Featured Pakistan: The Archaeological Marvel

[Kambojaric]

Dadahara Fort: Archaeologists urge govt to protect newly-found castle

MINGORA:

Cultural activists and archaeologists in Swat urged the government to protect the recently discovered Dadahara Fort built in the 9th Century, located in the mountain of Dadahara in Brikot tehsil.

The activists and archaeologists, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that the discovered castle is part of a chain of castles in Swat built during the Hindu-Greek period.

Amjad Ali, a local archaeology expert said, “This castle has been built by the Hindu-Greeks and covers a large area, but unfortunately a lack of attention and illegal excavators have destroyed the ancient castle.” He added that the height of the castle allowed a soldier to guard the entire lower Swat.

“We can not only see parts of lower Swat but Malakand Pass, Thana area, parts of Dir and Bunir districts are also visible from this castle,” Ali said while pointing at these faraway areas.

Moen Jo Daro excavation: ‘Site undergoing maintenance to attract archaeologists’

Anwar Anjum, a cultural activist who was one of the visitors, said, “The architects of the Hindu-Greek period were skillful.” He added, “The site around the castle is a rough terrain and architects must have faced difficulties when they constructed it centuries ago.”

He also said this castle had a strategic importance as, after the fall of Hindu-Greeks this castle was used as strategic post the later Muslim dynasties of Ghaurids and Ghaznavids.

Referring to the current dilapidated condition of the historical site Anjum lamented, “Some parts of the boundary-wall and few bastions of the castle can be seen, while the rest of the castle has been ruined by the locals and illegal excavators.”

He said it is the responsibility of the local administration to take the castle into their custody and protect it from illegal excavators.

Tajdar Alam, a local resident of Barikot, said the locals were unaware about the historical importance of the castle and demolished parts of the castle because the believed that it belonged to Kafirs (Infidels).

Alam added that there were dozens of hollow bastions were erected to support the castle but unfortunately, only four are intact and the rest have been raised to the ground by illegal excavators and smugglers. He said that the smugglers and illegal excavators believed that the hollow bastions were full of precious items.

Archaeologists in Swat said that there had been six major castles and close thirty watch towers built for the purpose of fortification of Swat, Dir and Bunir during the Hindu-Greek period.

They believe that most of these fortifications were built on high land alongside the Swat River. They built these to monitor activities across the empire which is currently spread across Swat, Dir and Bunir districts.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1293355...logists-urge-govt-protect-newly-found-castle/

 

[Kambojaric]

UNESCO accepts Pakistan proposal to include eight sites in heritage list

ISLAMABAD: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) accepted Pakistan’s recommendation to include eight Pakistani sites in its list of World Heritage Sites.

The eight sites suggested by Pakistan were Cholistan’s Derawar Fort, Hingol Cultural Landscape in Balochistan, Nagarparkar Cultural Landscape in Sindh, Central Karakoram National Park and Deosai National Park in Gilgit-Baltistan, Ziarat Juniper Forest and Karez System Cultural Landscape in Balochistan and the Khewra Salt Range in Punjab.

These locations, holding significant importance for Pakistan in tourism sector, are included in the list prepared by the Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) and accepted by UNESCO.

The archaeology and museums department will start the documentation process once UNESCO formally announces the approval.

The process will be completed within two to three years.

http://arynews.tv/en/unesco-accepts-pakistan-proposal-to-include-eight-sites-in-heritage-list/

 

[Aqsa Mateen]

The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization (3300-1300 BCE; mature period 2600-1900 BCE) extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three early civilizations of the Old World, and of the three the most widespread It flourished in the basins of the Indus River, one of the major rivers of Asia, and the Ghaggar-Hakra River, which once coursed through northwest India and eastern Pakistan.

