Vaishakh Shukla 14, Kaliyug Varsha 5114
 Rakhigari, Hariyana |
Haryana : Thanks to rapid economic growth, Rakhigari, one of the oldest Indus Valley sites, located in Haryana is on the verge of vanishing. The warning has been issued by World Heritage Fund. Along with Takshashila, which is in Pakistan, Rakhigari happens to be one of the largest and oldest Indus valley sites. Rakhigari, which is 150 kms away from Delhi, in Haryana’s Hisar district is now under a detailed survey by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Discovered by Indian archaeologists in 1963, Rakhigari happens to be among the 10 sites identified by the World Heritage Fund in grave peril of “irreparable loss and destruction.” The report named ‘Asia’s Heritage in peril’ was released in California last night. The report states that excavation grounds that revealed Asia’s pristine and imperial cultures now struggle in the wake of economic expansion, natural calamities, tourist onslaught and general lawlessness and war.
“These 10 sites represent merely a fragment of the endangered treasures across Asia and the rest of the developing world,” said Executive Director of WHF, Jeff Morgan.
A detailed excavation at Rakhigari revealed a lost city, with numerous artifacts, which are estimated to be around 5,000 years old. The excavation has led to evidences of a well planned city, with paved roads, proper drainage system, a rainwater harvesting system, storage system, usage of terracotta bricks, statue production and skilled metal work in both bronze and precious metals.
Other sites under threat are Kashgar, a silk route place that connected with China, Mes Aynak, the last Buddhist ancient Monastry centre that was built on the Silk Route, now in Afghanistan, Plain of Jars, he Megalithic archaeological landscape that is said to have mysterious origins, now in Laos and Taxila (Takshashila), the place that housed the world famous university, now in Pakistan.
The report has also named Ayutthaya in Thailand, (former Siamese capital known as the “Venice of the East”), Fort Santiago in Philippines, Mahasthangarh, South Asia’s earliest archaeological sites of Bangladesh, Myauk-U, capital of Arakanese kingdom, Myanmar and Preah Vihear, a Khmer architectural masterpiece, Cambodia.
Source : India Wires
