mohenjo daro: could this ancient city be lost...
TRANSCRIPT
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 1/10
Magazine
27 June 2012 Magazine
Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever?By Aleem MaqboolBBC News, Mohenjo Daro, southern Pakistan
Aleem Maqbool looks around the archaeological site at Mohenjo Daro
Pakistani officials say they are doing their best to save one of the most importantarchaeological sites in south Asia, Mohenjo Daro. But some experts fear the BronzeAge site could be lost unless radical steps are taken.
It is aweinspiring to walk through a home built 4,500 years ago.
Especially one still very much recognisable as a house today, with front and back entrances,interconnecting rooms, neat fired brick walls even a basic toilet and sewage outlet.
News Sport Weather Shop Earth Travel More
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 2/10
The upper town in the once thriving city
Astonishingly, given its age, the home in question was also built on two storeys.
But it is even more impressive to walk outside into a real Bronze Age street, and see all ofthe other homes lining it.
And to walk the length of it, seeing the precise lanes running off it before reaching a grand,ancient marketplace.
This is the marvel of Mohenjo Daro, one ofthe earliest cities in the world.
In its day, about 2600 BC, its complexplanning, incredible architecture, andcomplex water and sewage systems madeit one of the most advanced urban settingsanywhere. It was a city thought to havehoused up to 35,000 inhabitants of thegreat Indus civilisation.
While I was overwhelmed by the scale andwonderment of it all, my eminent guide to the site was almost in tears of despair.
"Every time I come here, I feel worse than the previous time," says Dr Asma Ibrahim, one ofPakistan's most accomplished archaeologists.
"I haven't been back for two or three years," she says. "The losses since then are soimmense and it breaks my heart."
Dr Ibrahim starts to point out signs of major decay.
In the lower town of Mohenjo Daro, where the middle and working classes once lived, thewalls are crumbling from the base upwards. This is new damage.
The salt content of the ground water is eating away at the bricks that, before excavation, hadsurvived thousands of years.
As we move to the upper town where the elite of the Indus civilization would have lived, andwhere some of the signature sites like the large public bath lie, it appears even worse.
Some walls have collapsed completely, others seem to be close to doing so.
"It is definitely a complicated site to protect, given the problems of salinity, humidity andrainfall," says Dr Ibrahim. "But most of the attempts at conservation by the authorities havebeen so bad and so amateur they have only accelerated the damage."
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 3/10
Burying the site may be the only hope
One method used has been to cover all thebrickwork across the vast site with mudslurry, in the hope the mud will absorb thesalt and moisture.
But where the mud has dried andcrumbled, it has taken with it fragments ofancient brick, and the decay goes onunderneath.
There are even parts of the site wheremillenniaold bricks have been replacedwith brand new ones.
"In a way, it is testament to Mohenjo Daro that it is still standing, given everything that hasbeen thrown at it in the last few decades in the name of conservation," says Dr Ibrahim.
Even the Mohenjo Daro museum has been looted, with many of its famous seals (thought tohave been used by traders) among the artefacts that were stolen. They have not beenrecovered.
A guide at the site says he too has seen the dramatic changes in its condition and upkeep.
And while Pakistani visitors do still come on public holidays, he says very few foreign touristsvisit Mohenjo Daro now. He suggests that might be because of Pakistan's security problems.
Given the damage being done to this World Heritage Site, a poor tourism strategy hasbecome the least of its troubles.
It was the government of Pakistan that was in charge of Mohenjo Daro for decades, butrecently responsibility was handed over to the provincial authorities in Sindh. They have nowset up a technical committee to rescue the site.
"We need urgently to listen to experts fromall fields to save Mohenjo Daro," says DrIbrahim.
"Yes, there is salinity, but local farmershave worked out how to overcome thatproblem so why can't we? But we have todo something soon, because if things carryon like this, in my assessment, the site willnot last more than 20 years."
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 4/10
One saving grace may be that some of thecity remains unexcavated and so remains protected.
Some experts have gone so far as to suggest the entire site should be buried again to halt itsdecline.
