Elizabeth E. Broadrup, "Kot Diji (Sind, Pakistan)," article in Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Sharon La Boda (editors), International Dictionary of Historic Places, Volume 5: Asia and Oceania...
3. (attributive) The Harappan Civilization, or Indus Valley Civilization, a Bronze Age civilization that flourished in a large region encompassing the site.
   • He declared that it was a site of the late period of Harappa culture [4.9] on the basis of certain pottery types and painted designs thereon and that 'the mere fact that the Indus culture is by this discovery pushed so far s.-e. as Kathiawar is a matter of great importance'.1989, Amalananda Ghosh (editor), "Rangpur," entry in An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, page 370