Lakhan-Jo-Daro, Sindh: New Excavations at an Urban Center of the Indus Civilization
Indus valley civilization is one of the largest civilizations in the world, covering a huge area of South Asia i.e. the entire length of present Pakistan and parts of India. More than 2000 settlements are recorded with several major urban centers. The largest settlements so far known are Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Dholavira, and Ganweriwala. Recent excavations at the site of LakhanJo-Daro are revealing this new site as another large urban center. The settlement of Lakhan-Jo-Daro is located along the right bank of Indus River in a development area of Sukkur City at Latitude 27°.43′.27 North and 68°.50′.51 East degrees longitude. Until now three major mounded areas such as western mounds central mounds and eastern mounds; collectively all mounds encompass area more than three kilometer radius. The central mounds are further divided as “A” , “B” , “C” and “D” mounds. These mounds have been investigated since 1988 and six excavation seasons (1994, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2009/10 ) have been launched. In the
course of the most recent excavation project, important new features of Indus architecture and artifacts have been recovered that confirm the overall significance of the site. This lecture will provide an overview of the site and recent discoveries in the larger context of contemporary studies of the Indus civilization.
Dr. Qasid Mallah received his MA (1997) and PhD (2000) from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. His professional training is in experimental archaeology (ceramics), with a specialization in servey and excavation. He is currently Professor and Chair in the Department of Archaeology at Shah Abdul Latif University in Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan. He has written numerous articles for international journals on Indus period archaeological finds and ancient civilization. He is also the editor of a research journal entitled Ancient Sindh.
This lecture is part of the Pakistan Lecture Series sponsored by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies