May 16, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429

LARKANA, May 15: Strong winds brought down a section of wall of the reserve collection hall at Moenjodaro museum late on Wednesday night, causing damage to some of the 5,000-year-old artefacts, sources in the museum disclosed on Thursday.

The curator of Moenjodaro and the director of archaeology of Southern circle confirmed the wall had collapsed but denied reports about damage to artefacts.

The sources said that storage jars, a large brick discovered from the site, terracotta and a number of other objects kept inside the hall with specific numbers and some without labels were damaged.

Mr Jawed, the curator, admitted to reports of wall-collapse but denied it had caused any damage to the articles kept inside the hall. Dr Mohammed Arif, the director of archaeology Southern circle, who arrived from Hyderabad after the incident, stuck to the same story.

When asked what made him rush to Moenjodaro, Mr Arif said that “We are waiting for the arrival of the director of headquarters, Qasim Ali Qasim. As soon he arrives we will unlock the hall and see damages if there are any”.

Some time ago, a ring stone had fallen from its pedestal and broke into pieces due to mishandling by staff at the museum. The two high officials of archaeology department would prepare a report and submit it to the director general, the sources said.