At its peak, the Indus Civilization may have had a population of over five million. Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river valley developed new techniques in handicraft (carnelian products, seal carving) and metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead, and tin). The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and clusters of large non-residential buildings

 

[My-Analogous]

Soanians (This site change the whole claim by expert that After Africa Man enter Europe. This site is world second oldest site after Oldowan)

Riwat (Rawat, Murree) is a Lower Paleolithic site in Punjab, northern Pakistan, providing evidence of Homo occupation that is the earliest outside Africa, dating to 1.9 million years ago. The site was discovered in 1983. The artifacts consist of flakes and cores made of quartzite. Another site, called Riwat Site 55, shows a later occupation dated to around 45,000 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riwat

Soanian (Second oldest civilization of Pakistan after Riwat)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Soanian

Geographical range Pakistan, India, Nepal
Period Lower Paleolithic
Dates 500,000 – 125,000 BP
Type site Soan River
Major sites Adiala, Chauntra, Khasala Kalan, Khasala Khurd, Sivalik Hills
Preceded by Acheulean
Followed by Mousterian


Old civilization list (Pakista)
Riwat people 1,900,000
Soanian people 500,000
Mehrgarh culture 7000–2500
Indus Valley Civilization 3300–1300
Vedic period 1750–500
Kingdom of Gandhara 1500–500
Achaemenid Empire 550–330
Macedonian Empire 335–323
Maurya Empire 322–252
Seleucid Empire 312–63
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom 252–125
Indo-Scythian Kingdom 200 BC–102 AD
Indo-Greek Kingdom 180 BC–10 AD

CE

Indo-Parthian Kingdom 21–130
Kushan Empire 30–375
Sasanian Empire 224–641
Indo-Sasanians 240–410
Gupta Empire 320–600
Rajput dynasties 7th–20th century
Hephthalite Empire 420–567
Rai dynasty 489–632
Kabul Shahi dynasty 500–1100
Umayyad Caliphate 661–750
Pala Empire 770–850
Ghaznavids 963–1187
Mamluk dynasty 1206–1290
Khilji dynasty 1290–1320
Tughlaq dynasty 1320–1413
Sayyid dynasty 1414–1451
Lodi dynasty 1451–1526
Mughal Empire 1526–1858
Bombay Presidency 1618–1947
Durrani Empire 1747–1823
Misls 1733–1805
Maratha Empire 1758–1760
Sikh Empire 1799–1849
British Indian Empire 1849–1947
Dominion of Pakistan 1947–1956
Islamic Republic 1956–present

The Soanian is an archaeological culture of the Lower Paleolithic (c. 500,000 to 125,000 BP) in Pakistan.[1] Contemporary to the Acheulean, it is named after the Soan Valley in Pakistan. Soanian sites are found along the Sivalik region in present-day India, Nepal and Pakistan.[2]

Contents

• 1 Findings
• 2 See also
• 3 References
• 4 Further reading
• 5 External links

Findings

Chauntra

Khasala Kalan

Sivalik Hills

Soan River

The term "Soan Culture" was first used by Hellmut De Terra in 1936,[3] but D. N. Wadia had identified the presence of these archaeological implements in 1928.[4] Further archaeological research was conducted by Stephen Lycett in order to determine the morphometric assessment of the Soanian techno-complex. The result of this experiment concluded that the Soanian techno-complex contains a Mode 3 Levallois technique core component.[1]

On Adiyala and Khasala, about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Rawalpindi terrace on the bend of the river, hundreds of edged pebble tools were discovered. At Chauntra in Himachal Pradesh, hand axes and cleavers were found.

Tools up to two million years old have been recovered. In the Soan River Gorge, many fossil bearing rocks are exposed on the surface. 14 million year old fossils of gazelle, rhinoceros, crocodile, giraffe and rodents have been found there.

Some of these fossils are on display at the Pakistan Museum of Natural History in Islamabad.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soanian

Katas Raj is located about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Kallar Kahar on the road between Kallar Kahar and Choa Saidan Shah, in District Chakwal of province Punjab, Pakistan. It is situated about 40 kilometers from the city of Chakwal making it a popular tourist place among people of Chakwal. Basically, Katas Raj is a temple complex consisting seven ancient temples called Satgraha, some temples of middle ages and some recently constructed temples. The oldest temple dates back to 6th century A.D. All these temples are built around a pond acknowledged holy to Hindus.

