Featured Pakistan: The Archaeological Marvel

[Kambojaric]

Rehabilitation of Shalimar Garden to set about in July

After an arduous delay of over ten years, the Punjab Archaeology Department has once again pulled up its socks set for the conservation of Shalamar Gardens Lahore.

A department has also been set up to import the required stone from India.

To conserve and rehabilitate the garden, the department had prepared a PC-1 in 2007.

Despite its approval, however, the department could not execute the project owing to non-transfer of funds.

Last year, the Punjab government gave the project its go-ahead while releasing 50 million rupees for the procurement of red sandstone.

According to officials, the red sandstone procured from India was the original stone used by Mughals. They claimed that in previous rehabilitation of historic monuments, the department had always used original material.

“These red sandstones would be installed in an aesthetical way so that originality could be maintained while trained craftsman would be hired in this regard,” they noted.

Sources in the department informed that due to delay in rehabilitation work, many more blocks had been damaged in the gardens.

“We have procured red sandstone from India according to the old estimates but don’t have any fresh estimates regarding either how much work or material would be required more,” they added.

It was revealed that in the past, same red sandstone was procured from India during the conservation of Badshahi Mosque in 1990.

Archaeology Director Malik Maqsood told Daily Times that properties of the material to be used in this conservation process would be similar to the original one. While refusing all allegations of improper prior conservation efforts, he said that the department remained concerned, which was why it never compromised over the originality of the monuments.

Maqsood further informed that the department had procured red sandstone worth 50 million from India.

“We will execute conservation work in July this year which will be completed by June 2020,” he stated. The director concluded that the project would require another 10 million rupees, which would be released this year in the new budget.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/386589/rehabilitation-of-shalimar-garden-to-set-about-in-july/

 

[messiach]

Its been 'repaired in books' so many times. DC lashary made millions & millions of ruppees out of it.

Rehabilitation of Shalimar Garden to set about in July

After an arduous delay of over ten years, the Punjab Archaeology Department has once again pulled up its socks set for the conservation of Shalamar Gardens Lahore.

A department has also been set up to import the required stone from India.

To conserve and rehabilitate the garden, the department had prepared a PC-1 in 2007.

Despite its approval, however, the department could not execute the project owing to non-transfer of funds.

Last year, the Punjab government gave the project its go-ahead while releasing 50 million rupees for the procurement of red sandstone.

According to officials, the red sandstone procured from India was the original stone used by Mughals. They claimed that in previous rehabilitation of historic monuments, the department had always used original material.

“These red sandstones would be installed in an aesthetical way so that originality could be maintained while trained craftsman would be hired in this regard,” they noted.

Sources in the department informed that due to delay in rehabilitation work, many more blocks had been damaged in the gardens.

“We have procured red sandstone from India according to the old estimates but don’t have any fresh estimates regarding either how much work or material would be required more,” they added.

It was revealed that in the past, same red sandstone was procured from India during the conservation of Badshahi Mosque in 1990.

Archaeology Director Malik Maqsood told Daily Times that properties of the material to be used in this conservation process would be similar to the original one. While refusing all allegations of improper prior conservation efforts, he said that the department remained concerned, which was why it never compromised over the originality of the monuments.

Maqsood further informed that the department had procured red sandstone worth 50 million from India.

“We will execute conservation work in July this year which will be completed by June 2020,” he stated. The director concluded that the project would require another 10 million rupees, which would be released this year in the new budget.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/386589/rehabilitation-of-shalimar-garden-to-set-about-in-july/

 

[Kambojaric]

Its been 'repaired in books' so many times. DC lashary made millions & millions of ruppees out of it.

Dont doubt that. Still recent renovation work in Old Lahore city has been more acceptable. Below international standards imo but hey something is better than nothing.

 

[messiach]

DC lashari and his family is 'in business' of scam archeological preservations, horticulture, fun parks & beautification projects all around lahore and whereever he has worked in administrative capacity as DC. An administrative mafia working with mafia.

Dont doubt that. Still recent renovation work in Old Lahore city has been more acceptable. Below international standards imo but hey something is better than nothing.

 

[ghazi52]

Mold-made faience tablet with script found in the eroded surface debris of Trench 54 (H2000-4484/2227-15), Harappa.

The Early City on Mound E, a Bead and Tablet Workshop and the City Walls on Mound E. By Jonathan Mark Kenoyer and Richard H. Meadow.

Painted burial pottery from Harappa. The two largest vessels were found in the same burial and are described below. The other smaller vessels were found in an earlier burial and represent an older style of pottery.

