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archaeological investigation: pak-italian & french joint mission at banbhore

The interest in the site of Banbhore goes back to several decades in the year 1990, an exploratory project named in QUEST OF DEBAL was launched by SEAS; it was designed to have physical survey of the western extremities of lower Indus delta. During the next three years, many ancient settlements were spotted, where high tide reached, and wash away the potshards twice every day. The known and unknown sites were explored, surface material and the physical remains studied, it led to an assessment of the area, and the timeframe relevant. The port town of Debal looms very high in the historic narratives in early centuries of Islam in south Asia. Its identification with the site of Banbhore, in the lower Indus delta is presently very strong and well-rooted presumption. The department of archaeology, Pakistan from 1957 to 1963, first excavated the site of Banbhore; the excavators assigned the site the period active occupation from first century BCE to thirteen century CE. It confirms to the historic account of the destruction of Debal by frustrated Khwarzemshah, in the earlier part of the 13th C. the writer of this paper re-studied the excavated pottery, and compared it with the pottery from other destinations connected through Indian Ocean maritime trade, the pottery that was proudly traded. The study brought very interesting results, confirming to the research possibility of the Banbhore being abandoned in the early 12th C, and coming to who after prominence another port, which later received the attention of the Khwarzemshah, who after his failure to allure the local chiefs to raise a big army to fight the Mongols, sacked the port town

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