Editing Indus Valley Civilisation (section)

== Discovery and history of excavation ==
[[File:Alexander Cunningham of the ASI 02.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Alexander Cunningham]], the first director general of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI), interpreted a Harappan [[stamp seal]] in 1875.]]
[[File:Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay.jpg|thumb|upright|[[R. D. Banerji]], an officer of the ASI, visited Mohenjo-daro in 1919–1920, and again in 1922–1923, postulating the site's far-off antiquity.]]
[[File:John Hubert Marshall - Cyclopedia of India 1906.jpg|thumb|upright|[[John Marshall (archaeologist)|John Marshall]], the director-general of the ASI from 1902 to 1928, who oversaw the excavations in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, shown in a 1906 photograph]]

{{Quote box
| width = 16em
| border = 1px
| align = right
| bgcolor = #F5DEB3
| fontsize = 85%
| title_bg = 
| title_fnt = 
| title = 
| quote = "Three other scholars whose names I cannot pass over in silence, are the late Mr. [[R. D. Banerji]], to whom belongs the credit of having discovered, if not Mohenjo-daro itself, at any rate its high antiquity, and his immediate successors in the task of excavation, Messrs. [[Madho Sarup Vats|M.S. Vats]] and [[Kashinath Narayan Dikshit|K.N. Dikshit]]. ... no one probably except myself can fully appreciate the difficulties and hardships which they had to face in the three first seasons at Mohenjo-daro."
| salign = right
| source = &nbsp;— From, John Marshall (ed), ''Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilization'', London: Arthur Probsthain, 1931.{{Sfn|Marshall|1931|p=x}}
}}
The first modern accounts of the [[ruins]] of the Indus civilisation are those of [[Charles Masson]], a deserter from the [[East India Company]]'s army.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=5–6}} In 1829, Masson traveled through the [[princely state]] of Punjab, gathering useful intelligence for the Company in return for a promise of clemency.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=5–6}} An aspect of this arrangement was the additional requirement to hand over to the Company any historical artifacts acquired during his travels. Masson, who had versed himself in the [[classics]], especially in the military campaigns of [[Alexander the Great]], chose for his wanderings some of the same towns that had featured in Alexander's campaigns, and whose archaeological sites had been noted by the campaign's chroniclers.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=5–6}} Masson's major archaeological discovery in the Punjab was Harappa, a metropolis of the Indus civilisation in the valley of Indus's tributary, the [[Ravi River|Ravi river]]. Masson made copious notes and illustrations of Harappa's rich historical artifacts, many lying half-buried. In 1842, Masson included his observations of Harappa in the book ''Narrative of Various Journeys in Baluchistan, Afghanistan, and the Punjab''. He dated the Harappa ruins to a period of recorded history, erroneously mistaking it to have been described earlier during Alexander's campaign.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=5–6}} Masson was impressed by the site's extraordinary size and by several large mounds formed from long-existing erosion.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=5–6}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Masson: "A long march preceded our arrival at Haripah, through jangal of the closest description ... When I joined the camp I found it in front of the village and ruinous brick castle. Behind us was a large circular mound, or eminence, and to the west was an irregular rocky height, crowned with the remains of buildings, in fragments of walls, with niches, after the eastern manner ... Tradition affirms the existence here of a city, so considerable that it extended to Chicha Watni, thirteen [[Kos (unit)|cosses]] distant, and that it was destroyed by a particular visitation of Providence, brought down by the lust and crimes of the sovereign."{{sfn|Masson|1842|pp=452–453}} }}

Two years later, the Company contracted Alexander Burnes to sail up the Indus to assess the feasibility of water travel for its army.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=5–6}} Burnes, who also stopped in Harappa, noted the baked bricks employed in the site's ancient masonry, but noted also the haphazard plundering of these bricks by the local population.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=5–6}}

Despite these reports, Harappa was raided even more perilously for its bricks after the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War|British annexation of the Punjab]] in 1848–49. A considerable number were carted away as [[track ballast]] for the [[Track (rail transport)|railway lines]] being laid in the Punjab.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=6}} Nearly {{convert|100|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} of railway track between [[Multan]] and [[Lahore]], laid in the mid-1850s, was supported by Harappan bricks.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=6}}

