Archaeological Excavations at Sikandar Janubi 2016: A Preliminary Report

Abstract

The Indus Civilization of South Asia is believed to have been developed in the Indus Plain of Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan and parts of western India such as Rajasthan, Haryana and Saurashtra. Whereas the remains of what is called as ‘early Indus Phase’ have been unearthed, on the other hand, in Balochistan and southern parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan. In the latter two regions, remains of the mature Indus Phase have been found relatively less in number. Although a number of mature Harappan sites in the Gomal Plain have been located but no attention is paid yet. In order to understand the nature of mature Harappan occupation in the Gomal Plain, Dera Ismail Khan, excavations have been carried out at Sikandar Janubi by our team and the preliminary report is presented here.