SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION MOENJODARO
Dr. F Raymond Fosberg march 1979
Contents
FORWARD
INTRODUCTION
1
SECTION (1)
Physical setting and environment
2
SECTION (2)
Present Vegetation
6
SECTION (3)
The possible use of plants in dealing with problems of restoration and Preservation of the ruins
8
SECTION (4)
Landscape Management
16
SECTION (5)
Plants and the past climate, Vegetation and Agriculture
17
SECTION (6)
General Comments and Recommendations
21
BIBLIOGRAPHY
26
During my stay in Karachi and afterward at Moenjodaro, Mr. Memon was most attentive and a
constant source of information. He accompanied me to Moenjodaro, and, with the staff of the Project
there, made it possible for me to examine the ruins, the planting that has been done, and the country in
all directions from the ruins. By examining both the natural vegetation of the region and the condition of
many planted species it was possible to gain some insight into both the potentialities and the limitations
of vegetation to further the aims of and to alleviate the problems of the restoration project. Of course,
even with the best of guidance, and with the benefit of a short informal visit to the site last year, a twoday visit can only be expected to give a very superficial understanding of such a complex situation as exists
in this remarkable site of a past civilization. It is appropriate, here, to acknowledge the help toward such
understanding provided by the excellent exhibits in the Museum located on the site. These are welldesigned to portray the accomplishments of the people who inhabited the Indus Valley four to five
thousand years ago.
In the following pages I will try to give a short discussion of: (1) the physical setting and
environment of Moenjodaro, with questions and inferences as to what it may have been like in the past,
(2) the present vegetation, (3) the possible significance or function of plants in dealing with several of the
problems of the restoration and preservation of the ruins, (4) landscape management, and (5)
scientifically roost important, the development of a concept of the landscape and Under the terms of
UNESCO Contract No. 592.MS, dated September 22, 1978, I was commissioned to visit the Moenjodaro
Archaeological Site, in the lower Indus Valley, during a short stay in Pakistan, in order to formulate
suggestions on botanical aspects of the restoration project in progress at these ruins. The trip, itself, was
made under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution in connection with its Ceylon Flora Project. The
opportunity was afforded to visit and confer with the botanists at the University of Karachi and at the
Pakistan National Herbarium, who were, as always, most hospitable and helpful.
I arrived at Karachi at 2:15 A.M. and was met by Mr. A. H. Memon, Project Director for the
Moenjodaro restoration, and Mr. Omar, from the United States Consulate. On the same day, I had the
pleasure of informative interviews with Professor Rafiq Ahmad and Professor S. I. Ali-, of the Botany
Department, University of Karachi, and on the following day with the Honorable Justice Abdul Kadir
Shaikh, Governor of Sind, and Mr. A. W Kirmani, Secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Forests.
Later, on October 9th, in Islamabad, I likewise had the pleasure of interviews with Mr. Ashgar Butt, Joint
Secretary, Ministry of Culture, and with Mr. Zafar Ali, Assistant Educational Advisor to the same Ministry.
All of these men have an active interest in the Moenjodaro Restoration Project and seemed much
interested in my mission.
Vegetation of this part of the Indus Valley when the Moenjodaro culture was flourishing. I must
point out that in developing these ideas I have not had the benefit of meeting and discussing the area
with the archaeologists who have been involved in the excavating and planning and handling the
restoration activities. Limitations of time did not permit a serious attempt to run these elusive beings to
earth, and to pick their brains. The report suffers accordingly. Nor was there time to procure copies of the
available maps of the area and its physical, biological, and agricultural features. The actual information
collected was mostly strictly botanical, with some attention to topography and soils.
One of the approaches to the over-all problem was to formulate a series of questions to which
the answers were not immediately apparent. Several of these were answered readily and one or two were
omitted from the list when the answers became self-evident. The list was given to Mr. Memon to have
typed and copies circulated to those most likely to have answers for reply. These questions were never
returned to me. Answers to some of them have become apparent in documents available to me after my
return to Washington. Others are perhaps too academic to be pertinent. Some questions remain and are
posed in appropriate sections of this report.
INTRODUCTION
As I understand it, a complex and highly developed civilization flourished in the Indus Valley at
least as early as the year 3000 B.C., and continued for two millennia or more, as I seem to remember
reading that Alexander the Great encountered a flourishing culture on the Indus when he penetrated that
far in 325 B.C. This civilization had apparently collapsed by 200 - 300 A.D. when a Buddhist culture erected
at least a small city on the ruins of Moenjodaro, the site of a very large city of the early Indus culture. This
was apparently later destroyed or at least declined and itself was an obscure ruin until excavation began
‘at Moenjodaro in 1922.
In recent years this section of the Indus flood plain has been the site of extensive wet-land ricecultivation made possible by canal irrigation with water from the Indus.
I have been unable to find that any traces of ancient irrigation canals have been found. Certainly,
to feed the population indicated by the extent of the Moenjodaro ruins, an effective agriculture must have
existed.
It is believed by some, that this must have been a Nile Valley type of system, utilizing annual flood
waters. Fertilization by flood-deposited silt could be inferred if this idea is well-founded. Another belief,
held by some, is that the early Indus Valley culture existed under a substantially wetter climatic regime,
and that perhaps dry-land agriculture prevailed. The finding of stored wheat in the ruins would tend to
support this alternative. Of course, there seems to be no reason that these ideas should be mutually
exclusive. Annual flooding may have occurred, and wheat culture may have flourished, both on floodwatered ground and on fertile soil, moistened by rain at least part of the year, above the level of flood
waters. Archaeologists may well have explored these questions. The answers would be very helpful in any
attempt to speculate on the nature of the vegetation of. Moenjodaro four to five thousand years ago.
(1) Physical Setting and Environment
The flat valley of the Indus is very wide at the site of the Moenjodaro ruins. On the valley floor
there is very little relief excepting the elevation of the ruins themselves. At present the waters of the
Indus, at flood season are contained by a system of levees or - bunds, which keep the surface flood waters
from covering the agricultural land in the region, the airport, the villages, and even reaching the bases of
the ruins. Irrigation water is carried down the valley by a large canal parallel to, but some distance, from
the Indus. The level of the water in this canal was at least one to two meters above the surrounding flat
land, when I visited it, October 5th, and seepage was obvious. This was keeping the ground wet and, in
places, covered by standing water in the immediate vicinity of the canal. .The vegetation in these wet
areas was of a marsh or swamp type, suggesting that this seepage is a permanent feature. The influence
of the canal was not obvious, however, in the vicinity of the ruins, though there were a couple of wet,
muddy depressions nearby, which were said to become dry during a part of the year. That the water in
them may be perched by an impervious clay layer is suggested by the fact that the water level in two
ancient wells examined in the ruins (DK Area) was at least 5 or 6 meters below the ground surface. The
ground in the low salt-flats around and between the ruins was powder-dry. The last rains were almost
three months earlier, on the 5th and 14th of July, according to local informants.
There is much talk about water-logged soil and a high water- table at Moenjodaro. I have not
heard or read any definitions of * waterlogging as applied to this situation, nor have I seen any statement
of the depth or range of the water-table at Moenjodaro. Examination of the ancient wells in the ruins,
both in 1977 and this year, showed a water-table that could scarcely be called high. I did not measure it,
but it seemed to stand at 5 or 6 meters below the level of the surrounding ground surface. However, the
appearance of the surface soil in and around the ruins suggests that at least part of the year the soil is
wet. During both my visits the soil was very dry and the surface crust was indurated, apparently cemented
hard by salt and clay. My superficial observations, plus what I have heard, lead me to think that the water
table must fluctuate substantially during the year. This is confirmed by the diagram, Fig. 1.3, in the Master
Plan. At one low spot in the ruins, a limited section of a brick wall was moist. At several spots there was
buckling and collapse of brick walls that was likely due to wet unstable clay soil. Saline efflorescence’s on
the bricks were very evident on most low places, in the walls. Information on the soil moisture regime and
on the behavior of the water table exists, and should be made available before another seminar on the
botanical aspects of the Moenjodaro restoration and preservation is held.
Regional small scale and site large scale contour maps, as well as geological and soil maps would
contribute greatly to understanding features affecting and affected by the vegetation. Perhaps most
important of all would be a detailed hydrological study, such exists, and it should be available to
participants in any future symposium.
The soils, outside the actual sites of the ruins, seemed to be of clay or very fine silt, held, where
undisturbed, by a salt crust. However, this crust was in most areas broken up by trampling of livestock
cattle, goats, and camels, which are herded in large numbers in the region. The question of the origins of
the wind-blown dust and salt particles that are cited as having an adverse effect on the bricks of the ruins
may have its answer in the trampling of these animals.
The report of the April 1 - 3, 1978 Symposium on Plant Community and Landscaping of Moenjodaro
contains, as an Appendix II, a "Chart of Lithologic Bars showing Soil Profile Characteristics." This consists
of twenty-four small scale diagrams of the results of "observation wells drilled by NEDECO." These are
very informative, even at the scale at which they are presented. However, no discussion accompanies the
chart, nor is there a map showing the locations of these wells. Such a map might contribute much to
understanding the present and past nature of the area in which the ruins occur. Both such maps and much
better bar diagrams may be found in the hydrological report (Reclamation South Report 45) but were not
available to me during ray visit to the area. My time might have been better utilized while there, if I had
been, familiar with this report.
It must be emphasized that both the present and past vegetation of this area are very strongly
influenced, if not totally determined, by the physical environment.
(2) Present Vegetation
Large areas of the flood plain of the Indus have, as their present vegetation, wet-land rice fields
supported by canal irrigation. These fields approach to within a short distance of the down-river
boundaries of the ruins. Upstream, the rice-land does not approach very closely. The present "natural
vegetation" of the flat-lands surrounding the ruins is a halophytic open scrub or open to closed scrubforest. The variations in this have not been described or mapped, nor have they been correlated either
with topographic micro-variations or with distance from the Indus. The principal component species are,
as dominants, one or two species of Tamarix, and two species of Salvadora, and, as scattered emergent,
taller, fairly large trees of Prosopis, cinerea, and in the spaces between the trees and shrubs, locally
abundant bunches of the grass, Desmostschys bipinnata, with minor, but locally abundant Sueda sp. and
Zygophyllum simplex. Shrubs of Capparis decidua are locally common in the scrub.
Near the canal are wet areas occupied by marsh vegetation of sedges, tall and low grasses and a
few broad-leafed species, and by swamps of a number of tree and shrub species which were not identified
from the moving vehicle on the canal bank.
Roadside bunds and canal banks have usually plantings of Acia nilotica, and where there is
water, in places other species of trees.
A critical flora of this section of the Indus Valley with keys, descriptions, and ecological notes
would be very desirable, but none exists.
Around the headquarters site, hotel, and museum, daily irrigation is practiced, and a number of
ornamental species flourish. These make an agreeable green spot in an otherwise rather gray landscape.
Areas where Salvadora oleoides is abundant, as in some unexcavated parts of the ruins, are also green.
On the excavated and restored parts of the ruins vegetation is very sparse, or lacking. Scattered
and occasional large plants of Suaeda fruticosa are seen locally with
the herbaceous species, Desmostschys bipinnata, Zygophyllum simplex, "young Suaeda, and, very locally, Cressa
cretica may be seen, but are not prominent.