In the mountains of Pothohar Plateau, these Hindu temples are famous worldwide. A large number of people belonging to Hinduism visit these temples each year to perform their religious practices and rituals. The pond in the center of temples is considered holy among Hindus because they believe it is filled by the tears of Shiva and taking bath in this pond provides forgiveness to sins.

It is said old name of Katas Raj was Kataksha, which in classic Sanskrit means “God’s Tears”. A visit to Kataj Raj Temple provides great information about the history of religions and about Hinduism. It would be better to take some time to visit Kalar Kahar Lake nearby for spending a picnic and boating.

http://www.pakistantoursguide.com/katas-raj.html

 

[Kambojaric]

NHLH all set to digitalise documentation of archaeological artefacts

Islamabad: National History and Literary Heritage Division (NHLH) is all set to initiate work on the project of digital documentation of archaeological artefacts to provide database for scholars to conduct research and prevent illicit trafficking of archaeological objects.

According to the official source this project titled ‘Establishment of digitalisation centre for documentation of the artefacts and archival material at Department of Archaeology and Museums was approved in the budget of fiscal year 2016-17. The project costing to Rs2.929 million has been approved from Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP).

The process of opening of assignment account and the release of funds is under process and the work will hopefully start by the mid January. Preservation and documentation has always been a matter of concern for the academic research of the moveable and immoveable cultural wealth of the country, Joint Secretary NHLH Mashhood Mirza said.

Talking to APP, he said the fragility of archaeological material and lack of documentation of the archaeological artefacts in the national repository limits, academic study and verification of record, so it is imperative to preserve and document the archaeological material.

The digital archiving of the whole record of the archaeological artefacts in the custody of DoAM was direly needed for posterity and providing data to the scholars for interpretive information, he said.

Mashhood Mirza said this step will also prove as a deterrent for pilfered objects from the archaeological sites and monuments and its selling on the black market as this data is shared internationally with Interpol and other databases for deterring illicit trafficking of archaeological objects.

It will enable us to comply with the UNESCO convention of1970, ‘Prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property,’ he said. The high resolution pictures and maintenance of electronic database is the only way to overcome the issues of illicit import and export of precious relics.

This project will provide an additional platform for access and exhibition of documents and artefacts for providing research facilities for scholars researchers from Pakistan and abroad in the field of archaeology, Mashhood Mirza said.

He said NHLH has revitalised the Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) which was lying dormant after devolution under 18th Amendment of the constitution. Advisor to Prime Minister on NHLH Irfan Siddiqui, who is taking keen interest in preservation and safeguard of the cultural heritage, has issued special directions to implement this project without any delay for saving country’s precious heritage, he said.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/18...ise-documentation-of-archaeological-artefacts

 

[Kambojaric]

All set for culture dept’s intl Mohen jo Daro conference

All is set for kicking off the three-day international conference on Mohen jo Daro scheduled to be held from February 9 to 11 at Mohen jo Daro, Larkana and scores of foreign delegates have already arrived here.

“The Sindh culture department and the National Fund for Mohen jo Daro (NFM) are hosting the conference,” said Minister Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities Syed Sardar Ali Shah in a statement released on Tuesday.

He said that it was expected that the recommendations of the conference would go a long way in resolving pending issues and helping studies find the right way forward.

He said that the arrangements for the international conference on Mohen jo Daro had been finalised and that it would be a historical event. “The last and only other event of this kind was held in 1973 by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,” he said.

Shah said that the conference was an effort to bring together scholars from different countries to discuss and deliberate various academic questions pertaining to Mohen jo Daro as well as to propose measures for the conservation of the Indus Valley civilisation site from further deterioration.

Scholars from the US, Japan, Italy, Japan, Spain, France, and Britain, including Ayumu Konasukawa from Japan, Denys Frenz from Italy, Dr Carla and Dr Marco from Spain, Brad Chase and Dr. Richard Meadow from the US have already arrived in Karachi, where they were welcomed by Culture DG Khalid Chachar.

After a brief stay at their hotel, they visited the National Museum and took a keen interest in the exhibitions of artefacts from the Indus Valley and Gandhara civilisations.

