Featured Pakistan: The Archaeological Marvel

[Kambojaric]

Sammas are possibly the greatest rulers of Sindh. Many historians believe they were local Rajput Muslims, while some believe them to be from Baloch tribes. They toppled Soomro dynasty, who were Ismaeli Shia Muslims, in Sindh & became the ruling dynasty. Ostensibly they were not happy with Soomro dynasty's treatment of non-Muslims in Sindh. Sammas established Thatta as their capital, embarked on developmental projects, with Sindh reaching its golden age under them. Thatta became an educational, commercial, & cultural centre in the region. Sindh at that time included what is now South Punjab & Eastern Balochistan. Thus, you can see some historical buildings built by them in these areas. Tombs in Uch Sharif, are also credited to them. They founded the Makli necropolis, which is their resting place also. The greatest of Samma rulers is Jam Nizamuddin II, also known as Jam Nindo. He is buried in Makli & his tomb is built on Gujarati architecture. Bellow is the picture of his tomb (credit: Dawn News).

Sammas left an impressive architectural legacy no doubt. Unfortunately the Kalan Kot Fort (built in the reign of the 5th Jam Tughlak) is now in ruins but what remains and what has been written about it again shows a great piece of architecture.

It is seated on a limestone hill, which abounds in marine shells and is everywhere honeycombed with natural cavities. The fort is about a mile and a quarter in circumference, and the outer wall of it is still perfect. In 1840 it was described as having numerous massy round towers, connected by curtains, and that it appeared to have been constructed with much care and skill. In a large building was found a great quantity of grain burned to charcoal, and this together with the vitrified state of the brickword in many places, seemed to show that he place must have been destroyed by fire.

A gazetteer of the province of Sindh, 1874

https://books.google.se/books?id=Ap8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA310&dq=Samma+sindh&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwig467_443hAhVEmYsKHaavA7AQ6AEINDAC#v=onepage&q=It is seated on a limestone hill, which abounds in marine shells&f=false

A hint of the blue tiles at the bottom shows how impressive the structure must have been in its prime day!

Its the same kind of blue tiles found in the Makli tombs nearby, and that can also be found in southern Punjab (Multan for example)

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KP eyes tourism boom this year

While expecting tourism boom in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year in light of the better law and order situation, experts push the provincial government for taking measures to attract more and more people both from within the country and abroad to its tourist destinations, including the structures left behind by ancient civilisations.

Insisting the province has a lot to offer to foreign religious tourists, especially Buddhists, they call for the establishment of a desk for foreign travellers at the Peshawar Bacha Khan International Airport, provision of safe police escort to them, creation of traditional food and entertainment outlets on heritage sites, and opening of Qila Balahisar and Khyber Pass to them.

The expert say people from Buddhist countries will flood KP if they’re provided with access to Khyber Pass through Safari train as well as the required facilities, especially security.

According to them, Chinese people are interested in research, while Koreans are eager to visit holy sites related to Buddha’s reincarnation narratives.

International tour consultant Mohammad Usman Mardanvi told Dawn that several of KP’s heritage sites were directly or indirectly related to Buddha, which needed excavation, restoration and preservation for overseas pilgrims.

He said heritage sites in Ranigat, Aziz Dheri, Tharele, Takhtbhai, Tokar Darra, Ranigat and Abashib areas of Mardan, Swabi and Buner districts could interest archaeology researchers and Buddhist worshipers from Korea, Sri Lanka, Japan, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, Laos, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and some European countries.

“I strongly believe that if the KP government takes some key measures, religious tourism can help improve our world image and attract thousands of visitors from the regions, where Buddhism is practiced and respected,” he said.

Mr Mardanvi said noted among the sites directly related to Buddha’s life was Tharele, which was 20km in the north west of Mardan district between Jamal Garhi and Shankar villages.

He said Tharele site excavated by Japanese archaeologists in 1960 and spread over a vast area in separate chambers had four rectangular stupas, a big hall, living rooms for monks, and Buddhist monasteries, where scholars used to teach students.

The consultant said Japanese experts had found statues, coins and precious items reflective of Gandhara art from the site in 1964 that dated back to the second to fifth century.

(above) Ashoka rock edicts in Shahbaz Garhi, Mardan.

He regretted that no signboard had been fixed for visitors at the site leaving even local residents unaware about it.

“This beautiful Buddhist complex needs to be restored. A signboard should be fixed there for visitors,” he said.

According to Mr Mardanvi, another major tourist spot for Buddhists stands in Budhi Dheri area of Swabi district, where Buddhist monk Mara Nanda was born in 384AD, who travelled through China and preached Buddhism in Korea.

The site located around six kilometers from the main Chota Lahor city doesn’t have any signboard and therefore, only few locals know about it.

Another important heritage site is Mekha Sanda (male buffalo, female buffalo) in Karamar range near Shahbaz Gahri to which the myth of Vishvanthra Jatkaka about the pre-birth Buddha stories was associated.

The expert said the site was unexplored and therefore, expertise was needed to explore and do research on its significance as mentioned in the scripture of Buddhism.

