RabzonKhan
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Our Indus Valley treasures
THE Indus Valley and its forerunner civilisations continue to cough up treasures of an ancient past. Some of these date as far back as the Stone Age (before 3,300 BC). The latest discovery in Lakhian Jo Daro near Sukkur has unveiled archaeological remains, utensils, faience paintings and mirrors that are believed to predate Moenjodaro, harking back to at least 5,500 years. The uncovering of the site comes after the discovery of similar remains at Mehrgarh which dates back to some 7,000 years. Sited in Balochistan, it was unearthed by French archaeologists in 1974. The treasure trail along the Indus and its tributaries stretches all the way up to Swat. Preliminary findings at Lakhian Jo Daro suggest that the discovery matches at least the remains found at Kot Diji that predates Moenjodaro the most spectacular of Indus Valley sites excavated by John Marshall and Mortimer Wheeler, among others, in the 1930s. The finds make the Indus Valley civilisation rival those of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The continuing discoveries of such sites along the Indus reinforce the fact that our part of the world was home to some of the earliest and most socially and structurally developed human civilisations, and is in that sense at least the envy of the world today. While Pakistan can also be proud of the good number of professional archaeologists and human anthropologists it has produced, it must be noted with some dismay that the authorities concerned have not always succeeded in protecting our historical treasures. There is a dire need to reinforce safeguards and put in place additional security mechanisms to ensure that historical sites and artefacts do not become victims of theft by the unscrupulous or of destruction at the hands of the myopic religiosity and militancy raging in Swat, for instance.
THE Indus Valley and its forerunner civilisations continue to cough up treasures of an ancient past. Some of these date as far back as the Stone Age (before 3,300 BC). The latest discovery in Lakhian Jo Daro near Sukkur has unveiled archaeological remains, utensils, faience paintings and mirrors that are believed to predate Moenjodaro, harking back to at least 5,500 years. The uncovering of the site comes after the discovery of similar remains at Mehrgarh which dates back to some 7,000 years. Sited in Balochistan, it was unearthed by French archaeologists in 1974. The treasure trail along the Indus and its tributaries stretches all the way up to Swat. Preliminary findings at Lakhian Jo Daro suggest that the discovery matches at least the remains found at Kot Diji that predates Moenjodaro the most spectacular of Indus Valley sites excavated by John Marshall and Mortimer Wheeler, among others, in the 1930s. The finds make the Indus Valley civilisation rival those of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The continuing discoveries of such sites along the Indus reinforce the fact that our part of the world was home to some of the earliest and most socially and structurally developed human civilisations, and is in that sense at least the envy of the world today. While Pakistan can also be proud of the good number of professional archaeologists and human anthropologists it has produced, it must be noted with some dismay that the authorities concerned have not always succeeded in protecting our historical treasures. There is a dire need to reinforce safeguards and put in place additional security mechanisms to ensure that historical sites and artefacts do not become victims of theft by the unscrupulous or of destruction at the hands of the myopic religiosity and militancy raging in Swat, for instance.
