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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE FIRST AND ONLY MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER IN THE WORLD DEDICATED TO ONE OF THE GREATEST ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS IN HUMAN HISTORY

PALO ALTO, CALIF. (October 19, 2007) – Northern California-based Global Heritage Fund (GHF) is launching an international effort to develop the Indus Saraswati Heritage Centre (the Centre), a world-class museum and research center in India that will, for the first time, tell the story of the largest first civilization in human history. The great Harappan or Indus Civilization is also sometimes referred to as the Indus-Saraswati civilization. The dazzling accomplishments of this little-known, but once mighty merchant culture, will be shared with an estimated hundreds of thousands visitors annually through state-of-the-art exhibitions that bring to vivid life an unprecedented collection of Indus artifacts discovered by scholars of Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) -Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat State, India.

It wasn’t until the 1920s that archeologists in what is present day Pakistan and western India began to unearth the fascinating story of this bustling, urban civilization that developed at the same time as the early city-states of Egypt, Mesopotamia and early China. What they discovered was a unique story of human achievement. This was a culture of extraordinarily innovative and inventive entrepreneurs, who developed sophisticated technologies to craft jewelry and other items of finery that were traded globally. The Indus had a passion for city living and an uncanny genius for urban planning, especially water and waste management. As many as 60-80,000 people lived in any given Indus city, and every family had a toilet.

“It’s mind boggling,” says Kalpana Desai, Director of India Programs at GHF. “The level of organization in these cities is a marvel. I imagine if we were able to visit these places, we would be struck by the same energy, power and dynamism we associate with modern Paris, London or New York.”

The true mystery is how this massive civilization never fought a war. “One of the enduring questions about these people is how they administered such a large geographical area for 800 years without war,” says Dr. Mark Kenoyer, project co-director and one of the world’s most renowned Indus scholars. “They are really a model of prosperity and peace.”

Kenoyer has been working closely with his colleagues in India and Pakistan to study dozens of Indus archeological sites and to save hundreds of others before they are lost to development. The crumbling complexes, while compelling, are difficult for the general public to understand, he says. “You don’t just get it by walking through the ruins. No existing single site can communicate the full breadth and glory of the Indus.”

This is where the Indus Heritage Centre comes in, says Desai. “At the Centre, we’ll be able to fire the imagination of our visitors, to immerse them in the daily life of these cities so they can discover who these people were.”

Centre plans include outdoor recreations of Indus city features including wells, baths, and gateways, a theater, and up to 15 galleries where authentic artifacts, interactive kiosks, a learning center for children, and evocative animation stations will work together to tell the intriguing story of the Indus. An exterior crafts area with live demonstrations and hands on activities will make connections between living artistic traditions and ancient Indus crafts. In addition, festival dances, performances, films and lectures will enrich the visitor experience.

Kenoyer sees the Centre as a gateway to the Indus Civilization in Gujarat. “It’s a destination in and of itself, but also a wonderful jumping off point to explore and understand the ruins.” He and Dr. Kuldeep Bhan of MSU are exploring the development of travel circuits between the Centre and local archeological sites for visitors. GHF and university officials are confident the project will significantly boost travel and tourism in the area. Desai sees many benefits to this. “A project like this helps the local economy and instills enormous pride in the local community.”

The Centre is more than a tourist destination however. At its heart is the research institute where scholars will be able to unravel more of the mysteries about this great culture (the script has yet to be decoded) and continue archeological efforts to conserve its treasures. GHF has already been providing MSU with needed support to digitally inventory artifacts, map sites, train in the latest conservation techniques and collections management methods and sponsor international workshops and seminars.

These efforts are laying the groundwork for the future of the Centre scheduled to open in 2012. And so are the efforts of dedicated donors like Amit Shah, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and partner at Artiman Ventures in East Palo Alto. Shah is a founding sponsor of the project and has spent countless hours convincing fellow community and business leaders to get involved. For Shah, there is an urgency to the project. “I think Indians are only waking up to the fact now that we are losing tons of priceless objects every day and that these are unrecoverable,” he says. And for this Boroda hometown boy and MSU graduate it is ultimately the potential to create something meaningful for the next generation that compels him to give to the project. “There are three things we can leave our children: a better environment, a better society and a richer sense of history. The Indus Heritage Centre is about our roots, our history. I’m hoping it is a template for more education and conservation before it is too late.”

Global Heritage Fund is helping to raise $4-5 million in the U.S. and facilitate in-country funding to the tune of $6-8 million in support of the project in the next two to three years. For more information about GHF and the Indus-Saraswati Heritage Centre, visit www.globalheritagefund.org.

BACKGROUND
Founded in 2001, Global Heritage Fund is a non-profit, international conservancy that preserves and protects humankind’s most important archaeological and cultural heritage sites in developing countries to revitalize local communities. GHF has projects currently in India, Pakistan, China, Laos, Guatemala, Libya, and Turkey.

For High Res images click on the thumbnails.

1. Palaeolithic Tools

2. Harappan Beads

3. Ghola Dhoro Cooper Pot

4. Indus Seal

5. Indus God King

6. MSU Collection of Indus Pottery

7. Eastern Gateway

8. Dholavira Group Tour March 2007

9. Dholavira Site

10. Dholavira Site