He said another heritage site, Ranigat, was located on the top of a ridge with the remains of the region’s largest Buddhist monastic complex, including stupas, monasteries, shrines, drainage networks, and other buildings.

“Ranigat is a 2500-year-old Buddhist archaeological site, which belongs to the Gandhara civilisation. It is a good evidence of the Buddhist past of the area,” he said.

According to Mardanvi, the word Ranigat is the combination of ‘rani’, an Urdu word meaning queen, and ‘gat’, a Pashto word meaning a huge rock, and thus, meaning queen’s rock.

“The referenced rock is on top of a mountain, which is visible from distant places,” he said.

Mr Mardanvi said Ranigat was a collection of second century Buddhist ruins spread over an area of four square kilometers and dating back to the Gandhara civilisation.

“Ranigat is located in Buner valley. The archeologists say it remained the centre of Buddhist art and culture for centuries. Ranigat has been a celebrated part of folklore with songs and stories having been written about it,” he said.

Former Peshawar museum curator and Peshawar University archaeology department assistant professor Nidaullah Sehrai said every kind of tourism, including religious one, was closely linked to favourable law and order situation, safe access to the sites, and provision of facilities to tourists to enjoy sights and sounds.

He said KP was a treasure trove of Buddhist relics and the historical Khyber Pass, too, would fascinate visitors.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1467238
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Top Thai Buddhist leader to visit Pakistan
Islamabad seeks to promote historical Buddhist sites to attract tourists

ISLAMABAD: Thailand’s leader of the Buddhists community, Arayawangso is visiting Pakistan in April to participate in an inter-faith harmony event.

During the visit, the most respected leader of the Buddhists across the world will also visit the ancient Buddhist sites particularly in Swat and Taxila and interact with the local community there.

According to an activist working for promotion of Buddhist tourism in Pakistan, Imran Shaukat the Buddhist leader’s visit is taking place to bridge the distance among followers of various faiths.

“He is one of the few monks who have worked with the Muslims of Southern Thailand and has quite a good understanding of Islam,” said Shaukat adding, it [the visit] will inspire other monks and the Buddhist people of the region to visit Pakistan and see Buddhist attractions here.

With recent tourism-friendly steps announced by the Pakistani government, tourism promoters hope a large number of Buddhists will travel to Pakistan as the country is home to several historical Buddhist sites.

Days before Pulwama incident, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Quraishi held a meeting with ambassadors and high commissioners of the Buddhist countries in order to explore the country’s untapped potential in this particular sector.

Buddhist sites
In that meeting Quraishi briefed the diplomats about the sprawling signs of Buddhism in various parts of the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan and the Punjab.

According to Imran Shaukat, Pakistan is home to Buddhism sites and there were 1200 to 1400 big and small sites that have some historical link to Lord Buddha and his times.

“Unfortunately, we have not capitalised on it and this area by and large lies untapped and unexplored,” said Shaukat.


“Our region, Swat, is one of the eight places where Buddha’s ashes were brought and there is a site indicating that place in the valley,” said he adding a 30-metre reclining Buddha statue has also been discovered in Haripur.

According to Imran Shaukat Buddhism flourished in what is now Pakistan some 2,300 years ago, when the region was the centre of a Buddhist civilisation that took root under the rule of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, leaving an abundant archaeological legacy of art and architecture.

The Gandharan civilisation, which lasted from the 6th century BC to 5th century AD is credited with creating the first carved images of Shakyamuni Buddha in stone, stucco, terra-cotta, and bronze, most of which were enshrined in monasteries and stupas in the region.

Terming the Foreign Office’s initiative as a wonderful step, he said he had been working on this project for almost a decade.

Secretary of Pakistan Youth Hostels Association (PYHA) while talking to Gulf News also said that Pakistan is a land of diverse climates and its rich cultural, heritage sites, green lands, pastures, snow-capped mountains, lakes, valleys, rivers and sea, and have the potential to attract tourists from every corner of the world.

“In Sindh we have archaeological sites of Mohenjodaro reflecting ancient civilisation as old as 2500BC in Punjab, Harrapa that traces its marks back to 2600BC.”

https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/top-thai-buddhist-leader-to-visit-pakistan-1.62415830

 

[SABRE]

Sammas left an impressive architectural legacy no doubt. Unfortunately the Kalan Kot Fort (built in the reign of the 5th Jam Tughlak) is now in ruins but what remains and what has been written about it again shows a great piece of architecture.



A gazetteer of the province of Sindh, 1874

https://books.google.se/books?id=Ap8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA310&dq=Samma+sindh&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwig467_443hAhVEmYsKHaavA7AQ6AEINDAC#v=onepage&q=It is seated on a limestone hill, which abounds in marine shells&f=false

A hint of the blue tiles at the bottom shows how impressive the structure must have been in its prime day!

Its the same kind of blue tiles found in the Makli tombs nearby, and that can also be found in southern Punjab (Multan for example)

Yes, very unfortunate. A lot of Samma architectural legacies in Sindh are in ruins and perhaps in beyond salvage.

