Italy’s team resumes excavation work at Bhanbhore

Karachi: A team of Italian experts led by Prof Valeria Fiorani Piacentini has resumed excavation work at the ancient site of Bhanbhore located in Thatta district.

Prof Piacentini, head of the Italian team and scientific director of joint Pakistani-Italian archaeological mission of Bhanbhore, and Simone Mantellini, field director of the mission, recently met Sindh Minister for Culture and Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah at his office and discussed matters related to the dig, says a handout.

Director General Antiquities and Archaeology Sindh Manzoor Ahmed Kanasro also participated in the meeting. “There are wonderful archaeological works that are unique to the history of Sindh”, said Prof Piacentini.

She further said that she is personally doing her archaeological research in this region since decades, and has found much evidence of the relations between Makran and Sindh, and even up till Jewani in Balochistan.

She apprised the minister that the archaeological mission has begun for excavation season 2021, and that would end around the last week of December. She added that the excavation season would conclude with an awareness session wherein all the technical details and findings of the excavation will be made public. This year the mission is concentrating on the environmental and marine side of the excavation.

Shah and the Italian archaeologists discussed at length about the different aspects of archaeological heritage of Sindh.

Shah told her that the department has already submitted the dossiers of Nagarparkar and Bhanbhore to Unesco for inclusion in the list of World Heritage Sites.

“We have established a Translation Bureau to get the Sindh related works of different languages translated into Sindhi language or the works done in Sindhi language to be translated into English,” he said.

He appreciated the joint efforts of Sindh and Italy in the related fields, especially archaeology under the supervision of Professor Piacentini, while adding that due to the Covid-19 pandemic the mission couldn’t visit Sindh.

“The Department is committed to get all the research work published that is currently scattered [in] different research journals. One comprehensive book on Bhanbhore is need of the hour”, he further added.

The minister told the delegation that the formalities and detailed work on the establishment of Institute of Heritage and Scientific Research at Bhanbhore is under way, being established in collaboration with Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST).

Professor Valeria Piacentini said that she was grateful for the hospitality she has experienced in Sindh, and she appreciates the civilizational history of Sindh that is quite similar to that of Rome.