MI French Interdisciplinary Mission in Sindh FS Fieldwork in a sensitive context In the last IIAS issue devoted to Pakistan, Kristoffel Lieten article was entitled: “Pakistan, an abundance of problems and scant knowledge”. He followed Stephen Cohen who claimed in 2004 that, the USA has “only a few true Pakistan experts and knows remarkably little about the country. Much of what has been written is palpably wrong, or at best superficial” (IIAS Newsletter 49, Autumn 2008, p. 3). For instance, one of the most neglected aspects regarding Pakistan 9 is the segmentation of the country and its society. However by segmentation, we do not mean that the country is about to be dismembered, contrary to common 0 assumptions by so-called experts. 0 We claim that the spread of radical Islam is mainly a response to social problems that depend on the history and the structure of local societies. Islamist groups tend to focus naturally on places where there is a lack of social cohesiveness and more particularly on places where the State fails to interact with local society. y 2 But then we can ask why some areas in Pakistan seem to be spared by the r influence of radical Islam, as it is the case of Sindh (Karachi excluded)? Even though social injustice and violence are found there, based on tribal, ethnic or a religious differences, the province of Sindh is an interesting case study. During our latest field trip in Sehwan Sharif, a major pilgrimage centre in contemporary u Pakistan, we observed that the “Sufi system” produces a certain form of social cohesiveness. Hence the interest in developing knowledge about the functioning n of such local societies, where Sufism seems to contain the spread of radical Islam, its discourses and actions, and that despite the numerous bridges a between orthodox and devotional Islam. J Following Robert Rozehnal’s brilliant essay (p. 8), we intend to investigate the nature of such an “alternative modernity” created by Sufism and its practices, through the case study of Sehwan Sharif. Such a project and related fieldwork – activities, in the volatile context of Pakistan today, require consolidating our networks. Therefore, we are particularly grateful to the Government of Sindh, its 2 Department of Antiquities, and its Culture, Tourism and Social Welfare Department, for their active support during our field work. It enabled us to work in excellent conditions in both Sehwan Sharif and the region of Sindh (p. 4). Michel Boivin In this issue INTERVIEW WITH MONIK KERVRAN 2 wsletter FIELDWORK REPORT 4 BOOK LAUNCH IN KARACHI 6 FIRST WORKSHOP IN PARIS 7 Ne SPECIAL BOOK REVIEW 8 WHAT IS NEW? 9 AGENDA 13 ABOUT US 14 MI Interview with Monik Kervran Archaeology and the Indus valley FS (1989-2002) Monik Kervran, a researcher at CNRS, headed the French Chronology Archaeological Mission in Sindh (MAFS) between 1989 and 2002. The editors of the MIFS interviewed her in October 2008 to reconstruct the 1922-1930s: Excavations of scientific itinerary that led her from the Persian Gulf to the Indus Valley Mohenjo-daro by the and the region of Sindh, specifically the site of Sehwan Sharif. Archaeological Survey of India. Can you describe us the steps that led you to open new sites of excavation in the Indus Valley? 1922: Foundation of the French Archaeological In the 1970s the Persian Gulf opened up to scientific expeditions from Delegation in Afghanistan the West, including archaeologists, iranologists and islamologists. At (DAFA), still in activity until that time, the scientific challenge was to deepen our knowledge of now. commercial activities between the Arab and Iranian coast. Trade with Asia, India and China, was also a field to be studied, in particular the 1958: Creation of the French period from antiquity to the Islamization of the Indian subcontinent. archaeological mission for When I did excavation in Bahrain and Oman, I was intrigued by the the Indus (MAI), founded by strong presence of a very special sort of ceramic, which is red and Jean-Marie Casal, then strongly micaceous. Following this discovery, I decided to find the curator of the Guimet export ports of this ceramic, which led me on the side of the Indus museum, in a country that Valley. was traditionally the reserve of the Anglo-Saxons. The common thread running through your scientific route is the presence of these red glazed tiles, so you wanted to discover its 1959: First excavation origins. completed by the MAI headed by Jean-Marie Casal Yes indeed. During a private trip in Sindh in 1987 or 1988, I was at Amri, in Sindh. quickly fascinated by the presence of red glazed tiles in the oldest ports that we could find, that of Barbariké/Daybul now called 1962-2002: The MAI Banbhore. We dated it between 400-300 BC and 950-1000 AD. concentrated