The blue tiles on the fort show that they were using Sindhi style ornamentation. These tiles are still quite popular in Sindh. Kalan Kot is believed to pre-date Sammas and was still being used around emperor Aurangzeb's time. Beyond this little is known about it, and almost nothing about its decline and destruction.

The old city of Thatta might also not be excavated in the foreseeable future. My theory, based on the traditions in Sindh, the Sammas might have preferred havelis (mansions) over palaces as their residence. They might be rich in architecture but not as extravagant, grandeur, and massive as Mughal palaces. Thus, they were more susceptible to destruction and loss. These havelis were either built in the cities or inside their forts. With both the medieval city of Thatta gone & its forts in complete disarray, we might never find out about the lifestyle of the Sammas. British Archeological Survey suggested that Thatta was a major metropolis under the Sammas, with houses having three floors.

The last Samma ruler Jam Feroz lost his kingdom to Shah Beg of the Temurid Arghun dynasty. Arghuns later fell into internal conflicts and the leadership sought help from the Portuguese. By the time the Portuguese fleet arrived the conflict had been resolved & Arghun ruler refused to pay them their dues. The Portuguese retaliated by sacking Thatta. Thus, much of medieval Thatta was lost. Diogo do Couto, a Portuguese historian, described Thatta as one of the richest cities in the Orient.

 

[ghazi52]

چولستان کے قلعے۔

ویسے تو پاکستان میں سینکڑوں قلعے ہیں لیکن چولستان میں قلعوں کی تعداد 29 ہے اور اس کے علاوہ محلوں اور پرانی عمارتوں کی تعداد اس سے بھی زیادہ ہے اور کہتے ہیں صحابہ کرام ولی اللہ کی قبریں مبارک بھی ہیں صحرائی چولستان کے راستوں کی مجموعی لمبائی ایک ہزار ایک سو ننانوے میل بنتی ہے۔ چولستان بہاولپور کے تین اضلاع بہاولپور، بہاولنگر اور رحیم یار خان کے راستے صحراکی جانب قلعوں تک جاتے ہیں۔
چولستان میں واقع قلعوں کے نام۔
1۔قلعہ پھلڑاقائم پور، 2۔ قلعہ مروٹ، 3۔ قلعہ جام گڑھ مروٹ، 4۔ قلعہ موج گڑھ مروٹ، 5۔ قلعہ مبارک پور چشتیاں، 6۔قلعہ فتح گڑھ امروکہ بہاولنگر، 7۔قلعہ میر گڑھ مروٹ، 8۔قلعہ خیرگڑھ، 9۔قلعہ بہاول گڑھ، 10۔قلعہ سردار گڑھ ولہر، 11۔قلعہ مچھلی، 12۔قلعہ قائم پور، 13۔قلعہ مرید والا، 14۔قلعہ دراوڑ، 15۔قلعہ چانڈہ کھانڈہ، 16۔قلعہ خانگڑھ،17۔قلعہ رکن پور، 18۔قلعہ لیاراصادق آباد، 19۔قلعہ کنڈیراصادق آباد، 20۔قلعہ سیوراہی صادق آباد،21۔قلعہ صاحب گڑھ رحیم یارخان،22۔قلعہ ونجھروٹ، 23۔قلعہ دھویں، 24۔قلعہ دین گڑھ، 25۔قلعہ اوچ، 26۔قلعہ تاج گڑھ رحیم یارخان، 27۔قلعہ اسلام گڑھ رحیم یار خان، 28۔ قلعہ مئومبارک رحیم یار خان، 29- قلعہ ٹبہ جیجل حاصل ساڑھو بہاولنگر میں ہیں اس کے علاوہ اور بھی بہت سی تاریخی عمارتیں،محلات بھی ہیں اور بہت سوں کا وجود ہی دنیا سے ختم ہو گیا ہے۔

اسلام گڑھ فورٹ

یہ قلعہ پہلے بھنور قلعے کے نام سے جانا جاتا تھا۔ یہ قلعہ راول بھیم سنگھ نے 1665ء میں تعمیر کروایا۔جیسا کہ اس کے گیٹ پر بابری میں لکھا ہوا ہے۔ "سمابت1665ء اسوج وادی۲،مہاراج راول سری بھیم سنگھ جی مہاراج"
یہ قلعہ چولستان میں تحصیل خانپور میں واقع ہے۔یہ قلعہ بعلافورٹس سے 46کلومیٹر اور رحیم یار خان سے
تقریبا91کلومیٹر ہے۔یہ قلعہ انڈیا کے بارڈر کے بالکل قریب واقع ہے۔جس کے دوسری طرف بھارتی شہر "کشن گڑھ"ہے۔اس قلعے سے دراورڑ فورٹ تقریبا 170کلومیٹر ہے۔