The minister further said that the conference would be a unique event wherein the experts will discuss archaeology, ecology, geology, history, regional linkages, technology, and urbanism, in relation to Mohen jo Daro.

Palaeoosteology of the site and other themes, particularly the new emerging content of Middle Eastern linkages to the Indus Valley civilisation, are also expected to be discussed.

Conference Convener Dr Kaleemullah Lashari said that the Indus Valley civilisation had bagged a good amount of academic attention. “There is no doubt that in the institutions where work relevant to South Asia is undertaken have been instrumental in putting in place projects leading to extended studies on the Neolithic and Bronze Age sites throughout the region, spreading over to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and areas in the Persian Gulf,” he said.

He said that the conference will discuss new research, find out means of enlarging the scope of academic studies, forge new collaborations, consider the age old questions of preservation of archaeological ruins exposed to the natural and manmade reasons, and above all, the presentation of the Bronze-age sites.

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/02/07/all-set-for-culture-depts-intl-mohen-jo-daro-conference/

Let us re-excavate Moen Jo Daro, urges archaeologist

Deep in the heart of Sindh lies Pakistan’s archaeological claim to fame – Moen Jo Daro. The heritage site played host to a conference on archaeological preservation on Thursday, with a host of people descending on the site.

Speaking on the first day of the three-day Moen Jo Daro Conference 2017, Prof Dr Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, who has been teaching archaeology and ancient technology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, discussed ‘Moen Jo Daro, Harappa and Dholavira: Comparing the Urban Phenomenon of Three Major Indus Cities’. Prof Kenoyer has been working on excavations and ethnoarchaeological studies in Pakistan and India since 1975 and has served as field director and co-director of the Harappa Archaeological Research Project since 1986.

Pakistan needs to redouble its preservation efforts, he said, citing an example of Harappa where workers used bricks from the ancient city to build the Multan Railway Station.

“Moen Jo Daro happened from thousands of years of development,” he explained, adding that we need to understand this development. He said archaeologists need to excavate the site again, as it has been eroding.

Beneath these cities are more cities, which are treasure troves of information, he said. Beneath Sukkur is the city of Lakhan Jo Daro and he theorised that beneath Sehwan and Multan there will be Harappan cities as well. “We need politicians to help and not give away [sell or lease out] this precious land,” he urged.

Dr Kenoyer spoke about the fact that cities were never abandoned, adding that the way Harappan cities in the Indus Valley are organised is very different from the way cities in Gujarat (Indian Gujarat) are organised.

Speaking about the discovery of a set of ‘rulers’ in Moenjo Daro and Harappa, he said his opinion differed from that of previous excavators, and said these were nothing more than drawings on clay bricks. “I believe they used their hands to measure,” he said, referring to the creation of the first uniform sized bricks in these cities.

In Harappa we excavate, bury and then build replicas on top, explained Dr Kenoyer. “You document, study and then bury them again,” he said, adding that in order to preserve these cities, the structures must be buried. The replicas can serve as informational structures for tourists. Keeping them open leaves them at the mercy of salt erosion, according to him.

“It’s hard enough to preserve firebrick, it’s impossible to preserve mud brick,” he laughed.

Speaking about the preservation work at Moen Jo Daro, Dr Kenoyer said, “Conservation of the site has to be done by carefully studying the plan and reconstructing it.”

He praised excavators and the curator at the Harappa site for their work – they have erected several replica structures – and said, “We need to think about how to excavate sites better.”

“Beneath Moen Jo Daro is a Kot Dijian-phase town. If people can dig tunnels under the sea, we can dig here,” he urged. He stressed the need to excavate further in these cities, theorising that the people of these cities built their buildings on top of older structures.

Different methods of excavation can yield different results; early excavator missed things and further excavations can teach us something new, he said. “We need to go beneath everything,” he said. “Dr Dani once said let me move the stupa (at Moen Jo Daro) and I will give you one from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” he said, much to the amusement of the audience.

“We can find out a lot about the nature of the civilisation that has not been found at any other site [through further excavations a Moen Jo Daro],” Dr Kenoyer urged.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1321710/let-us-re-excavate-moen-jo-daro-urges-archaeologist/

@Kaptaan , do you know what he means by the bolded part in the article above?

