Heritage of Pakistan

The remains of famous Indus Valley Civilizations were first discovered in 1920-21 when engraved seals were discovered near present-day Sahiwal in Pakistani Punjab at a place called Harappa. It was from here that archaeologists in their quest to find more remains finally bumped into the remains of Moenjodaro in Sind. In fact the Harappan and indus valley civilizations extend to the Yamuna along the bed of the river Ghaggar in Rajhastan, Gujrat and upto the mouths of the rivers Narbada and Tapati.   Most of the the major sites of this civilization are in Pakistan. The ruins of Harappa lie 35-km southwest of Sahiwal (about 250 km from Lahore). Situated besides an earlier course of the Ravi River, the remains of Harappa were ravaged by brick-hunters using the material as blast when the railway tracks between Lahore and Multan were laid. However, several cemeteries, which escaped the attention of vandals, have been excavated to reveal the richness and sophistication of its culture. ...

Moenjodaro (Mound of the Dead), discovered in 1922, is situated on the West Bank of the river Indus. It has one of the earliest and the most developed urban civilizations of ancient world. It forms a part of the Indus River civilization of Harappa and was discovered in 1921. It is located 1287.48 km away from Moenjodaro. The Indus River civilization flourished from somewhere third till the middle of second millenium B.C. before it vanquished from the world. Moenjodaro had mud-brick and baked-brick buildings. Covered drainage system in addition to this, soakpits for disposal bins, a large state grannary, a spacious pillared hall, a collage of priests, a large and imposing building (probably a palace) and a citadel mound which incorporates in its margin a system of solid burnt brick tower. Moenjodaro looks like a planned, organized and master architecture of urban settlement. Beneath the citadel, parallel streets, some 30 feet wide, stretched away and are crossed by other straight s...

The Shalimar Gardens, laid out at the command of Emperor Shah Jahan, reflect the genius of the Mughal landscape architecture, and embody the Mughal concept of a perfect garden: an enclosed area divided into symmetrical patterns of turf, containing water canals, ornamental tanks, and fountains, lined by cypresses and rose bushes . Having lost much of their original splendor and beauty, at the hands of Sikh plunderers during the rule of Ranjit Singh, the Gardens were handed over to the Department of Archaeology in 1913. Since then, sustained efforts have been made to preserve the buildings, restore the Gardens to their original appearance and, recreate the former atmosphere. 

The history of Lahore can be traced back to the 2nd Century A.D. with the city having enjoyed the status of a capital for about a thousand years - sometimes of an empire and at other times that of a province. Each dynasty of its rulers - the Ghaznavids, Ghaurids, Turks, Sayyads, Lodhis, Mughals, Suris, Sikhs and the British - has left its imprints on the city. Excavations conducted in the Lahore Fort revealed existence of the city in the early historic period. It is therefore believed that, the Fort was built with the founding of the city itself, its chequered history bearing testimony to the vicissitudes it suffered. The Mughal rulers however, brought this exercise to a halt, by providing it real stability. The Fort is the only monument in Pakistan, which represents a complete history of Mughal architecture, as it was renovated, added and improved upon by subsequent Mughal rulers, after Emperor Akbar. After the collapse of the Mughal authority, the Fort suffered again due to p...

Moving northwards from Harappa and Moenjodaro, come remains of another city that thrived between 518 BC to 600 AD. Around the present day Taxila and a little over 20 miles north of   Islamabad, lie the remains of the an ancient city whose actual name varies from scripture to scripture and from one language to another. "Tashasila" as it was called in Sanskrit gives some idea of the meaning of this name. Sila in Sanskrit means rock or stone . The legend says that the Buddha gave his head in charity to a man at this place . The Chinese called it "Chu-cha-shi-lo". The difficulty of Chinese phonetics with the sila and sira has led to this day to have names around Taxila such as Sirkap, Sirsukh and Margalla. Whatever its actual name. it was the most flourishing of all the cities between the Indus and Jhelum Rivers. Darius I formed it part of Achaemenid Empire of Persia. In 326 BC Alexander the Great and his armies encountered the charging elephants at battle against Hin...