BURIED beneath the flat, sun-baked plains of Bannu district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) lies one of Pakistan’s most signi-ficant — and arguably the most over-looked — prehistoric sites. Lewan, a Chalcolithic settlement located near Bannu city, bears silent witness to a sophisticated society that thrived at least 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. Excavated through a landmark international collaboration, the site has yielded compelling evidence of organised stone-tool manufacturing, semi-precious bead production and ceramic craftsman-ship — pointing to a community that was far more economically complex than its era might suggest.
Despite its extraordinary significance, Lewan remains virtually unknown to the general Pakistani public, lacks formal heritage protection, and receives no government investment in conservation or tourism infrastructure. As urban expansion, agriculture, and neglect continue to encroach on the site, there is an urgent need for both official recognition and community engagement to safeguard what remains of this irreplaceable cultural legacy.
Lewan first came to the attention through the Cambridge-Peshawar Universities Joint Expedition of 1977-78, led by the eminent archaeologist F.R. Allchin. The archaeological record at Lewan paints a vivid picture of a specialised prehistoric economy. Researchers identified Lewan as a stone-tool manufacturing site within a larger settlement network, with findings indicating a mix of sedentary and seasonal settlement patterns and clear evidence of trade and resource specialisation.
What makes Lewan particularly valu-able to archaeologists is that it contains occupation layers from two distinct prehistoric cultural phases. The site was occupied in both the Tochi-Gomal and Kot Diji phases, making it important for understanding the rise of complex societies in the region in the prehistory context.
Despite its exceptional archaeological value, the Lewan site currently enjoys little formal protection and remains largely inaccessible to the public. There is currently no interpretive centre, no signage, no formal archaeological park, and no sustained public outreach programme associated with the Lewan site.
The knowledge generated by decades of international research has, for the most part, remained confined to academic journals that are inaccessible to local communities, schoolchildren and the general Pakistani public whose heritage Lewan represents. The relevant authorities should treat Lewan as a priority issue.
Faizan A.K. Azaad
Bannu
Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2026