میر گڑھ فورٹ۔

یہ قلعہ فورٹ عباس سے تقریبا15کلومیٹر کے فاصلے پر ہے۔اس قلعے کی اونچی دیواریں مٹی سے بنی ہوئی ہیں۔یہ قلعہ بہت ہی خستہ حالت میں ہے۔ اور محکمہ اثارقدیمہ کی توجہ کا تلبگار ہے۔اس قیمتی ورثہ کی حفاظت نہ کی گئی تو بہت جلد یہ روٗ زمین سے اپنا نقش مٹا دے گا۔

:جام گڑھ فورٹ

جام گڑہ فورٹ میرگڑھ فورٹ سے 9کلومیٹر دور ہے۔ یہ قلعہ خوبصورت اینٹوں سے بنا ہوا ہے۔ اور کافی حد تک اپنی اصل حالت میں برقرار ہے۔اس کو جام خان ماروفانی نے 1788ء میں بنوایا تھا۔یہ چوکور شکل میں ہے۔ اور چاروں طرف سے 114فٹ کی پیمائش پر پھیلا ہوا ہے۔ اس کی دیواریں 28فٹ تک بلند ہیں اور چاروں کونوں میں گول خوبصورت برج بنے ہوئے ہیں۔قلعہ کے مشرق میں 9فٹ قوس دار گنبد نما دروازہ ہے۔

موج گڑھ فورٹ

موج گڑھ فورٹ عباسی بادشاہت کے دور میں بنائے گئے قلعوں کے سلسلے میں سے ایک قلعہ ہے۔ یہ قلعہ بھی اپنی تباہی کی آخری منزلوں پر ہے۔اور حکومتی اداروں کی توجہ کا تلبگار ہے۔یہ قلعہ چولستان ڈیزرٹ میں تحصیل فورٹ عباس اور یزمان کے درمیاں ہے۔ اس قلعے تک پہنچنے کے لیئے ہمیں بہاولپور شہر میں ٹھنڈی کھوئی سے یزمان ۔فورٹ عباس روڈ پر 70کلومیٹر کا فاصلہ طے کرنا پڑے گا۔
مٹی اور اینٹوں سے بنا ہوا یہ قلعہ معروف خان کہرانی نے 1743ء میں تعمیر کروایا تھا۔ یہ قلعہ انڈیا پاکستان کے بارڈر کے بالکل قریب ہے اور اکثر رینجرز یہاں وزٹ کرتے رہتے ہیں۔رینجرز اس قلعہ کو محفوظ بنانا چاھتے ہیں مگر اس کیلئے اک کثیر رقم کی ضرورت ہے۔

خان گڑھ فورٹ:

یہ قلعہ نواب محمد بہاول خان ۱۱ نے 1783ء میں تعمیر کروایا۔ یہ نصف دائرے کی شکل میں تعمیر کیا گیا ہے۔ جس کے ہرکونے میں چبوترے ہیں اور مشرق والی طرف داخلی دروازہ ہے۔ہر طرف سے یہ قلعہ 128فٹ تک پھیلا ہوا ہے۔اس کی دیواریں مٹی کی اینٹوں کی بنی ہوئی ہیں جو کہ کافی حد تک گر چکی ہیں۔ یہ قلعہ دڑاورفورٹ سے 70کلومیٹر پر ہے۔

خیر گڑھ فورٹ:

یہ قلعہ 1775ء میں تعمیر کیا گیا۔ یہ گول شکل میں ہے اور چاروں طرف سے 170فٹ تک اندر کی طرف پھیلا ہوا ہے۔جس کے چاروں طرف آٹھ پہلو برج ہیں۔ یہ قلعہ دڑاورفورٹ سے تقریبا 64کلومیٹر ہے۔

:نواں کوٹ قلعہ

نواں کوٹ قلعہ آج بھی کافی حد تک اپنی اصلی حالت میں قائم ہے۔یہ قلعہ دراوڑ فورٹ سے 45کلومیٹر کے فاصلے پر ہے۔ یہ بھی مٹی کی بنی اینٹوں کا بنا ہوا ہے۔اس کا کل رقبہ برجوں کے اندر تک 156فٹ تک ہے۔داخلی دروازہ 10فٹ چوڑا ہے جس کے ملحق ایک گارڈز کا کمرہ بنا ہوا ہے۔

بجنوت ونجھروت قلعہ

یہ قلعہ ایک بہت ہی شاندار قلعہ تھا۔ اس قلعہ کو راجہ ونجھہ یا بجا بھاٹیا نے 757ء میں تعمیر کروایا۔ یہ قلعہ اب کھندرات کی صورت میں موجود ہے مگر پھر بھی یہ اپنی شاندار حالت کہ بیان کرتا ہے۔یہ قلعہ نواں کوٹ قلعہ سے 45 کلومیٹر کے فاصلے پر ہے۔ اس کو بنانے میں چونے کا پتھر استعمال ہوا ہے جو کہ مقامی طور پر پایا جاتا ہے۔یہ قلعہ بھی گول صورت میں ہے جو کہ چاروں طرف 300فٹ تک پھیلا ہوا ہے۔شمال کی طرف ۱۱ فٹ چوڑا داخلی دروازہ ہے جس پر 3کمرے بنے ہوئے ہیں۔اس کی دیواریں 21فٹ تک بلند ہیں۔بہاولپور سے اس کا فاصلہ 163 کلومیٹر ہے۔