Capparis decidua, Salvadora oleoides,
In a low flat area between two parts of the ruins the personnel of the Restoration Authority
have an experimental planting of a number of kinds of trees which has demonstrated that with irrigation
several tree species will grow even on the very saline soil of the flood plains. These trees may be suitable
at least for roadside planting where water is available in spite of the salinity.
(3) The Possible Use of Plants in Dealing with Problems of Restoration and Preservation of the Ruins
It has been suggested that plants may have an effect on the water-table, on lessening the
water-logging of the ground, on the salinity of the soil, and that landscape planning may require
appropriate plants to simulate the prehistoric Moenjodaro landscape- The object of UNESCO in enlisting
my services was to look into the feasibility of plants for these purposes, and, if possible, to recommend
appropriate species that can stand the dry climate and the salinity.
The symposium referred to above was held for the specific purpose of discussing these matters,
and some progress was certainly made. A series of recommendations were made and included in the
report of the symposium, with many of which I concur. Several I am not sure I understand, and several I
am doubtful about. They are on record and are presumably to be the basis for future action, unless
regarded by the authorities as inadvisable or impractical. The discussions in the symposium were
hampered by the same lack of adequate basic environmental data referred to above in the present
document.
My remarks on this general topic will be subdivided into the following sections for convenience
in discussing them, though all are so interconnected that such separation is a bit unnatural. The
Symposium report (p. 19) refers to water-logging and salinity as "twin Problems." Actually, they might be
considered as one problem with two (or more) consequences. Certainly, a lowering of the water-table, if
constant, is likely to lower salinity if rainfall or irrigation is available to leach down the salts from the
surface soil.
(A) Influence of plants on water-logging and on the ground- water-table (Nappe phreatique): A
number of observations indicate that plant cover of an appropriate kind has an appreciable effect
on groundwater. Ordinary botanical knowledge that plants transpire water indicates that there is
an effect. Whether it is significant.to the problem under consideration is the question.
At the Brookhaven National Laboratory (U.S.) a source of ionizing radiation was installed in an
area of forest vegetation. The obvious effect was to kill all vegetation within a given radius of the source.
The secondary effect noticed was that the soil surface became wet where it had formerly been dry. ..The
similar undamaged areas farther from the source did not become wet.
Similarly, in the mountains of West Virginia in the Rohrbach Plains (Dolly Sods) area, on a gently
sloping high plateau, a wide strip of forest was burned some years ago. When observed sometime later,
before much re-vegetation, the ground was waterlogged, while a similar area, adjacent, but unburned,
did not show any waterlogging.
In the southwestern United States, where water shortage is a problem, "Phreatophytes"
(deep-rooted plants that tap the ground-water-table) are regarded as a serious cause of water loss,
significant enough to be of economic importance. Even more pertinent to our discussion here is the fact
that the Phreatophytes most seriously regarded there is the introduced "salt-cedar" (Tamarix sp.). There
is a fairly extensive literature on Phreatophytes that may be worth bringing together for any subsequent
symposium on plants in relation to Moenjodaro.
A principle that has always appealed to me in situations like this is to use existing natural
phenomena or agents to accomplish one's ends wherever and as much as possible. Often, a natural
process can be encouraged to accomplish a desired end without the unexpected side effects so often
brought on by drastic interference.
A question I asked myself in observing the water-level in the wells in Moenjodaro DK Area was,
if the soil was waterlogged three months ago, and now the water-table is 5 or 6 meters down, and the
ground is powder dry, what brought about this rapid lowering of the ground-water? The natural
vegetation is largely Tamarix (salt-cedar). There seems no reason why. Tamarix should not behave as a
Phreatophytes at Moenjodaro, with just the effect on the water-table that we want. Clearly, the effect is
not sufficient to keep the water-table down during very wet seasons. However, as soon as there is
insufficient replenishment, down goes the ground-water level.' Very probably, other plants that might be
used to replace the Tamarix might be less efficient Phreatophytes than it is Of course, what is called for is
experimental measurement of the transpiration rates of all plants considered> including Tamarix, before
any replacement is undertaken. Perhaps none will be needed. Perhaps, with the aid of the natural Tamarix
vegetation, the tube-wells may be able to keep the water table down during the wet season to the level
where the natural vegetation pulls it after the rains stop, and the flood-waters go down.
