Archaeological excavations at Banbhore, Sindh. Preliminary report of the Pakistani-Italian 2014 and 2015 field seasons

This is the preliminary report on the Pakistani-Italian Team works within the framework of an interdisciplinary Pakistani-French-Italian Research Project at Banbhore (Sindh, Pakistan), active on the site since 2010. The authors introduce the discoveries from the 2012-2015 campaigns: the trenches witness that Banbhore experienced a long period of settlement from at least the 2nd century CE up to the beginning of the 13th century. They have provided solid data about an Indo-Sasanian period of occupation and a long transitional phase, also clearing the chronology and the architectural features of the “Partition Wall”, a towered structure dividing the citadel in its last stage of life. The findings testify the role of Banbhore both as production centre and market in Sasanian and Islamic times. The water table has so far prevented us to reach the virgin soil. Metals, glasses, carved ivories and stone artefacts, worked and semi-worked shells reveal important artisanal activities in the Western half of the citadel; numerous “honey-comb moulds” are related with smelting and coinage activities; the huge amount of red and grey pottery is mostly locally produced; sherds from Iraq, Iran, India, south-east Asia and China are also witnessed. Historical research and archaeometric analyses too have provided a fundamental contribution to the understanding of this important, fascinating and intriguing archaeological complex.