PESHAWAR: The excavation work that was started in 2017 at a 2,200 years old Indo-Greek-era ‘blacksmith’s workshop’ in Hayatabad by a team of the archaeology department of the University of Peshawar, has come to an end.

The archaeology department has started filling the site after completing the research carried out with Rs1 million funding from the University of Peshawar.

The research was led by archaeologist Prof Gul Rahim, according to a press statement issued by the UoP here on Monday

The site that was accidently found when the local government officials were digging the area for constructing an industrial waste drain in the phase-5 of Hayatabad town back in 2007, became a research site in 2017 when the archaeological team of UoP started excavation. The excavation team discovered blacksmith’s workshop with furnaces and traces of ash and iron tools, said researcher Gul Rahim.

The north-south construction in the right angle also showed Indo-Greek architecture. Further, iron used to be made from local stones that had to be sweltered and put in frames was also found. A three-step construction of the site with chimneys and furnaces also suggested the rough and cold weather offered no respite to workers laboring there.

Gul Rahim maintained that this was the major Indo-Greek archaeological discovery in Peshawar.

The archaeologist suggested that a number of research papers were in the offing to keep the world community abreast of the unique features of the site.

The archaeologist thanked the Edwards School and College administration for allowing them to dig their allotted space.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2019