In our present state of lack of knowledge of the depths to which roots penetrate and of relative
transpiration rates of the different halophytic species which might survive in the situation, I think it would
be inadvisable to recommend any except the most limited experimental attempts at changing the
vegetation on the saline flats. Paintings of Eucalyptus, Acacia nilotica, and Populus euphratica along
roadsides where irrigation is practical could be attempted if desired, but at first on an experimental basis.
Careful consideration should be given to the findings of the Project staff that use of "canal soil" to establish
grass before planting trees encourages much better tree growth. If this is not too expensive, and does not
require too much water for irrigation, it seems promising. However, for any large scale plantings before
the tube-well system is functioning, native plants which can thrive without continued irrigation would
seem more practical. The tube-wells should provide ample water for irrigation in the immediate vicinity
of the ruins, after the system is functioning unless the water pumped is too salty.
(B) Influences of plants on salinity: The only very likely practical effect of plants on salinity is through
their effect on the ground-water-level in the soil, discussed in the previous section. If the watertable stays at a sufficient depth in the soil so the surface soil no longer stays water-logged, and so
such moisture as falls as rain or is applied as irrigation leaches the soluble salts downward in the
soil, then the surface salinity can be expected to decrease. To the extent that plants tend to
influence the water-table in this way, they will reduce the salinity.
It has been suggested that since certain plants accumulate salts in their tissues, these could serve
to reduce the salt-content of the soil. The obvious weakness in this suggestion is that, as these plants die,
or lose their leaves, the salt is returned to the soil. The same is true if they are eaten by animals, and the
manure is returned to the soil.
The idea has been advanced that if salt-accumulating plants are harvested and made into hay,
and if this is then removed and taken to a distance and fed to livestock, the salt will at least be taken away
from the ruins. If a salt-accumulating plant were known which makes palatable hay, or even one where
the freshly cut material was palatable to livestock, this scheme might be feasible. Little is known about
the Salt-content of most of the salt-tolerant plants, or of their palat-ability or nutrient value to stock.
Possibly there are studies on palatability of the plants of saline land in the literature of animal husbandry.
I am not very familiar with agricultural literature.
I did ask and tried to observe whether any domestic animals eat Tamarix, the most abundant and
obvious salt-accumulator. I found no evidence that animals even touch it. Suaeda also did not seem to be
eaten. Such marsh plants as Typha, Phragmites, and Arundo, all tolerant of at least some salinity, have been
suggested as providing salt-marsh hay. These do not seem to be especially palatable, but would be worth
trying. Whether their salt-tolerances is high enough to be very useful in desalinization is doubtful, and
how much salt they absorb and retain should be determined. Diplachne fusca and Cynodon dactylon are
recommended in the Symposium report as salt-accumulating fodder plants. Certainly they are palatable,
but Cynodon, at least, would not make hay. Alfalfa or Lucerne (Medic ago sativa) tolerates considerable
salinity and makes excellent hay. Its ability to accumulate salt is not known to me, but it is considered to
be a Phreatophytes. It might combine several qualities desirable for this project, especially after the
salinity had already been reduced somewhat from its present extreme level. It does not, however, thrive
well in a dry climate without irrigation. The considerable literature on irrigation with saline water resulting
from investigations by Israeli agronomists and ecologists would be worth studying.
(C) Plants to control wind erosion and reduce air salinity: As noted above, the livestock that are very
numerous in the region seem to be the principal causes of wind erosion, both by trampling and
breaking up the soil crust and by overgrazing and destroying the vegetation. Salt-tolerant species
used widely for erosion-control, such as Cynodon dactylon, and Atriplex semibaccata are,
unfortunately for erosion control, also very palatable to cattle. The key to wind- erosion control
as well as air-salinity control would seem, primarily, to be cattle and goat control. Given this,
Cynodon, Distichlis, and a number of Atriplex species, and certainly Desmostschys bipinnata, would
be obvious plants to try, as well as Suaeda. None of these, however, would stand heavy grazing or
trampling.
