New discoveries at Bhambore

Sindh is an ancient land where civilisation has been thriving, at least, for the past seven thousand years. The discovery of the ancient Indus Valley civilsation in 1922 changed the basic fact about the start of recorded history of the Indian subcontinent; because before 1922 Indian history was reckoned to begin with the Aryan invasion of the subcontinent. New excavations carried out at Bhambore have revealed that it was the biggest producer of ivory in the ancient world. This shows that once thick forests existed in the Bhambore region because ivory grows on the mouth of elephants and their natural habitat is in jungles. The present excavations were carried out by an Italian archaeologist, Simon Mantelin, together with Pakistani experts in the field. They were assisted by students of Pakistani universities. In the excavations, a vast number of historical artefacts has been unearthed, including articles made of ivory, coins, copper, bronze, glass, iron, wood, shells, fired bricks and mud bricks. At a presentation at the National Museum Karachi on Thursday, Mantelin said a total of 6,675 ivory pieces had been discovered at Bhambore. He said though a large number of ivory pieces was unearthed in Iraq too, the present discovery at Bhambore was the biggest. The latest discovery of artefacts at an ancient site will likely open up new job opportunities for archaeologists both at historical sites and museums. Excavations are also being carried out in Sakrand, Sindh.

Bhamobore dates back to the first century BC. The port city is supposed to be the capital of Raja Dahir’s. Such discoveries would kindle the young generation’s interest in history. Here it is relevant to mention Indian PM Modi’s ‘knowledge’ of history. At a public meeting during the election campaign in 2019, he had described the ancient city of Taxila as being located on the banks of the Ganges in north India. 


Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2020.