Tall jar with concave neck and flaring rim:
The rounded base was originally supported in a ring stand. The black painted geometric designs are arranged in panels with a red slip as background. After initial firing, the entire painted design was obliterated with a red slip and fired again at a low temperature that turned the exterior layer of the slip red through oxidation, but the inner layer remained gray. This overslip was not well bonded to the previously slipped surface and was partially eroded when first discovered. After initial conservation and documentation, one half of the overslip was removed to reveal the original painted design. The lid and ring stand with this vessel were also covered with an overslip. This tall jar was located at the foot of the burial pit for burial 148a.

Material: terra cotta
Dimensions: jar - 62.8 cm height, 32.4 cm dia.; lid - 8.9 cm height, 28.2 cm dia.
Harappa, Lot 145 Harappa Museum, jar H87-655; lid, H87-657
Dales 1991: 64, fig. 5.2; Dales and Kenoyer 1991: fig. 13.17

Large globular painted pot:
A large globular vessel with lid and ring stand (no. 187) was located at the head of the same burial. It was made in several stages, beginning with a molded base and then built up in two or three stages on the wheel. Other unslipped vessels were associated with these two uniquely treated burial vessels.

With geometric designs arranged in panels, and found in the same burial (148a) as the tall painted jar (no. 186), this vessel also had a second layer of red slip that totally obliterated the painted design. The same treatment was done to the lid and ring stand. This large pot was made on the wheel in several stages and has a molded base. The lid was made in a mold on the wheel and then the knob was attached, also on the wheel. The ring stand was thrown on the wheel and then carved to hollow out the base.

Material: terra cotta
Dimensions: pot - 44.4 cm height, 43.8 cm max dia.; lid - 6.6 cm height, 22.5 cm dia.; ring stand - 12 cm height, 20.2 cm dia.
Harappa, Lot 145
Harappa Museum, pot, H88-1121/145-28; lid, H88-993/145-29; ring stand, H88-992/145-19 Dales 1991: 64; Dales and Kenoyer 1991: fig. 13.17

 

[Kambojaric]

Aga Khan Foundation however cannot be charged with engaging in false conservation projects. They recently renovated the famous Picture Wall at Lahore Fort /February 2019 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore_Fort#Picture_Wall)

https://www.akdn.org/where-we-work/...l-development/walled-city-lahore-conservation

 

[bananarepublic]

Aga Khan Foundation however cannot be charged with engaging in false conservation projects. They recently renovated the famous Picture Wall at Lahore Fort /February 2019 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore_Fort#Picture_Wall)

https://www.akdn.org/where-we-work/south-asia/باكستان/cultural-development/walled-city-lahore-conservation

This is only a fraction of the whole restoration
This part of the wall was restored as a test and several foreign restoration experts had to be brought in order fully restore the wall
The project never used restoration methods in Pakistan and when excavating near the wall they found artifacts which were hundreds of year older than the fort itself
Lahore fort will serve as a model project to be implemented throughout Pakistan.

This is also the first time a picture wall has been restored in the world

 

[ghazi52]

Prime Minister, Imran Khan inaugurates the 400 year old historic “Picture Wall” of Lahore Fort


Lahore, Pakistan, 4 May 2019 - Imran Khan, Prime Minister, Islamic Republic of Pakistan inaugurated the restoration of the 400-year-old “Picture Wall” of Lahore Fort. The Picture Wall is one of the principal features of the Lahore Fort UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The conservation of the 240-foot-long western façade has been carried out by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), and its country affiliate, the Aga Khan Cultural Service-Pakistan (AKCS-P), in collaboration with the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA).

Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan, Prime Minister, Islamic Republic of Pakistan emphasised the need for educational institutions to develop archaeology as a subject and the importance of preserving heritage sites in Pakistan. Citing sustainable conservation models from other countries where heritage sites are made economically viable by converting to hotels, the Prime Minister applauded how this model has been successfully implemented by the Aga Khan Development network in the Northern areas of Pakistan.

Together with the Shah Burj Gate (Hathi Pol), the Picture Wall forms the original private entrance to the Fort. The wall is exquisitely decorated with imagery of hunting, battle scenes, angels and demons, human figures, animals, birds, as well as geometric and floral patterns. Built approximately 400 years ago during the Mughal era, it is one of the largest murals in the world. It is embellished in cut glazed tile mosaic work, filigree work, fresco, painted lime plaster and cut brickwork.