The above plants and the soil crust would be useful in holding the soil, but are all low plants. To
actually reduce the wind force, trees .would be necessary, either in the form of forests, natural or planted,
or in the form of strips, called windbreaks or shelter-belts.
Many species of trees have been used as windbreak components. Most would not tolerate the
level of salinity of the soils of the Moenjodaro region. Such native trees as Prosopis cinerea and several
Tamarix species, grow in saline soils and should be encouraged. Acacia nilotica, Populus euphratica,
Prosopis Juliflors, and one or two Eucalyptus species, among exotics, also are salt-tolerant, and can
stand the climate, otherwise.
Contrary to the design of shelter-belts suggested in the Symposium report, I would suggest just
the opposite arrangement. The trees should be on the inner or leeward side, with gradually lower trees
and dense shrubs on the windward side. Shade tolerant shrubs of which not many halophytic and drought
resistant ones exist, one being Scaevola taccada, and such grasses as Desmostschys should be planted in the
outer (windward) edges of a rather broad band of trees. This should be lined, then, by such shrubs as
Tamarix, Salvadora, and Capparis decidua, planted as close as they would tolerate. Outside this, several rows
of Agave sisal Ana, or perhaps other more halophytic species of Agave, should be planted, the rows filled
in gradually by planting at yearly intervals, so all would not flower and die simultaneously. A remarkable
salt-resisting, wind- and sand-resisting small tree that might be worth trying, if it could be procured from
the Central Asian deserts, is Haloxylon phylum. Whether or not it could stand the Moenjodaro conditions
would have to be tried, but it is used for dune stabilization in the edges of the Khizilkoum and Karakoum
deserts in Turkestan, is a halophyte, and endures great extremes in climate conditions.
(4) Landscape Management
The present landscape in the vicinity of Moenjodaro is rather bleak. Its character results from a
combination of extreme salinity of the soil, and extremely dry climate, overgrazing by livestock, and windblown dust, which seems to result from the overgrazing and trampling by livestock.
If the desalinization program is successful it will, over a long period make possible the
development of a more appropriate and more attractive landscape. Without this, and without the removal
of the livestock, or at least their reduction to where their effects on the vegetation and soil are minimized,
no substantial improvement in the landscape is likely.
Local improvement, in the headquarters area, is already well advanced by constant irrigation.
Shade and greenness make an attractive relief from the heat and grayness of the general environment.
This can be extended somewhat, especially by tree-planting along roads and planting more grass.
However, too much investment in this kind of unplanned landscape development would not be wise, as
such things tend to be preserved and to resist change because they are there. Planning and establishment
of a more appropriate landscape becomes more difficult and the conventional status quo tends to persist
or to deteriorate from lack of maintenance.
Consideration should be given to trying to determine the character of the landscape at the time
the Moenjodaro civilization was flourishing. It is my contention that, if this can be done, an attempt should
be made to simulate, as nearly as practical, the prehistoric landscape.
Unquestionably, the prehistoric landscape of the Moenjodaro period would have been primarily
an agricultural one. The character of this would have been determined by the climate of the period. The
clues to the climate are mostly to be found in the plant remains that can be recovered and identified.
With sufficient such clues, present day analogues may be located and some approximation of the climate,
vegetation and agriculture made. The next section suggests how this might be approached.