See Translation

 

[El Sidd]

HELL FUCKKNG OO

 

[ghazi52]

Five Hundred Years old Masjid in Bhodisar, Thar

 

[ghazi52]

Rattan Singh's Well

This dilapidated building, located in Anarkali Bazaar just outside the northeastern edge of the Punjab University grounds,

once housed a well that provide clean drinking water to the inhabitants of the area. The spacious well was commissioned by Rattan Singh, a Wine and General Merchant based in Anarkali. His name was inscribed in a marble slab, inserted in one of the walls of the building but can no longer be found. Today, the well is no more .

 

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Monument Of Bucephalus The Horse of Alexander The Great



Alexander the great of Macedonia is one of those kings who are equally famous in the East and also in the West. He started his career of conquests from Greece and after conquering the Middle East he invaded central Asia and then turned southward and invaded present day Pakistan. After conquering Punjab he decided to return home. During his long odysseus his favourite horse Bucephalus was accompanying him. But he too ended the journey of his life here in Punjab. Alexander had a great love for this horse, which is prominently displayed in the movie "Alexander" released in 2004.
Alexander buried his horse near the modern day town of Jalalpur Sharif in district Jhelum just before or after his famous battle of Raja Porus on the other side of the river Jhelum in May, 326 BC. He probably built a monument as well. But no traces of that are to be found. However, in 1997 AD due to the interest taken by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan a new monument was built on the same spot. It is a big building with a blend of Greek architecture. It has several rooms and the roof is used as a big platform on which there are four sided Greek style arches. It is made of marble and its white building attracts from a distance.
Alexander also founded a town a here and name it Bucephala after his horse. Which later on acquired the name of Girjakh and finally named Jabalpur by its ruler Malik Darwesh Khan Janjua in honour of Mughal emperor Jalaluddin Akbar, who visited this town.







Foundation plaque.


Another view from the road.



A map showing the travels of Alexander.



View From the south east with a beautiful hill in the background.


View from the dry bed of a ravine, in the south east.

This monument is located in district Jhelum at 32° 39' 53" N, 73° 24' 31" E. It easily accessible, as a good road passes by the monument. Take an exit from the Lilla Interchange on M2 and travel first to Pind Dadan Khan about 25 kilometers away and then continue towards Jhelum for further 35 kilometers and reach Jalalpur Sharif. The monument is less than a kilometer in north from here. As the road is good so it is not difficult to reach here. If you ever plan a tour of this area, you can include a visit to Khewra Salt Mines, which are just 6 kilometers north of Pind Dadan Khan.

 

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Secrets Of A 3,000-Year-Old Cemetery


JACKIE NORTHAM

A cemetery uncovered in Pakistan's Swat Valley is thought to be from around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago.

High on a hill overlooking Pakistan's scenic Swat Valley sits a recently excavated cemetery. Italian archaeologist Luca Maria Olivieri walks across the site and lays a sun-beaten hand on a clay slab jutting out from a high, dun-colored wall. It's an ancient grave.

Olivieri says the remains still have to be carbon-tested, but archaeologists believe the graves contain members of a Dardic community, which dominated this part of Pakistan 3,000 years ago.

It's believed Alexander the Great fought one of his battles here, in the village of Udegram.

The grave site was discovered when a landowner started to develop the area. Olivieri is one of several archaeologists working with the local Archaeology Community Tourism Project. He says his group made a deal with the landlord to stop building for one year so they could excavate the cemetery.

The graves were apparently opened and reopened multiple times, serving more than one generation.

The archaeologists discovered a collection of 32 sealed graves. Olivieri says the site reveals the community's burial and post-burial rituals.

"So these graves were opened, reopened, reburied and filled and emptied and refilled several times because [they belonged] to families who were using it for more than one generation," he says.

In one small corner of one grave, Olivieri shifts two small stones and gets a glimpse of some remains. It's a femur. He says most of the graves contained two skeletons: male and female, facing each other.

A Wealth Of Artifacts

The archaeologists discovered hairpins and spindles, beautifully preserved pots, ornaments made of copper and bronze, and some pieces of iron. Olivieri says carbon-testing may prove the fragments are the oldest traces of iron on the subcontinent.

"It's like something amazing for us to have major excavations all around, especially in ancient sites that belong to the time of Alexander the Great," says Niaz Ali Shah, the curator of a provincial museum. "A great experience, in fact, for the younger archaeologists of our province."

Olivieri says the biggest concern is finding enough time, expertise and financing to excavate all of the Swat Valley buried treasures.

 

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1000 Years Old Varun Dev Mandir in Karachi, Pakistan

Varun Dev Mandir in Manora Island Beach, Karachi, Pakistan is estimated to be 1000 years old,


Few believe that around 16th century, a wealthy sailor, Bhojomal Nancy Bhatia bought Manora Island from the Khan of Kalat, who owned most of the land along the coastline at that time and then his family took over this temple.

