Excavations at a newly identified Harappan site in the Punjab region of Pakistan have unearthed a set of electrum-spangled ritual gongs. These massive bronze discs, decorated with tiny flecks of gold-silver alloy, were found near a series of ancient canal locks, suggesting they played a central role in festivals marking the annual arrival of the monsoon floods.
Archaeologists believe the gongs were struck to mimic the sound of thunder, calling the spirits of the Seven Rivers to provide a bountiful harvest. The find provides rare insight into the acoustic landscape of Indus Valley civilizations and their sophisticated use of sound in public ceremonial life nearly five millennia ago.