(5) Plants and the Past Climate, Vegetation and Agriculture
The principal aim of archaeology is to gain knowledge of things as they were at the times of past
human cultures. This includes past climates, landscapes, biota, and especially human activities and
cultures. These subjects are all so closely interrelated that bits of information in any one may provide
clues to knowledge of any or all of the others. Thus, identities of plants, derived from fossil fragments,
especially pollen grains, are keys to past climates, while knowledge of climates gives suggestions of plant
assemblages that might have, or could have, existed. This sounds like a circular approach, but items of
actual knowledge, when added together may help in looking for or interpreting other facts. Where,
information is scarce, the gradual assembling of a structure of knowledge tends to be a cumulative and
self-augmenting process.
Plant fragments have been found in the excavation of Moenjodaro. I only know of two species,
Ficus religiosa. The peepul tree, and Triticum aestivale, wheat that have been identified from there. I am
told of an archaeologist who has some such material. I will try to learn more about this through our
Smithsonian archaeologists.
By far, the most promising route to get a start in this direction is palaeopalynology, the study of
fossil pollen grains. In many parts of the world, this study has-yielded information that has enabled a
science of paleoclimatology to be built up. This rests on the fact- that the outer coats of pollen grains are
remarkably resistant to weathering, and that their morphology is sufficiently diverse and specific that
frequently the genus and even the species may be determined from these grains. They tend to be
preserved in sedimentary deposits in the order in which the latter have been laid down, and are
recoverable by various techniques from carefully collected samples of layers in soil profiles, drill cores and
cuttings, and even from sun baked mud bricks and mud mortar from between the bricks.
The principal requirements for this sort of investigation are a good representative collection of
slides of pollen from the living plants of the region, not just the immediate locality, a good centrifuge and
laboratory for preparing slides of the grains for microscopic examination, a good microscope with photo
micrographic equipment, and above all, a trained palynologist. A scanning electron microscope is a
valuable addition, but is very expensive and difficult to operate and maintain. An enormous amount of
palaeopalynoligic information was collected before the scanning scope was invented.
A palynological study is not an enterprise to be undertaken lightly, nor is it one that will yild
results in a year. With the cooperation of an active overseas palynologist, or preferably two, one to work
with a Pakistani palynologist to build a broadly representative collection of documented slides and
photographs of pollen grains from living plants, the other an experienced palaeopalynologist,to teach a
local person to take samples of soil and sediments and to extract and mount fossil pollen grains on slides.
With such help it should not be too long before results begin to accumulate.
In addition to palynologist, the services of a floristic botanist should be available to prepare
floristic lists from different climatic and topographic areas in Pakistan. These would be used for
comparison with assemblages of plants indicated by pollen identified from particular horizons sampled in
the ruins. This would gradually provide a basis for interpreting the past climates of the Moenjodaro area.
It would also suggest where to go to find present day landscapes and vegetation that night resemble those
of past horizons of Moenjodaro.
Once these pictures of the past begin to emerge, reconstruction of simulated past landscapes
and plantings of vegetation resembling that of the past could start on a firm basis.
As starting points to study modern landscapes I would, on the basis of personal observation and
intuition, suggest three areas of more favorable present-day climates. These would be the Rawalpindi
area, the Indus Valley Plains near Attock, and the valley of the Kabul River, where Peshawar is situated. A
floristic list for Rawalpindi is already available, written by R. R. Stewart. Lists for the other two could rather
readily be brought together by the Rawalpindi botanists of the National Herbarium. The Stewart list should
be updated.
This sort of approach, from two directions, palaeopalynology and present day floristic botany,
focused on climatic areas, appeals to me as the one capable of yielding both the quickest and the soundest
results. Of course, any evidence from macropalaeobotany, and from animal paleontology would serve to
confirm and strengthen these findings from the other two fields.
The results from such a study as proposed would eventually provide the basis for design of a
landscape that would reasonably simulate that of ancient Moenjodaro, once the salinity and waterlogging
were brought under control.
Once it is decided that such a study as described above is desirable, it would be entirely feasible
to design a cooperative proposal, involving American and Pakistani botanists and palynologist, with
perhaps a good geographer or two, to be financed by Excess Foreign Currency Funds. If a proposal were
developed along the lines suggested here, I would be glad to serve as an advisor to it, but would not be
able either to write the proposal or serve as principal investigator.