 

[Kambojaric]

Moen Jo Daro to get its own website soon

KARACHI:

This is for the first time in the country’s history that an archaeological site, Mohenjo Daro, is going to have its own website, said culture, tourism and antiquities minister Syed Sardar Shah on Monday.

While presiding over the 13th meeting of the executive board of the National Fund for Moen Jo Daro (NFM), Shah said the website will be launched on the eve of the upcoming international conference on Moen Jo Daro and Indus Valley Civilisation, which will be held from February 9 to February11 at Moen Jo Daro site.

The Sindh government is organising the three-day international conference on Moen Jo Daro and Indus Valley Civilisation after forty years. According to a press statement issued by the culture department, last time the conference was held in the 1970s and was organised by the then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Archaeologists, researchers, historians and heritage experts from around the world will attend the conference.

Shah said that the website on Moen Jo Daro, as well as a separate website for the upcoming conference, is almost completed and both will be launched on the first day of the conference.

He further said that the NFM is the main body responsible for the protection, preservation, and promotion of the heritage site, while the culture, tourism and antiquities department is supporting it.

According to him, a research and resource institute is being established and its construction work will soon be completed, which will be served as the major resource centre on Moen Jo Daro by accumulating diverse research done on this archaeological site around the world.

During the meeting, the decisions taken in the previous meeting were reviewed and the status of implementation on them was discussed.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1304695/promoting-heritage-sites-moen-jo-daro-get-website-soon/

 

[Indus Pakistan]

do you know what he means by the bolded part in the article above?

Yes, I take it that the sites in India are peripheral from the Indus Valley proper as found in Pakistan. It is like Ancient Egypt. Thee are sites in Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea that display some characteristics of the Egyptian civilization but the real McCoy is in Egypt. Same here in referance to IVC and Pakistan.

And by the way these lecherous Indian;s have even gone to distorting geography to get their grubby hands on IVC. Do you know what Indo-Gangetic Plains are? The conflaction of two distinct geographies into one in a cheap attempt to polish off on the Harappa and Mohenjo Daro.

Indus Basin is distinct geography with it's own catchment and climate. The region is aride to semi arid and Indus flows into Arabian Sea. Ganga flows through humdid tropical jungles east into the Bay of Bengal. Yet even geography is being twisted.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Certainly a mystery why such a planned city would certainly become inhabited

Not sure why Indians made a rediculous movie (Bollywood) when they have nothing to do with region

Interesting to see that the greeks occupied much of the present day afghan / pakistan areas

But learned something new on this thread about civilization traces beyond 1,500,000 years

Did remembered Alaxander , went around a road trip while back did not realize he went this far

 

[Kambojaric]

Saving Moenjodaro

IT is common in Pakistan to find state and society citing heritage as a source of national pride. When it comes to actually protecting such inheritances, though, the national track record leaves much to be desired. Be it Taxila or Makli or some other site, both public and governmental interest are sadly lacking. This point was brought to the fore yet again last week at the three-day International Conference on the Moenjodaro Indus Valley Civilisation. The archaeological site of Moenjodaro is one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and is estimated to have been built around 2500BCE. It was included on the Unesco World Heritage Site list as far back as 1980. While over the years it has been the subject of much interest for the international archaeological community and its much smaller local counterpart, the site itself has been allowed to deteriorate to a point that, to quote the Unesco country director Vibeke Jensen, if left unprotected, it will disintegrate altogether. Quite apart from the battering of the millennia, the site has also, in recent years, faced debilitating onslaughts of different kinds, including floods. But, as Ms Jensen said, while Unesco’s cooperation to protect the ruins will continue, the dwindling lack of funding is severely hampering such efforts.