In 1861, three years after the dissolution of the East India Company and the establishment of [[British Raj|Crown rule in India]], archaeology on the subcontinent became more formally organised with the founding of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI).{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=6–7}} [[Alexander Cunningham]], the Survey's first director-general, who had visited Harappa in 1853 and had noted the imposing brick walls, visited again to carry out a survey, but this time of a site whose entire upper layer had been stripped in the interim.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=6–7}}{{Sfn|Coningham|Young |2015|p=180}} Although his original goal of demonstrating Harappa to be a lost Buddhist city mentioned in the seventh century CE travels of the Chinese visitor, [[Xuanzang]], proved elusive,{{Sfn|Coningham|Young |2015|p=180}} Cunningham did publish his findings in 1875.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=7}} For the first time, he interpreted a Harappan [[stamp seal]], with its unknown script, which he concluded to be of an origin foreign to India.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=7}}{{sfn|Cunningham|1875|loc=pp. [https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.547220/2015.547220.Archaeological-Surbey#page/n115/mode/2up 105]–108 and pl. 32–33}}

Archaeological work in Harappa thereafter lagged until a new viceroy of India, [[George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|Lord Curzon]], pushed through the [[Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904]], and appointed [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|John Marshall]] to lead the ASI.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=8}} Several years later, [[Hiranand Sastri]], who had been assigned by Marshall to survey Harappa, reported it to be of non-Buddhist origin, and by implication more ancient.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=8}} [[expropriation|Expropriating]] Harappa for the ASI under the Act, Marshall directed ASI archaeologist [[Daya Ram Sahni]] to excavate the site's two mounds.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=8}}

Farther south, along the [[main stem]] of the Indus in [[Sindh|Sind]] province, the largely undisturbed site of [[Mohenjo-daro]] had attracted notice.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=8}} Marshall deputed a succession of ASI officers to survey the site. These included [[D. R. Bhandarkar]] (1911), [[R. D. Banerji]] (1919, 1922–1923), and [[Madho Sarup Vats|M. S. Vats]] (1924).{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=8–9}} In 1923, on his second visit to Mohenjo-daro, Baneriji wrote to Marshall about the site, postulating an origin in "remote antiquity", and noting a congruence of some of its artifacts with those of Harappa.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=9}} Later in 1923, Vats, also in correspondence with Marshall, noted the same more specifically about the seals and the script found at both sites.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=9}} On the weight of these opinions, Marshall ordered crucial data from the two sites to be brought to one location and invited Banerji and Sahni to a joint discussion.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=9–10}} By 1924, Marshall had become convinced of the significance of the finds, and on 24 September 1924, made a tentative but conspicuous public intimation in the ''Illustrated London News'':{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=10}} <blockquote> "Not often has it been given to archaeologists, as it was given to [[Heinrich Schliemann|Schliemann]] at [[Tiryns]] and [[Mycenae]], or to [[Aurel Stein|Stein]] in the deserts of [[Turkestan]], to light upon the remains of a long forgotten civilisation. It looks, however, at this moment, as if we were on the threshold of such a discovery in the plains of the Indus."</blockquote>

In the next issue, a week later, the British Assyriologist [[Archibald Sayce]] was able to point to very similar seals found in Bronze Age levels in Mesopotamia and Iran, giving the first strong indication of their date; confirmations from other archaeologists followed.{{sfn|Possehl|2002|pp=3 and 12}} Systematic excavations began in Mohenjo-daro in 1924–25 with that of [[Kashinath Narayan Dikshit|K. N. Dikshit]], continuing with those of H. Hargreaves (1925–1926), and [[Ernest J. H. Mackay]] (1927–1931).{{Sfn|Wright|2009|pp=8–9}} By 1931, much of Mohenjo-daro had been excavated, but occasional excavations continued, such as the one led by [[Mortimer Wheeler]], a new director-general of the ASI appointed in 1944, and including [[Ahmad Hasan Dani]].<ref name="joffe">{{cite news |author= Lawrence Joffe |url= https://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/mar/31/ahmad-hasan-dani |title= Ahmad Hasan Dani: Pakistan's foremost archaeologist and author of 30 books |newspaper= The Guardian (newspaper) |date= 30 March 2009 |access-date= 29 April 2020 |archive-date= 5 April 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090405150624/http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/mar/31/ahmad-hasan-dani |url-status= live }}</ref>