Salman Beg, CEO, Aga Khan Cultural Service, Pakistan said, “The process of conservation included the stabilisation and consolidation of the Picture Wall’s structure, as well as its decorative elements, and warranted the expertise of both heritage crafts as well as conservators. It also included archaeological excavation in order to expose the original Mughal era floor level which is seven feet below the present ground level.”

Prototype conservation of a 35-foot-long section of the Picture Wall was initiated in February 2017. The approach was validated in an international workshop in January 2018. Physical conservation of the western façade of the Picture Wall was carried out from July 2018 to March 2019, with funding from the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Government of Punjab, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

................................

Also check...................................

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/picture-wall-the-largest-murals-in-the-world.617139/

 

[ghazi52]

Gogera Fort and Old Building of Gogera Courts

Gogera is an old town and in the past held a more important position in this area, as compare to what it has today. Upto 1850s it was district headquarter. The current districts of Okara and Sahiwal were parts of this district. I already have written about its connection with Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal's insurrection against the British in 1857 and the grave of its assistant commissioner Lord Berkeley, who was killed in the same rebellion. For details please refer to that post.

Here I want to write about a small fort in Gogera. It is about four hundred years old and during the Mughal era it was used as a jail and treasury house of the district. Currently a family is residing inside the fort. As as the case with most of such kind of old buildings, it is in a bad state and there is no care or effort on the part of any government department to preserve or repair it.



View of the Gogera Fort from the south.



..
South western bastion of the fort.





South eastern bastion of the fort.





Northern wall of the fort.





North eastern bastion of the fort.




A general view of the fort from the eastern side.

..
The Gogera Fort is located at 30° 57' 41.90" N, 73° 19' 38.40" E, in the north of the town Bangla Gogera. Just on the west of this fort is the building of High School of Gogera. This school is housed in an old building, which originally was building of a court in during the British rule. It is an old style attractive building. It is located at 30° 57' 41.90" N, 73° 19' 33.90"



Entrance of the Govt. High School Gogera, old building of courts.





Beautiful garden of the school.




Main building of the old courts.




View from the east.



View from the east.




A distant view from the east. A huge banyan tree in the foreground.

 

[ghazi52]

Tomb Of Asif Khan!!!

The Tomb of Asif Khan (Urdu: مقبرہ آصف خان‎) is a 17th century mausoleum located in Shahdara Bagh, in the city of Lahore, Punjab. It was built for the Mughal statesman Mirza Abul Hassan Jah, who was titled Asif Khan. Asif Khan was brother of Nur Jahan, and brother-in-law to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Asif Khan's tomb is located adjacent to the Tomb of Jahangir, and near the Tomb of Nur Jahan. Asif Khan's tomb was built in a Central Asian architectural style, and stands in the centre of a Persian-style Charbagh garden.

 

[ghazi52]

Third century BC stupa discovered at ancient Buddhist site

Excavations being carried out at the newly discovered stupa at Badalpur near Taxila. The other pictures are of the discoveries unearthed. — Dawn

TAXILA: A stupa dating back to the 3rd Century BC was discovered at the ancient Buddhist site of Badalpur near Taxila during excavations carried out by the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations (TIAC) of Quaid-i-Azam University.

The stupa measuring 25x25 was discovered on the southern side of the main monastery with a centre water tank at the ancient Buddhist site. Coins, pottery and metal objects have also been excavated from the site by graduate and doctorate students of the TIAC. The students were led by the institute’s director, Professor Dr Ashraf Khan, Assistant Professor Dr Sadid Arif and Coordinator Mohammad Ibrahim.


Professor Dr Ashraf Khan told Dawn that the newly discovered monastery was built in Kushan workmanship style known as ‘diaper masonry’, consisting of thin neatly placed layers of schist interspersed with large blocks of stone as well as semi-ashlar masonry.

He said the cells of the monastery are plastered with mud mortar, the first of its kind seen in the Taxila Valley.

In response to a query, Dr Khan said the discovery of metal objects showed the craftsmanship of the people living in the area between the first and fourth century.

Dr Khan said six copper coins from the Kushan period have been discovered in the excavations. He said that according to the carbon study of the newly discovered stupa carried out by the University of Wisconsin-Madison dates it between the 3rd century BC to 1st century AD.

He said during the last season of the excavation, a good number of antiquities such as a bust of Buddha in stucco, copper coins, bones, charcoal, iron objects and pottery were discovered.

Unveiling the archaeological significance of the site, he said the site was early mentioned by Alexander Cunningham in 1863, the then director, Archaeological Survey of India, during his expedition to Gandhara.