It is a sign of the desperation of those who love Mohenjo Daro, and who are pained to see acity that once rivalled sites of its contemporary civilisations in Egypt, Mesopotamia andChina, losing its glory in this undignified way.
Share this story About sharing
The great glutenfree diet fad12 July 2015
Magazine
In today's Magazine
12 July 2015
12 July 2015
11 July 2015
Bread dread
Magazine
Different in Dubai
Magazine
Did Greeks fail to pay 89.5% of taxes?
Magazine
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 5/10
Elsewhere on BBC
Recommended by Outbrain
More Videos from the BBC
Recommended by Outbrain
Top Stories
Eurozone strikes deal on Greek debt
UAE executes American woman's killer
Rap star 50 Cent files for bankruptcy
New Horizons on course forPluto flyby on Tuesday
Husband and wife spend sixyears building fighter jet
'Vauxhall cannibals' caught onCCTV
Greece debt crisis: 'Clearercommitments needed' FinnishFM
Police warning after teens' 171ftGeorge Street Bridge slide
US judge recognises old schoolfriend in dock
India woman says Ola driver masturbatedin taxiBBC News
New Horizons in 'great shape' for PlutoflybyBBC News
Kerala: India 13yearold girl 'sold for sex'by parentsBBC News
The hydrogen BMW i8 is pure evilBBC Autos
Adapting to Dubai’s change of paceduring RamadanBBC Capital
As salaries disappear, Greeks plan theirnext moveBBC Capital
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 6/10
Features & Analysis
Tie fightersThe places that still demand you wear a tie
No time limitsWhy UK law wouldn't allow a Bill Cosby situationto arise
Max's story'I'm a paedophile, but that's OK, I won't doanything bad'
Ice on the equatorMelting glaciers in Africa and other Pop Up storyideas
Till death do us partWhy couple staged their wedding photos in acoffin
Food and FastsEating disorders and Ramadan
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 7/10
First kissFinding love in a time of conflict
Cardboard cathedralHow Christchurch is rebuilding its foundations
On top of the worldThe adventurer who has climbed Mount Everestthree times
ADVERTISEMENT FEATUREPRESENTED BY
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 8/10
Read Watched
Meet EMan...How much further can man merge with machine?
Most Popular
Rap star 50 Cent files for bankruptcy 1
Eurozone strikes deal on Greek debt 2
Greece debt crisis: Deal at a glance 3
Five places that still demand ties, and five that ban them 4
Germany urges paedophiles out of the shadows 5
Deadly barracks collapse in Russia 6
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 9/10
From Around the Web
Promoted content by Outbrain
Ads by Google
Disadvantages of ReverseReverse mortgages aren't right for everyone. Learn the downsides.reversemortgageguides.org
Medicare Supplement PlansMedigap Options for (65 & older). Compare Plans & Prices for 2015.www.medicaresupplemental.com
Silversea Senior CruisesMore Choices Than Any Luxury Line. The Ultimate Luxury Cruise Vacationwww.silversea.com/Official_Site
UAE executes American woman's killer 7
The USUK divide on sex cases 8
Renewable energy pledge by Plaid 9
Hogweed 'UK's most dangerous plant' 10
Jane Fonda's Sprawling Santa Fe Ranch(HGTV)
Say Goodbye to Your Spreadsheet – It’s the Age of the Accounting App(GetApp.com)
Vanessa Williams' Surprising DNA Test(Ancestry)
American Giant Brings Back Domestic Apparel Manufacturing(Fast Company)
Oprah Winfrey's Surprising DNA Test(Ancestry)
10 U.S. Cities That Should Be Avoided Like the Plague(Things Rated)
7/13/2015 Mohenjo Daro: Could this ancient city be lost forever? BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine18491900 10/10
News SportWeather ShopEarth TravelCapital CultureAutos FutureTV RadioCBBC CBeebiesWW1 FoodiWonder BitesizeMusic NatureLocal
Terms of Use About the BBC
Privacy Policy Cookies
Accessibility Help Parental Guidance
Contact the BBC
BBC News Services
Explore the BBC
Copyright © 2015 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach toexternal linking.
On your mobile On your connected TV
Get news alerts Contact BBC News