DADU, Feb 18: Seven man-made caves in the mountains of Khirthar range in the Kai village, about 80 kilometres from here, dating back to 12,000 years Neolithic stoneage, face danger of decay and irreparable damage to the fossilised evidence of cave-dwellers because of official negligence and apathy towards preserving historical sites.

Archaeologists Dr Kaleemullah Lashari and Badar Abro on Sunday urged in-depth research and excavation at the ancient site and demanded that the federal Archaeological Department should declare the caves as a protected side under the Pakistan Antiquity Act 1975 in order to stop further damage to the historical sites.

They said that there was a strong possibility the caves contained a treasure of fossilised artefacts if searched properly. The seven caves had taken their name from the Kai village 40 kilometres from Sehwan taluka.

The existence of a natural spring to the north side of the caves and a garden provide ample proof to the fact the stoneage men had made the caves their dwellings. All but two caves have been dug into one mountain facing eastwards while the two face northwards and southwards.

The first cave has three rooms with one pillar in good condition and the other already collapsed. The second cave of one room is without any pillars. The third is also one roomed with no pillars. The fourth cave, which is in the centre, has two entrances and is different from the other three. With one strong pillar and remains of two destroyed pillars it has one room.

The fifth cave has one sound pillar and sings of two other already collapsed pillars. The cave has one room. The sixth cave is 14 foot long. The seventh cave has been completely destroyed.

Dr Lashari said that the caves had evidences of human presence and it might have more layers relating to different pre-historic periods if excavated properly.

He deplored the fact that the archaeological departments had not paid so far any attention towards the site, which has fallen prey to the ignorance of villagers living in the vicinity who used the caves for storing their agricultural produce during rains causing irreparable damages to the site.

He said that an Indus expedition led by him had visited the site in 1998 and had found evidences of human presence, which later led to lower level investigation at the site.

He said that renowned historians and archaeologists including late Anwar Pirzado, Ishtiaque Ansari, Badar Abro, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Ali Qadri, Intekhab Shah, Colonel Azam Jafar, Shabbir and Zubair Ahmed were his team members.

Mr Abro shared Dr Lashari’s concern that the archaeological department should take measures to stop people from harming the ancient site. The seven caves dated back to Neolithic stoneage and were 8,000 to 10,000 years old, he said.

He rejected the idea that the caves might be natural and said that the Neolithic men dug these caves into the mountain and used to live in them.

He feared the ancient sites ere most likely to vanish off the face of the earth if the archaeological department did not take urgent and effective measures to protect them.

He said that the caves’ roofs already made weak by rains and frequent passing over by villagers needed urgent attention.

Dr Abro said that he had carried out individual research on the ancient site and written a book titled "Manhoon" on the cave-dwellers, he said.

Historian and archaeologist Taj Sehrai said in his book Sindhu Tehzib that the Kai caves dated back to stoneage. He put its age at 12,000 years. Mr Sehrai started his research in 1955 and carried it on for many years.