After the partition of India in 1947, when most excavated sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation lay in territory awarded to Pakistan, the Archaeological Survey of India, its area of authority reduced, carried out large numbers of surveys and excavations along the Ghaggar-Hakra system in India.<ref name="guha_mas_2005">{{cite journal |last=Guha |first=Sudeshna |journal=Modern Asian Studies |title=Negotiating Evidence: History, Archaeology and the Indus Civilisation |volume=39 |issue=2 |year=2005 |pages=399–426, 419 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/S0026749X04001611 |s2cid=145463239 |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/txt_guha_indus.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524064941/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/txt_guha_indus.pdf |archive-date=24 May 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Guha: "The intense explorations to locate sites related to the Indus civilisation along the Ghaggar-Hakra, mostly by the Archaeological Survey of India immediately after Indian independence (from the 1950s through the 1970s), although ostensibly following Sir Aurel Stein's explorations in 1942, were to a large extent initiated by a patriotic zeal to compensate for the loss of this more ancient civilisation by the newly freed nation; as apart from Rangpur (Gujarat) and Kotla Nihang Khan (Punjab), the sites remained in Pakistan."<ref name="guha_mas_2005"/>}} Some speculated that the Ghaggar-Hakra system might yield more sites than the Indus river basin.<ref name="Gilbert2017">{{cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Marc Jason |title=South Asia in World History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7OQWDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |year=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-976034-3 |page=6 |quote=Immediately after the discovery of Harappan cities on the Indian side of the border, some nationalist-minded Indians began to speculate that the Ghaggar-Hakra riverbed may have more sites than neighboring Pakistan's Indus Valley. ... Such claims may prove to be valid, but modern nationalist arguments complicate the task of South Asian archaeologists who must deal with the poor condition of Harappan sites. The high water table means the oldest sites are under water or waterlogged and difficult to access.}}</ref> According to archaeologist Ratnagar, many Ghaggar-Hakra sites in India and Indus Valley sites in Pakistan are actually those of local cultures; some sites display contact with Harappan civilisation, but only a few are fully developed Harappan ones.{{sfn|Ratnagar|2006b|pp=7–8|ps=, "If in an ancient mound we find only one pot and two bead necklaces similar to those of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, with the bulk of pottery, tools and ornaments of a different type altogether, we cannot call that site Harappan. It is instead a site with Harappan contacts. ... Where the Sarasvati valley sites are concerned, we find that many of them are sites of local culture (with distinctive pottery, [[clay]] bangles, terracotta beads, and grinding stones), some of them showing Harappan contact, and comparatively few are full-fledged Mature Harappan sites."}} As of 1977,  about 90% of the [[Indus script|Indus script seals and inscribed objects]] discovered were found at sites in Pakistan along the Indus river, while other sites accounts only for the remaining 10%.{{efn|Number of Indus script inscribed objects and seals obtained from various Harappan sites: 1540 from Mohanjodaro, 985 from Harappa, 66 from Chanhudaro, 165 from Lothal, 99 from Kalibangan, 
7 from Banawali, 6 from Ur in Iraq, 5 from Surkotada, 4 from Chandigarh}}<ref>{{Cite book|author-link= Iravatham Mahadevan
| first = Iravatham | last=Mahadevan
|url=http://archive.org/details/masi77indusscripttextsconcordancestablesiravathammahadevanalt_443_h|title=MASI 77 Indus Script Texts Concordances & Tables | pages=6–7| publisher= Archaeological Survey of India
| date= 1977 | place=New Delhi
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Upinder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA169|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|page=169|author-link=Upinder Singh|access-date=14 February 2023|archive-date=29 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129142938/https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&lpg=PA211&pg=PA169|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2002, over {{nowrap|1,000 Mature}} Harappan cities and settlements had been reported, of which just under a hundred had been excavated,{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=reported_sites|Reported sites:
* {{harvnb|Possehl|2002|p=20}}; {{harvnb|Possehl|2002a}}: "There are 1,056&nbsp;Mature Harappan sites that have been reported of which 96 have been excavated."
* {{harvnb|Singh, Upinder|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA137 137]}}: "Today, the count of Harappan sites has risen to about 1,022, of which 406 are in Pakistan and 616 in India. Of these, only 97 have so far been excavated."
* {{harvnb|Coningham|Young |2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA192 192]}}: "More than 1,000&nbsp;settlements belonging to the Integrated Era have been identified (Singh, 2008: 137)"}} mainly in the general region of the [[Indus]] and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers and their tributaries; however, there are only five major urban sites: [[Harappa]], [[Mohenjo-daro]], [[Dholavira]], [[Ganeriwala]] and [[Rakhigarhi]].<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015">{{harvnb|Coningham|Young |2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA192 192]}}. "More than 1,000&nbsp;settlements belonging to the Integrated Era have been identified (Singh, 2008: 137), but there are only five significant urban sites at the peak of the settlement hierarchy (Smith, 2.006a: 110) (Figure&nbsp;6.2). These are Mohenjo-daro in the lower Indus plain, Harappa in the western Punjab, Ganweriwala in Cholistan, Dholavira in western Gujarat and Rakhigarhi in Haryana. Mohenjo-daro covered an area of more than 250&nbsp;hectares, Harappa exceeded 150 hectares, Dholavira 100&nbsp;hectares and Ganweriwala and Rakhigarhi around 80&nbsp;hectares each."</ref> As of 2008, about 616&nbsp;sites have been reported in India,<ref name="Singh2008"/> whereas 406&nbsp;sites have been reported in Pakistan.<ref name="Singh2008"/>