Exact date and year of first construction is not known as much history and inscriptions of Hindu temples in Pakistan have been destroyed.

It is widely believed that the current structure was renovated in around 1917–18.

Inscription in devnagri script says : Om, Varun Dev Mandir.

Inscription in Sindhi on front gate says, dedication from sons in the sacred memory of Seth Harchand Mal Dayal Das of Bhriya.
Now, Bhriya is a town in Khairpur in Sindh Province, Pakistan.

At present, this temple belongs to the Pakistan Hindu Council.

The temple’s decayed appearance reflects a lack of care, and its walls and rooms serve as a toilet for visitors to Manoras sandy beach.

Humid winds are eating into the structure and the rich carvings on the walls of the mandir are slowly eroding.
In 2008, Temple caretaker Jivraj said that he had written to the Manora Cantonment Board (MCB) for the records of ownership, but was told no such document existed.

The steps and front door letting one inside the temple courtyard is missing. In its place the person guarding the place has piled up some construction material. The temple shikhara has also tilted to one side. There used to be a well in the courtyard that’s caved in. The stone work has corroded, the stucco work destroyed. The plinths also are in bad condition. A new structure, not a part of the original one, is blocking the temple view from one side.

The temple, which also houses two smaller temples, the Jhoolay Laal and Shiva temples, has seen plenty of repairs since the 1970s but these have contributed more towards damaging the building than preserving it. Unskilled people had fixed tiles using concrete, which resulted in damaging the surface of the structure.


After many years, Varun Dev Mandir’s repair work has started and restored.

Besides the temple, there are also two gurdwaras for the Sikh community and a church for Christians nearby.
Manora was a multicultural island, with much ethnicity. The gurdwaras and church are still standing and open for prayers but the temple has been unlucky in this regard.

 

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PU begins excavation at Shorkot to unearth ancient culture

March 31, 2019

Archaeological site has unique significance in cultural history.


The Punjab University’s Department of Archaeology in collaboration with Department of Archaeology, Government of Punjab has started its first systematic excavation at Shorkot Mound, District Jhang.

The archaeological site has a unique significance in the cultural history of ancient Punjab.

A Punjab University team under the supervision of Faculty of Arts and Humanities Dean Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chawla, led by Dr Muhammad Hameed and accompanied by experts, technical staff and students from Department of Archaeology, is currently engaged in an extensive archaeological excavation operation.

According to the press release, the purpose of this scientific field study is to determine chronological sequence of cultural development at this ancient site, which may result in establishing a link with other important sites located in the region between River Chenab and Ravi.

Another objective of the excavation is to propose a plan to the authorities in order to develop the site as a cultural tourism point which would be the first-of-its-kind in the region.

According to scholars, the site could be ancient settlement ‘Saboi’ visited by Alexander the Great in 4th Century BC. However, this hasn’t been approved yet through material evidence. In this background, it remains to be seen that if this ongoing excavation of the archaeology department can put some light on this very important, long-standing and unsolved historical question.

 

[Kambojaric]

Sindh returns ancient artefacts to Balochistan

QUETTA: Thousands of centuries-old artefacts, including elegant and sophisticated pottery, seals and coins, have been brought back by the Balochistan government from Sindh, where they were kept for long in the National Museum Karachi.

This was said by provincial Secretary of Cultural and Tourism Zafar Ali Buledi.

He termed the recovery of the ancient artefacts a landmark achievement of the Balochistan government.

These ancient relics were recovered from different archaeological sites of Balochistan, including Mehergarh, Turbat and Lasbela. However, these artefacts were shifted to the National Museum Karachi because Balochistan has no museum to preserve and display the relics.

Mr Buledi said that learning about the presence of the relics in the National Museum Karachi, the culture and tourism department, on the directives of Chief Minister Jam Kamal Alyani and Minister for Culture and Tourism Abdul Kaliq Hazara, initiated efforts for bringing the artefacts to Quetta.

“We discussed the issue with the Sindh culture and antiquities minister and other authorities concerned and, after a few meeting, convinced them to return the artefacts to Balochistan,” Mr Buledi told Dawn.

He said that 20,675 artefacts were handed over to Balochistan by the Sindh authorities, which were 2,000 to 6,000 years old. These relics included figurines of male and female human beings and animals, elegant and sophisticated pottery, seals and coins, he added.

The secretary said that the Balochistan government had made a plan to establish a museum in Quetta where these relics would be displayed for the general public, which would help in promoting culture and tourism in Balochistan and generating revenue. Funds for the museum project had been allocated, he added.

No previous government had shown any interest in bringing back these assets of Balochistan despite having information, Mr Buledi said.

“We have also made a plan to establish an archaeology and anthropology department in the University of Balochistan,” he added.