On the occasion, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah gave the assurance that the government would meet the financial needs of experts who sought to conduct research on and preserve Moenjodaro. It can only be hoped that this is not an empty promise. After all, it was the PPP, which has held the government reins in the province for years, that three years ago decided to organise a Sindh cultural festival at the site, subsequent to which there were reports about it having been damaged. Moenjodaro needs urgently to be saved from further damage as it is part of the world’s shared inheritance. The provincial government needs to live up to its responsibilities.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1314381/saving-moenjodaro

 

[Kambojaric]

China to establish 4 new museums in KP

China has agreed to establish four museums in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Archaeology and Museum Department and the Cultural Bureau of Shanxi province of China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish four museums, protect and preserve archaeological and heritage sites as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project in different areas of the province.

The signing ceremony was held at the Tourism Corporation, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Furthermore, under the MoU, the museums, archaeological and heritage sites would be preserved and renovated while four museums would be established on CPEC route in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Chinese delegation said that an educational institution would be established at the University of Peshawar to start the Chinese language course and create awareness about the culture of China among the people of this part of the world.

China would also establish four international standard museums in the province having libraries and other modern facilities. The dignitaries said that Gandhara art exhibitions would be organised in various cities of China, including Shanghai, Beijing and Shanxi.

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/02/15/china-to-establish-4-new-museums-in-kp/

 

[Kambojaric]

Moenjodaro: to bury or not to bury the ancient city

Some archaeologists working on Moenjodaro and other Indus valley civilisation sites have expressed concern over the safety of Moenjodaro — the 5,000-year-old world heritage site, and suggested that the ancient remains should be reburied to save them from further decay caused by climatic changes and human intervention.

This point was brought to the fore at the three-day International Conference on the Moenjodaro and Indus Valley Civilisation held earlier this month.

A number of archaeologists were of the view that a replica of Moenjodaro can be created for public viewing like the one created by experts for the Lascaux cave paintings, a Palaeolithic cave in south-western France.

A painting depicting life in the ancient city

Moenjodaro was excavated under the supervision of Sir John Marshal in 1922, who was the director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928, and the government has planned to hold the civilisation’s centennial celebrations in 2022.

When asked, why these ancient remains should be reburied, Dr Jonathan Mark Kenoyer of the University of Wisconsin, USA, one of the archaeologists to have worked on the site for decades, said, “It’s necessary because this area has high salt content and when the salt comes out of bricks, it breaks them. So the tip to protect the bricks from salt damage is to keep them without oxygen underground.”

“The protection of ancient artefacts is our duty. If we find an ancient object and we dig it out of the ground, it will be destroyed, sooner or later,” he said.

“By taking it out we study it, we can record our findings but then we can put it back and make a replica of it. If a replica is destroyed it doesn’t matter because we can make another one. But we cannot make an ancient artefact once it’s destroyed,” he said.

A street sign at the ancient site

Explaining his argument, Dr Kenoyer said, “When your minister comes here, he only walks to stupa. He doesn’t walk to the other areas of the site.” Why does the rest of the area need to remain exposed when, “Ninety per cent of the visitors never go beyond the S D area,” Dr Kenoyer raised the question.

“And then you celebrate festivals inside the fragile site,” he said while referring but not mentioning to the Sindh Festival organised by Pakistan People’s Party government.

The archaeologist was of the view some of characteristics of Indus valley civilisation are in continuity and we can view Moenjodaro people’s features all around. “Some of the characteristics have modified and some of them are in continuity like hospitality of the people in the lower Indus valley, brick making, some costumes and lifestyle”.

Utensils recovered from the site

However, Dr Michael Jansen, who supervised the Unesco project for the safeguarding of Moenjodaro, said, “We cannot remove stupa, we cannot remove the great bath and make replicas of them.”

The site doesn’t need to be rebuilt, he said while rejecting the notion of Dr Kenoyer altogether.

“This is the old theory of conservation. Because if we look at the structures, this clay and crystallisation takes place in this very thin layer of Moenjodaro. So reburying would be complete non-sense.”

Dr Jansen said, “We are dealing with a city spread over 40 kilometres. If we are to rebuild another city with walls spread over the same area, one can only imagine the resources it would take to do so.”

“The right way to go about preservation is that we find a recipe to preserve the site,” he said.

A sculpture placed at Moenjodaro museum

"What we need is a proper mechanism for sustainable maintained of the structures. The government needs to protect the site from human intervention,” he added.

