Early Indus Archaeologists

The major early archaeologists involved in the discovery of ancient Indus civilization sites are profiled here. Unlike most Bronze Age civilizations in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean, it was primarily Indians with the Archaeological Survey of India who led the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in the 1920s and 1930s, and very little is known or has been published about them.

John Marshall

John Hubert Marshall (1876-1958) was born in Chester and educated at Dulwich College and King's College, Cambridge. After gaining experience at excavations in Knossos and various other sites on Crete between 1898 and 1901, he was appointed Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1902. >

Daya Ram Sahni

Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni (1879-1939) was a pivotal figure in the discovery of Harappa, familiar with the mysterious seals and earlier archaeologist and scholar's visits to the site. It was Sahni who, after a three-day visit in February 1917 began the process that led to his first excavations there in January 1921. >

Kashinath Narayan Dikshit

Rao Bahadur Kashinath Narayan Dikshit (1889-1946) was at the helm of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as Director-General during a pivotal time in history, just as tremendous changes taking place across the globe and in his homeland. His tenure as Director-General (1937-1944) corresponded with the years preceding the war, through the war years and just prior to Independence. >

Madho Sarup Vats

Madho Sarup Vats (1896–1955, shown above at Mohenjo-daro) was an influential Indian archaeologist best known for his pioneering work on the Indus Valley Civilization, particularly the sites of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. >