on various sites located in Baluchistan. Is it there that you The MAI stopped in 2002 opened the first following the destruction of excavation site of the numerous villages and MAFS? archaeological sites. No, not at all. In fact, 1989-1995: The French after negotiations between Archaeological Mission in France and the Sindh (MAFS), headed by Government of Sindh Monique Kervran, mainly d l e concentrated on six ancient i for the opening of an f g archaeological excavation ports and few other places tin site, an agreement was located in the Southern va reached and the French valley of the Indus river. ca x Ministry for Foreign e e Affairs was ready to 1996-2002: The MAFS h t finance the project. But excavated the tell of Sehwan on in 1989, when we Sharif. r) arrived in Pakistan to nte begin the excavation, 2008: Members of the ce ( the new Director of French Interdisciplinary n a r Antiquities in Karachi Mission in Sindh (MIFS), erv did not agree that we headed by Michel Boivin, K k work in Banbhore, conducted a survey of ni ostensibly for security potential fieldwork sites in o M reasons. and around Sehwan Sharif. Mission Interdisciplinaire Française du Sindh – Newsletter 2 – January 2009 2 MI Interview with Monik Kervran Archaeology and the Indus valley FS (1989-2002) We finally started our excavation work at Ratto essentially a garrison and local people occupied Kot (see map), an outpost of Banbhore located the southern part of the fortress. The fifteen kilometers downstream. Between 1989 stratigraphic reference from Sehwan Sharif and 1995, the MAFS was principally interested in between 1996 and 2002 allowed us to put this outpost and then in a second port, the Juna forward many other hypothesis for historical Shah Bandar or Lahori Bandar, mentioned in research. The opening of another site in the written sources from the 10th century. During town of Sehwan itself would have enabled us to this mission, six ports were discovered in the look for signs of more ancient urbanization. lower Indus Valley, but only some of them were excavated. More on Monik Kervran What have you learned from this first Monique Kervran (2005), “Pakistan. Mission campaign of the MAFS? Archéologique Française au Sud-Sind”, Archéologies. 20 ans de recherches françaises The excavation of these two ports has helped us dans le monde, MAE, Maisonneuve et to highlight the mechanism with which ships Larose/ADPF-ERC, pp. 595-598. were cleared for entry into Sindh. Such a device was also described by a source dating from the Monique Kervran (1996), “Le port multiple des 16th century. But this system met its match when bouches de l’Indus: Barbariké, Dêb, Daybul, faced with more important invaders, for instance Lâhorî Bandar, Diul Sinde”, Res Orientales, VIII, the Arab armies who conquered Daybul and pp. 45-92. Sindh in 711 or the Portuguese invasions of the 16th century. Having no reference study, we had Monique Kervran (1993) "Vanishing medieval problems dating the ancient and medieval cities of the northwest Indus delta", Pakistan ceramics. So we had to find a new site in order Archaeology, 28, pp. 3-54. to have a stratigraphic reference, necessary for the calibration and timing of our samples found Monique Kervran (1992), "The fortress of Ratto in the Indus Valley. After an initial refusal by the Kot at the mouth of the Banbhore River (Indus authorities (1994) to open an excavation site in delta, Sindh, Pakistan)", Pakistan Archaeology, the city of Hyderabad, again for security 27, pp. 143-170. problems, we obtained the necessary permits for the site of Sehwan Sharif. Why did you particularly choose the site of Sehwan Sharif? Firstly, this city, which had suffered the invasion of Alexander in 325 BC and of British troops in the 1840s, had the advantage of having a tell overlooking the city and separated from it by a ditch. The site had never been excavated and archaeological layers were clearly visible. The first sounding, from the top of the tell up to the initial layer, that is more than twenty meters sounding, delivered vital information. Seven phases of cultural occupation of the city were made clear and were easily interpretable, from the 4th century BC until the 16th century AD. Finally, we were able to draw up the necessary stratigraphic reference for dating the sites discovered in the Indus delta. This has also delivered a number of clues allowing a better understanding of the history of the city and the region. For instance, we found confirmed that in the 13th century, when the city fell under the thumb of the Delhi Sultans, the tell became Mission Interdisciplinaire Française du Sindh – Newsletter 2 – January 2009 3 MI Fieldwork Report FS October-November 2008 The preliminary fieldwork was conducted from in Sehwan (JB); 3.