Dr Aurore Didier, the director of French Archaeological Mission in the Indus Basin, who currently excavating Chahojodaro in Benazirabad, was of the opinion that Indus sites must be explored by digging out buried objects but then be reburied to save them.

“I’m carrying out excavation at Chahojodaro because I would like to know more about the Indus civilisation. It is important to collect evidences through more extensive excavation to know more about early people and their society,” she said.

Dr Didler is of the opinion that there is continuity in Pakistan not from the Indus valley civilisation but also from the Neolithic period.

Traces of coal recovered from the ancient site.

She stressed, however, the need for technological solution for the Indus valley civilisation sites. “There are scientific ways to know what is buried without excavation," she said, but added that this technology would only inform archaeologists about the presence of artefacts, which would, ultimately, will have to be dug out if more information is to be gathered from them.

About Dr Kenoyer’s suggestion of reburying the site she said, “Of course with excavation architecture is exposed to wind, sun light and rains and artificial elements.” For that reason, she said, in the excavations at Chahojodaro the architectural remains once they have been exposed.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1318790/moenjodaro-to-bury-or-not-to-bury-the-ancient-city

Chanhu Daro — industrial hub of the ancient world

Artifacts excavated at the Chanhu Daro archaeological site are put on display

KARACHI:
New artifacts and structures excavated at the Chanhu Daro archaeological site in Sindh’s Benazirabad district paint the image of an ancient industrial centre which supplied terracotta products to major urban centres of the Indus Valley Civilisation, including those at Mohen Jo Daro and Harappa.

On Wednesday, the archaeologists working at the site thought to be at least as old as Mohen Jo Daro displayed artifacts they have discovered. Excavation began a month ago under the supervision of Aurore Didier, the head of French Archaeological Mission in Pakistan, and was carried out by students from various universities of Sindh.

“A large number of beads, bead-blanks, and bead-drills, as well as a substantial number of toys suggest that Chanhu Daro may have been a manufacturing site during the Harappan period,” archaeologist and antiquities expert Kaleemullah Lashari said, referring to the peak of the Indus Valley Civilisation from around 2600BC to 2000BC. He said archaeologists have found the remains of pottery factories at the site in addition to that of houses and a drainage system.

“It appears that this city was an ancient industrial hub for pottery from where various terracotta products were supplied to other places,” he told The Express Tribune. “It definitely appears to be a contemporary of the Mohen Jo Daro settlement. Perhaps it even predates it,” Lashari said, adding that the antiquities uncovered at Chanhu Daro bore resemblance to those found at Mohen Jo Daro and Harappa.

Speaking to reporters, Sindh Culture Minister Sardar Shah – who was present at the archaeological site with France’s Consul General Francois Dall’orso and was briefed by archaeologists – said three mounds at Chanhu Daro were surveyed and excavated. According to archaeologists, these mounds revealed the site was occupied at various stages by the Amri, Harappa, Jhukar, and Jhangar cultures.

Located 80 miles south of Mohen Jo Daro, Chanhu Daro was first excavated by Nani Gopal Majumdar in March, 1930. Between 1935 and 1936, British archeologist Ernest J H Mackay led an expedition to Chanhu Daro sponsored by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the American School of Indic and Iranian Studies.

‘People in Indus Valley Civilisation exploited, used fuel resources’

Several artifacts, including seals, pottery shards and a human skeleton, were found discovered at the site and Mackay’s findings were published by the American Oriental Society in 1941. Objects Mackay found are housed at the University Of Pennsylvania Museum Of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Sources in the archeological department said Chanhu Daro is currently spread over 12 acres and the land around it has been occupied by people who are using it for cultivation. “It has not yet been declared a protective site. The government should erect wall around it and depute guards,” an archaeological department official said.

During his visit, Culture Minister Shah said his department would not only build a wall but also a museum and road at the site.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/133621...ity-chanhu-daro-industrial-hub-ancient-world/

 

[Kambojaric]

Centuries-old catapult shells found near Bahawalpur

BAHAWALPUR: Three antique cast-iron shells of varying sizes of a 1,000-year-old catapult (manjanik) have been discovered from the debris of a wall of the decaying Derawar Fort in Cholistan located 70 kilometres from here, according to the Punjab archaeology department.