The first excavation at the site was carried out in 1916-17 by Natisa Aiyar, superintendent of Frontier Circle, while the second was carried out from 2005 till 2009 by Federal Archaeology in collaboration with Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, Quaid-i-Azam University.

He said five seasons of excavations had been successfully conducted by the institute at this ancient Buddhist site.

The most remarkable discovery was an iron nail and animal bones which revealed that Gandhara people knew the use of different metals and that Buddhists used to eat meat, said Dr Khan.

“History of Taxila should be rewritten in the light of the new and substantial evidence obtained,” he said.

Dr Khan said despite limited resources, the university had planned to excavate and preserve the whole site.

 

[ghazi52]

Mankiala Stupa

Mankiala Stupa is a Gandhara era stupa built to memorialize the place where, according to legend, Buddha sacrificed some of his body parts to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.
Mankiala stupa is located in the village of Tope Mankiala, near the village of Mankiala. It is 36 km southeast of Islamabad, and near the city of Rawalpindi. It is visible from the nearby historic Rawat Fort.

History

It was built in the reign of Kanishka (128-151 AD). Mountstuart Elphinstone, the first British emissary to Afghanistan chanced upon this stupa in 1808 AD and penned a detailed account in his memoir 'Kingdom of Caubul' (1815). According to an inscription on a stone the stupa was restored in 1891 by a regiment of the British Indian Army. Raja Usman was architect.

The stupa's relic deposits, all now in the British Museum, were found by Jean-Baptiste Ventura in 1830 between 10 and 20 metres below the top of the dome. They were at one stage owned by the celebrated antiquarian James Prinsep.

The mouth of the stupa has a gaping hole as a result of excavations by relic hunters in the past. It now has a barrier around it for safety reasons.

1880

 

[CHN Bamboo]

These historical sites in Pakistan are really beautiful.
If only someone could translate these articles into Chinese and publish them on Chinese websites.

 

[Kambojaric]

These historical sites in Pakistan are really beautiful.
If only someone could translate these articles into Chinese and publish them on Chinese websites.

It would be great! Are Chinese people interested in pilgrimage to Buddhist sites? I know many pilgrims/tourists from South Korea, Thailand and Sri Lanka have started arriving in Pakistan in recent years to visit important Buddhist sites (https://tribune.com.pk/story/1977849/1-chief-buddhist-monk-singapore-visits-taxila/, https://dailytimes.com.pk/10128/buddhist-monks-praise-pakistan-govts-support/, https://www.dawn.com/news/1465869).

I read today that Pakistan has participated in the Exhibition of Asian Civilization being held at the National Museum of China (*see below). Would be great to see a concerted effort being made to attract Chinese tourists/pilgrims to sites like Taxila, places that ancient Chinese pilgrims like Faxian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faxian) also travelled to.

*
19 Artefacts From Gandhara Civilization Being Displayed At National Museum Of China

BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 20th May, 2019 ) Pakistan is displaying 19 original artefacts from Gandhara Civilization in the Exhibition of Asian Civilization being held here at the National Museum of China.
The oldest artefact from Pakistan is the " terracotta female human figurine" which is estimated to be 5,000 years old.

The artefacts from Pakistan had generated great interest among the visitors of the exhibition and depicts civilizational history, art and culture. These artefacts were the collection of the Department of Archaeology and Museums Islamabad.

The exhibition with the theme "Splendour of Asia" is being held in Beijing from May 13 and will continue till August 11.

As many as 450 artefacts from 47 Asian countries including Pakistan are being displayed at the exhibition.

Pakistan Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid sharing his thoughts during the exhibition said that cultural and civilizational exchanges are a glimpse into the history of human civilizations.

He thanked the Chinese government for hosting this event in which Pakistan and other Asian countries displayed their combined history and culture.

He emphasized that such events help to negate misperceptions and promote peace and harmony among nations.

The artefacts from Pakistan has been arranged through the joint efforts of the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing, National History and Literary Heritage Division in Islamabad and the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad.

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/19-artefacts-from-gandhara-civilization-being-625968.html

 

[CHN Bamboo]

Are Chinese people interested in pilgrimage to Buddhist sites? I know many pilgrims/tourists from South Korea, Thailand and Sri Lanka have started arriving in Pakistan in recent years to visit important Buddhist sites

Yes, of course.
China used to be a Buddhist country, although there are few devout believers now, many people are still interested in Buddhism. Tibet province and Buddhist sites scattered throughout the country have always been popular tourist/pilgrim destinations. If only more Chinese knew that there were many Buddhist sites in Pakistan.
I would like to translate the related posts into Chinese.

Sorry for the late reply, I have just come home from university.