In 1921 at Harappa, a small town in the Punjab, and in 1922 at Mohenjo-daro in Sind, evidence was discovered of an evolved urban culture nearly two thousand years older than any previously recognized in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. From the distribution of the sites first explored, the culture was named the Indus Valley civilization. This name it retains, although subsequent research has revealed elements of the civilization on the one hand westwards to the Makran coast and Saurashtra, and on the other hand eastwards into the valley of the Yamuna (Jumna). Thus amplified, the civilization is appreciably larger than its contemporaries in Iraq and Egypt. In this digital reprint of the 1968 third edition, Sir Mortimer Wheeler summarized other contributions to the study of the Indus civilization, and included discussions on climate and dating. The book includes well over 50 photographs of pottery, sculpture and sites.

Sir Mortimer Wheeler describes the architecture and town planning, the sculpture and painting, the silverware, glass, pottery and the other rich artistic achievements of the era.