KARACHI: Sir Mortimer Wheeler, famous British archaeologist and leader of the visiting six-man UNESCO team said in Karachi yesterday [Oct 8] that it was important to preserve Moen-jo-Daro “as a great document in the pre-history of Pakistan”.

In an interview broadcast by Radio Pakistan, Sir Mortimer Wheeler said: “The problem with which we are confronted is to save what we can do of the remains of this great ancient city for the future.” He said that the ruins of Moen-jo-Daro were faced with waterlogging and salinity problems because of the rising water-table.

He said the UNESCO mission is visiting Pakistan at the request of the Government “to give our views about the future of one of the most important ancient sites in the world”. “Moen-jo-Daro is one of the great cities of one of the three earliest civilisations,” he said, adding that the site of this great city was famous for its size, quality of buildings, the arts which it represented and for the length of its history or pre-history.

Stating that he regarded Pakistan as “my second country”, the famous archaeologist said that he had always been concerned with the future of Moen-jo-Daro. “I have had many of the happiest days of my life in Pakistan,” Sir Mortimer added.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018