The provincial government was giving importance to promotion of culture and tourism in Balochistan as the province had dozens of beautiful locations that could attract tourists, particularly the long coast of Makran, Mr Buledi said.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1468520

 

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HISTORY OF SUKKUR

 

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The silence of a graveyard

The Indus River originates from the mountains of Tibet, flows through India and Pakistan and falls into the Arabian Sea, covering a journey of more than 3,000 kilometres. For thousands of years, it attracted conquerors to its banks to acquire land and power — for agriculture, for trade, for religion and for survival. Invaders made their way one after another; some ruled for a few years while others reigned for centuries. They destroyed and built empires, and left behind monuments — some celebrated to this day, others still undiscovered, keeping history silent.

Forty kilometres south of Dera Ismail Khan after the village of Paroa on the main Indus Highway, is a poorly painted roadside sign, pointing travellers to the right. "Ancient Tombs and Graveyard," it reads. The trail – rough, uncarpeted and dusty – runs alongside a small irrigation channel and green fields. We turn left after seven kilometres, where the trail ends at the village of Lal Marah Sharif. This village has a huge graveyard, where stand four distinct and beautifully constructed tombs — graves of the unknown.

The Lal Marah tombs

A man stands inside the Lal Marah tombs


The tombs are known as andiray, which means ‘graveyard’ in the local dialect of Pashto. Seraiki-speaking people dominate the village’s population but, given that it lies on the ancient route from Ghazni to Multan, the Pashto name could have been given during the Ghaznavid period in the ninth or 10th century.

The tombs are a symmetrical wonder, made of red bricks, blue glazed tiles, arched doors and small windows. All four tombs have a single dome; two of the tombs also have round towers on four corners. The decorative elements represent the architecture of Central Asia and imitate the tomb of the Samanid ruler Ismail, in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

The style that these graves represent is very common in southern Punjab and Sindh, where certain shrines and tombs have glazed style workmanship, reflecting the art of Central Asia. There is no date or detail written on any of the graves or tombs, but their structure denotes that they probably belong to royals or saints. The general public was not given such status.

Inayatullah shows a photo of the tomb before restoration


Newly built graves dot the compound. The Department of Archaeology and Museums took custody of the tombs in 1978 and installed a tall board that has details painted in Urdu and English. The English text has faded away with time but some Urdu is still readable. As mentioned on the board, the only notable work done on the tombs is by Dr Ahmed Hasan Dani, a renowned archaeologist and historian. In one of his books, History of Pakistan: Pakistan through Ages, Dani points out that the site must have acquired an important geographical position during the march of the Ghaznavid sultans to Sindh and Punjab. Perhaps they left the tombs as a sign.

Inayatullah, a young man with a thin moustache, is the current caretaker of the graveyard. His father, Gul Muhammad, who was the caretaker before him, has saved some records in a room that includes a visitor book and some old photographs taken before the restoration of the four tombs. There were 11 tombs in total, but only the rubble of the others is now visible, with nothing but a boundary and graves without a structure.

The only other tomb left at Chira Graveyard from the time of Lal Marah


While going through the debris of history, Inayatullah tells us that there is another such structure still standing, apart from the four tombs at Lal Marah, at another graveyard 10 kilometres further south — the Chira Graveyard.

The Chira Graveyard lies on the same ancient route, a few miles away from the main Indus Highway. A local farmer accompanies us to the graveyard along a dirt track. He is surprised to receive visitors; it has been 25 years since anyone has come looking for the graveyard, he says. I assume the previous visitor could only have been Dr Dani himself.

The route is full of wild bushes covered with spiderwebs. The tomb is very similar to the ones in Lal Marah, though in much worse condition. It also has arched openings on each side and a single dome. The farmer tells us there were more such tombs in the area; according to him, at least three have collapsed. More rubble is spread throughout the graveyard, including red bricks and blue glazed tiles. The Chira tomb is now left to the mercy of nature and will soon fall if not restored.

The visitor book at Lal Marah has no recent comments. One comment from 2006 is by a student from Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan, glorifying the beauty of the tombs and anticipating what Dr Dani would reveal about the people buried there. Dr Dani was a rare source who could have, in fact, shed light on the history of this place. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2009, leaving behind scores of such unexplored sites that require restoration and more research.

 

[Kambojaric]

An old article but thought it might be interesting post again given that skeletons of the species have recently been found in Peru (https://www.treehugger.com/animals/...bbed-feet-and-toe-hooves-discovered-peru.html)

Pakicetus: The First Whale

Odd as it may seem, a four-footed land mammal named Pakicetus,living some 50 million years ago in what we know as Pakistan today, bears the title of “first whale.”

Straddling the two worlds of land and sea, the wolf-sized animal was a meat eater that sometimes ate fish, according to chemical evidence. Pakicetus also exhibited characteristics of its anatomy that link it to modern cetaceans, a group made up of whales, porpoises, and dolphins.

A resin cast of Pakicetus, based on fossils found in Pakistan, was displayed in the special exhibition Whales: Giants of the Deep.

First discovered by paleontologists in 1983, Pakicetus lived along the margins of a large shallow ocean, the Tethys Sea. Although it had the body of a land animal, its head had the distinctive long skull shape of a whale’s.