Unlike India, in which after 1947, the ASI attempted to "Indianise" archaeological work in keeping with the new nation's goals of national unity and historical continuity, in Pakistan the national imperative was the promotion of Islamic heritage, and consequently archaeological work on early sites was left to foreign archaeologists.{{sfn|Michon|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=675cCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 44ff]|postscript=: Quote: "After Partition, the archaeological work on the early historic period in India and Pakistan developed differently. In India, while the colonial administrative structure remained intact, the ASI made a concerted effort to Indianise' the field. The early historic period was understood as an important chapter in the long, unified history of the Indian subcontinent, and this understanding supported Indian goals of national unity. In Pakistan, however, the project of nation building was focused more on promoting the rich Islamic archaeological heritage within its borders, and most early historic sites, therefore, were left to the spades of foreign missions."}} After the partition, Mortimer Wheeler, the Director of ASI from 1944, oversaw the establishment of archaeological institutions in Pakistan, later joining a [[UNESCO]] effort tasked to conserve the site at Mohenjo-daro.{{sfn|Coningham|Young |2015|p=85|postscript=: Quote: "At the same time he continued to spend part of the years 1949 and 1950 in Pakistan as an adviser to the Government, overseeing the establishment of the government's Department of Archaeology in Pakistan and the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi ... He returned to Pakistan in 1958 to carry out excavations at Charsadda and then joined the UNESCO team concerned with the preservation and conservation of Mohenjo-daro during the 1960s. Mohenjo-daro was eventually inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980."}} Other international efforts at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa have included the German ''[[RWTH Aachen University|Aachen]] Research Project Mohenjo-daro'', the ''Italian Mission to Mohenjo-daro'', and the US ''Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP)'' founded by [[George F. Dales]].{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=14}} Following a chance flash flood which exposed a portion of an archaeological site at the foot of the [[Bolan Pass]] in [[Balochistan]], excavations were carried out in [[Mehrgarh]] by French archaeologist [[Jean-François Jarrige]] and his team in the early 1970s.{{Sfn|Coningham|Young |2015|p=109|postscript=: Quote: "This model of population movement and agricultural diffusion, built on the evidence from Kili Gul Muhammad, was completely revised with the discovery of Mehrgarh at the entrance of the Bolan Pass in Baluchistan in the early 1970s by Jean-Francois Jarrige and his team (Jarrige, 1979). Noting an archaeological section exposed by flash flooding, they found a site covering two square kilometres which was occupied between circa 6500 and 2500&nbsp;BCE."}}
<!-- This section badly needs updating to cover the last 50 years! -->