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LARKANA: The Technical Consultative Committee (TCC) of National Fund for Mohenjo-Daro has finally given a green signal to examine and ascertain the age of a bunch of coins discovered in November 2023 from the historic site, it was learnt on Monday.
“The hoard of coins discovered in 2023 is under conservation, and the results would be published once the process is completed,” said the secretary of the technical committee which met at Mohenjo-Daro on Saturday (Jan 17).
The coins weighing 5,550 gram stuffed in an earthen pot were discovered during the repair and restoration work on the western side of the SD-area of the stupa from Divinity Street of Mohenjo-Daro on Nov 16, 2023.
The director general of Archaeology and Antiquities, Abdul Fatah Shaikh, who is also a member of the committee, told Dawn that the TCC had decided to shift the coins to the Karachi lab of the department.
Experts from different institutions, including the Department of Chemistry of the University of Karachi, would jointly study the coins from different angles, he said, adding that within one month they would submit a report, along with their findings and opinion. As soon as the study would be completed, the coins would be returned to the Mohenjo-Daro site, he said.
On a few coins blurred pictures (not clearly seen with the naked eye) appeared when they were washed. But no one with authority, sans proper and complete treatment adopting scientific procedures, could tell in which period they were in use.
Which period they belonged to was a question of prime importance, said Ali Haidar Gadhi, former conservationist who had served at Mohenjo-Daro for a long period.
But he did not rule out the possibility of connecting those coins with the Kushan period, pointing that R.D. Banerji discovered 2,000 coins, of them 338 belonged to Kushan Ruler Vasudeva-I.
Despite Mohenjo-Daro being declared as a Unesco Heritage site, there was no digital microscope available at its lab, sources said.
Dr Ghulam Mustafa Shar, TCC member and former head of the Department of Archaeology of Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur Mir’s, was on record with the statement that 15 years ago, 1,600 identical coins were also discovered from ‘Dhamrahojo-Daro’ near Larkana.
The department with its efforts had then secured 50/60 coins from the villagers who had taken them away, he claimed. He said that those coins belonged to the Kushan period.
Dr Altaf Aseem, another TCC member, told this reporter that in a significant development for cultural preservation, the authorities had decided to submit a comprehensive scheme to the government for the upgrade and extension of the museum.
The proposed plan aimed at expanding the museum facilities to accommodate the display of a big number of various artifacts currently with the committee in the store of collection, he added.
A key component of the scheme includes upgrade of the laboratory in accordance with Unesco standards. Officials believe this will prove beneficial for the preservation of cultural heritage and public engagement.
Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2026
