LAHORE, Sept 22: The Federal Archaeology Department will resume a survey of new sites in 11 districts from January next —- six years after the completion of the survey of 23 districts.

Over 1,000 new archaeological sites and monuments, mapped between 1992 and 1997, have been documented but yet to be published.

Officials of the archaeology department told Dawn on Monday that over Rs2 million would be spent on carrying out documentation, mapping, plotting and recording of ancient sites, monuments cultural relics and works of art in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Attock, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Wazirabad, Khushab, Jehlum, Gujrat, Chakwal and Mianwali.

It is pertinent to mention that the department had allocated about Rs7 million for the survey in 23 districts. Of them, Rs5 million were spent on the field work. The allocation of the remaining funds was then deferred because of department’s failure to compile the available data.

The officials, however, claimed that the department had already paid the required money to the Pakistan Printing Press for printing the available data but due to the failure on the part of the officials concerned in pursuing the matter, the documented work could not be published.

They said the record had been fed into the computers for the purpose of writing reports and after mapping the new sites in the remaining 11 districts the department would press the Pakistan Printing Press to get the whole work published.

Sources in the department said efforts had only been confined to the field work and the collection of archaeological data.

They also said proper tabulation of data and publication of reports was necessary to document the condition and development of patterns of ancient settlements in the Punjab.

As many as 749 new mapped sites and 257 monuments were documented in the last survey. Some 520 maps were drawn and 1,006 photographs taken.

It may be mentioned that the last archaeological survey had been conducted in the Punjab in the second half of the century by Sir Alexander Cunninghan.

Discoveries during the survey included 19 pre-historic sites and monuments, a Hakra site, 56 sites and monuments of early Harappan civilization, 31 of mature Harapan civilization, five of late Harappan era, five painted grey-ware, 226 sites and monuments belonging to the 5th century BC to the 7th century AD, 145 early Muslim period (8th to 11th century AD), 324 of the Sultanate era (1200-1500 AD) and 176 of Sikh or British era (1801-1947 AD).

Of the 1,006 sites and monuments, 155 are located in Lahore, Kasur, Okara and Jehlum districts, 350 in Pakpattan, Vehari, Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, 201 in Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad, Jhang and Sheikhupura districts, 262 in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal and Mandi Bahauddin and 38 in Bhakkar and Khushab districts. —Zulqernain Tahir