STAR REPORT
The other day. An interesting lecture was held at The Goethe- Institute Karachi. it was co-hosted by The Consul- ate General of Germany and The German Archaeological Institute Berlin.
The German-Pakistani Archaeological Mission to Kalat directed by Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt is a joint mission between the Eurasia Department of the DAI and the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, Karachi. Its funds come from the German Research Society, a government body.
The archaeology of Balochistan is still poorly known. Small excavations and some surveys took place mostly in the first half of the century. The. ’French excavations at Mehrgarh and since 1986 in the Mekran marked a big step forward but central Balochistan remained unexplored. With much luck, in 1996 the Joint German - Pakistani Archaeological Mission was able to re-open research in South-eastern Balochistan. A four-year survey program led to the discovery and documentation of 350 sites, dating to between 4300 BC and the 19th century. AD. As a result, the settlement history of this region and its role prior to and during the Indus Valley period in better known now. Due to the poor state of research, to carry out an excavation in this area opened several perspectives relevant to many aspects of cultural history. The target of the project was the "reconstruction of a prehistoric culture". It includes. aspects of daily life, architecture, arts and technology, burial customs and rituals as well as settlement patterns, prehistoric climate, and far- distance relations, Dr Ute, the leader of the mission pointed out.
The mission opted for Sohr Damb to start a large scale excavation that would provide the chronological dimension to surface collections and answer many questions that can only be addressed with properly excavated materials, e.g. through anthropological, palaeo-zoological and -botanical studies and 14C-datings.
Sohr Damb is a small rural site (4 hectares large, 13metres high) located at 1250m amsl in a fertile basin near Khuzdar. It became famous through illegal diggings and a first excavation by H. Hargreaves that took place shortly after the discovery of Mohenjodaro and the recognition of the existence of a pre- historic urban civilization in this region.
In 2001, two trenches were opened from the highest point towards virgin soil, over a vertical distance of 13m. Now, nine trenches are in progress that cover an area of approximately 800 square metres. Four distinct cultural periods were defined that date between 3500 and 2000 BC.
Period I marks the oldest settlement. It was found underneath the old excavation. There a cemetery containing graves with multiple secondary burials came to light. Grave goods comprise mainly of pottery and beads. The pottery belongs to the Togau pottery tradition, which was widely spread in Balochistan at about 3500 BC - 3000 BC.
With the beginning of the Period II (Nal), many changes are evident in the material culture, particularly the pottery. The houses comprise of small rooms, many with basins containing husks, storage jars, bone tools, stone tools for food preparation, cattle fig- urines, and beads. The people were buried one by one in their tombs, thus a major change in burial customs took place.
The discovery of a extensive and 6metre high subsequent occupation (Period III) that has relations to Mehrgarh, Afghanistan and Iran came as a surprise. Houses and rooms are larger, wood is used extensively, floors are plastered with lime. In all rooms, buried by massive mud brick debris, extensive pottery inventories were unearthed, mostly pottery, but also TC bull figurines, stone and bone tools, and beads. Metallurgy, probably including silver working, and pottery production took place on the site.
The last Period IV (Kulli-Harappan) is preserved only on the surface, in erosion layers and pits. The pottery belongs to the Kulli-Harappan horizon that combines features of the local Kulli style with those from the Indus Civilisation to which is was contemporary.
After this final phase, the mound, and in fact, the whole region, were deserted for 1500 years. The reasons for this development are under discussion. The zoological and botanical analyses conducted at Sohr Damb indicate that environmental conditions did not change considerably, therefore, desertification and increasing aridity probably were no major factors in the abandonment of the region.
These studies show that cattle, goats and sheep were very common domes- tic animals, and that wheat and barley were cultivated. Some seeds of jujube and some grasses even indicate that irrigation took place and that two crops per year were possible. Wood that was used for building was poplar, acacia, and tamarisk, but other plants and woods also occur. The picture that arises is very similar to the description provided by the Gazetteer of Balochistan.
The talk was largely attended, and the enthusiasm of the participants was reflected through some very interesting questions.
It was one such rare occasion when the Karachites were exposed to the interesting work carried out by the German Pakistani archaeologists in far off areas.
Reference: Published in the daily "The Star", Karachi on March 12, 2005. Vol. XXXIX No. 57.
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