Over time, fossils also revealed that Pakicetus had an ear bone with a feature unique to whales and an ankle bone that linked it to artiodactyls, a large order of even-toed hoofed mammals that includes hippos, pigs, sheep, cows, deer, giraffes, antelopes, and even cetaceans, the only aquatic artiodactyls.

Though rare, mammal species adapting to life in the sea has happened at least seven times in different major groups of mammals.

Still, this reverse pattern accounts for some 100 living mammal species that inhabit the oceans today, from three major groups.

The groups are cetaceans within Artiodactyla, as noted above; Carnivora, specifically seals, sea lions, and walruses (the “pinnipeds”) and an independent invasion of the oceans by sea otters; and Sirenia, which includes several species of aquatic manatees and dugongs—which live in rivers and shallow coastal waters and eat mainly seagrasses.

https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/the-first-whale-pakicetus

 

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Kot Shera: Haveli Sardar Mangal Singh

The countryside of Pakistan is dotted with many archaeological sites or buildings having historic, religious or cultural value. One such building is a beautiful mansion that exists in Kot Shera just outside the sprawling city of Gujranwala. This house was constructed by a big landlord of the area, Sardar Mangal Singh. The haveli is located at 32° 7'21.00"N; 74° 7'28.53"E.

Details about Sardar Mangal Singh are sketchy. However, before writing something about him, let us visit the mansion he built for himself. People told me that the haveli was barely complete at the time of partition in 1947 and perhaps construction was still in progress and even it was not fully furnished as yet. It also suffered some damage during the disturbances of 1947.

After the partition, as we know almost all Sikhs and Hindus had to leave this part of Punjab. The properties they left behind were distributed among the Muslim refugees coming from India. This haveli too was allotted or probably occupied by homeless refugees. Because it is improbable that anyone could claim such a huge property. Even today several families are living in different sections of the mansion.

I talked to a few persons in the Kot Shera and they informed me that the mansion was spread over an area of 40 acres, including a very big garden, stables, and houses for the employees of the Sardar. Currently, the mansion is situated in a thickly populated area, surrounded by a large number of ill-planned houses. As mentioned earlier the building itself is partitioned and is in use of several families living in different portions of this three storey building. The top floor was locked and we could not visit it. And our guide told us that that was the best-preserved part of this haveli.




Haveli Mangal Singh, Kot Shera. A view of the first and second floor. (24.07.2018.)





Another view of the haveli from the roof of the ground floor. (24.07.2018.)































The above three pictures I took from ground level. The place is so congested and lanes are so narrow that it is difficult to take a good picture.











A staircase leading to the 2nd floor. But we could not go upstairs as this section was closed and the owners were absent. (24.07.2018.)
















This picture was definitely the main entrance on the ground floor on the western side of the mansion.

The whole building is so haphazardly partitioned that it is difficult to visit all the sections in a short time. But whatever we could saw was more than enough to give us an idea that how splendid this would be at the time of its completion. Now it is slowly crumbling as the current owners are simply not resourceful enough to maintain it properly and definitely legal problems also would be playing a role in preventing people from spending money on its repair and maintenance.

Now something about the builder, Sardar Mangal Singh. He certainly was a man of wealth and affluence and owner of a huge estate, reportedly spread over 12 villages. He probably was a close relative of the prominent family of Jhanda Butala Singh, a place 15 kilometers north-west of Kot Shera.

It was a coincidence that just two days before visiting this mansion I went to see a gurdwara at Mattoo Bhaike. In that gurdwara I found over a hundred plaques mentioning the names of those persons who made donations for the construction of that gurdwara. And one of them was about Sardar Mangal Singh.



੧ ਓਂਕਾਰ
ਆਪਨੇ ਸੇਵਾ ਕੀ ਆਪੇ
ਰਾਖੀ ਆਪੇ ਨਾਸ ਜਪਾਵੇ
______ ਰੁਪਏ ਦੀ ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰਾਈ
ਸ੍ਰ: ਮੰਗਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਰਹੀਸ
ਆਜ਼ਮ ਕੋਟ ਸ਼ੇਰਾ
ਸੰ: ੧੯੯੮

1 اونکار
آپ نے سیوا کی آپے
راکھی آپے ناس جپائے
______ روپے دی سیوا کرائی
سردار منگل سنگھ جی رئیس
اعظم کوٹ شیرا
سن: 1998 [1941]


The above plaque introduces Sardar Mangal Singh as the Raees -e- Azam of Kot Shera, which can be translated as the richest man or lord of Kot Shera. The space for the amount donated had been left blank. So we do not know how much he contributed. Perhaps as one of the richest men in the area he was continuously supporting the efforts to construct the historically important gurdwara.

One cannot avoid feeling sad and disappointed to see that such a masterpiece of architecture has been left to decay into ruins, just because of our negligence and apathy. It is another example of how careless and negligent we are about of history and heritage. It is certainly too much to appeal to our archaeological department to protect and repair this building. It is strange that though people are generally well aware of the importance of such buildings, but collectively we are failing to preserve them, which are an important part of our history and heritage.

Tariq Amir