The shells were retrieved from the remains of a collapsed pillar of the fort’s wall which is currently being repaired.

According to the Sub-divisional Officer of the department, Ghulam Muhammad, the shells are round in shape and weigh about three, five and eight kilogrammes.

He said that they were discovered during the excavation of the foundation for the construction of the pillars to extend support to the collapsed parts of the fort’s boundary wall. The height of the fort’s outer wall is said to be about 35 metres and it is nearly 1,500 metres long.

The retrieved iron shells were buried deep in the ground and it appeared that they must have been shot by catapults fixed inside the fort many centuries ago.

Mr Muhammad said that while he could not ascertain the exact period, the shells were at least 1,000 years old.

At the moment the shells are with the archaeology department in Multan.

Mr Muhammad said that they would be handed over to the Bahawalpur museum for display.

He said that it was the duty of the local museum officials to carry out research regarding the shells to help and guide students involved in studying heritage.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1316036

 

[Kambojaric]

Labourers stumble upon 73-year-old US-made boat in Jamrao canal

MIRPURKHAS: Labourers stumbled upon a 73-year-old US-made aluminium boat when they were busy cleaning the bed of West Jamrao canal of silt under a bridge with the help of excavators, 20 kilometres from here on Wednesday evening.

The boat was apparently part of a floating bridge used by the army’s engineers corps to prepare makeshift bridges on rivers and canals during wartime.

The registration plate still intact and affixed to the boat’s side, gives its owners name as Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army. It reads further: “Gross weight 1750 pounds, manufactured by Consolidated Builders Inc. Portland, Oregon, model No M4, dated Dec 23, 1944.”

An official of the irrigation department said on condition of anonymity that three such boats were employed by Pakistan army engineers when they were building a temporary bridge over the canal during the 1971 war preparations.

They took away two and left one behind, which was either sunk in the canal or displaced at that time. It might be that missing boat, he said, adding the future of the boat would be decided by higher authorities.

Sources in the irrigation department said the boat also suffered some damage when an excavator hit it and pulled it from beneath many layers of silt and slime. The work on desilting of the canal was going on under the project for lining the channel, said the sources.

Mirpurkhas irrigation subdivision SDO Ali Madad Parhyar said that he was busy supervising the lining work when he saw the excavators hitting the boat. He did not know the exact history of the boat, which was about 12 to 20 feet long and 4 to 5 feet wide, and only archaeological experts could determine its age, he said.

Besides being a significant discovery of historical import, the boat has also laid bare the truth of the desilting drives the department has been carrying out periodically for the past many decades. People believe if the department had honestly desilted the canal it would have turned up the boat much earlier.

APP adds: Nara Canal Area Water Board director Imtiaz Memon said the boat would be handed over to the department of archaeology.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1320896/labourers-stumble-upon-73-year-old-us-made-boat-in-jamrao-canal

 

[Taimoor Khan]

The above artifact was recently returned to Pakistan from Italy.

This was excavated from Mehrgarh. I have never seen anything like this before. What you are looking at is basically the faces of earliest ancient Pakistanis, they were there LONG before the Mohenjodaro and Harrapa time, infact atleast three to four thousands years before. Let me remind everyone, that Mehrgarh to date, the world oldest human town/settlement. It surpass anything and everything that has been found throughout human history. Basically, you are just not looking at the faces of ancient Pakistanis but perhaps the first humans from whom came the rest of humanity.

If the world like to believe that Indus was some sort of primitive civilization based on random farmers growing crops in their fields, if this is how the ancients of ancients looked like, who were there 10K years ago, you are fooling yourself if you belong to the group who believe in this deliberate perception created by the west to degrade the mighty Indus.

On the other hand, it is frustrating when the Islamic scholars of Pakistan dont ever bother studying the Indus according to the teaching of Quran and Sunnah. I am convinced that our ancients were non other but the nation of Noah.


https://www.dawn.com/news/1141134