(6) General Comments and Recommendations
After studying the "Report on the Desalinization of the Monuments of Moenjodaro," the
"Master Plan for the Preservation of Moenjodaro," and the report on the "Results of Hydrological and
Subsoil Investigation at Moenjodaro," as well as the report of the "Symposium on Plant Community and
Landscaping of Moenjodaro," I have the impression that while there is still a deficit of knowledge on the
physical environment and engineering aspects of the site, this knowledge is well advanced compared to
that on the biological and palaeoclimatological aspects. While I have seen very little of the archaeological
literature on the area, I presume that 50 years of excavation and study have yielded a good understanding
of the .culture and mode of life of the builders of the ancient Indus 'Valley civilization. Of the biological
features of the area, present and past, there seem to be little information or understanding, other than
superficial floristic knowledge.
Yet, the past civilizations, even more than the present ones, depend absolutely on the biological
productivity and ecological conditions of their immediate surroundings. Foreign aid and disaster relief had
not been heard of, and food could not be purchased abroad in practical quantities. These cities, or groups
of associated cities were far more isolated and self-contained ecological units than are most present-day
equivalents.
Thus, to gain any adequate understanding of such a city as the Moenjodaro of 2000 - 3000 B.C.,
it seems self-evident that as much biological information as possible must be collected. Bryson and Murray
have shown one approach to this, by piecing together bits of climatic indications from widely diverse
sources and drawing inferences.
Another approach, and certainly the most obvious one, is by a careful and critical collection and
study of fossil evidence. The most adequate methodology, though by no means the exclusive one, is
intensive palaeopolynological research, backed up by adequate knowledge of recent palynology of the
flora of the whole region.
A third method, dependent upon at least preliminary results of the other two approaches, is that
of identifying and studying present-day areas that seem floristically and climatically similar to the
Moenjodaro of earlier millennia. This is, naturally, highly speculative, but may ultimately yield by far the
most complete picture.
Following is a short list of questions that occurred to me during my visits, and for which I have
been unable to obtain answers, though possibly some may exist. They may furnish a guide to what areas
of research might be profitably undertaken, and where UNESCO and Smithsonian help might be
appropriate. Following the questions are a few, perhaps obvious, recommendations of what may be
undertaken along biological lines and which may be discussed at the next symposium.
If suggestions are needed as to what may be taken up at the next symposium, beyond what may
be gathered from this report, I will be glad to discuss the matter.
QUESTIONS
1. Were drill cores recovered in boring the three tube-wells and the observation holes put down
during the desalinization and hydrological investigations at Moenjodaro? If so, who has them?
How are they stored? If not, were interval samples of any sort preserved? These, if carefully
collected and preserved would be invaluable in any palynological project.
2. Is there a comprehensive summary, more than what are reported in the Desalinization Report,
the Master Plan, and the Hydrological and Subsoil Report, of the climate of Moenjodaro or of the
lower section of the Indus Valley? Likewise a surface soil survey? What, if anything is known of
the paleoclimatology of the Moenjodaro segment of the Indus Valley during the past 10,000
years?
3. Have there been any comparative transpiration studies of Lower Indus Valley plants?
4. Have there been any detailed root-system studies of Lower Indus Valley plants?
5. Have there been any studies of the palatability of local plants in the Lower Indus Valley for
livestock - goats, sheep, cattle, camels, donkeys?
6. Is there a bibliography of works on the archaeology of the Indus Valley?
7. Have there been any experiments on lessening the bank erosion of the Indus by establishing shore
vegetation?
8. Have any salt analyses been made of Lower Indus Valley plants?
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Establishment of a Salix-Populus-Tamarix vegetation on the areas between the Indus and the
bund to attempt control of bank erosion and encroachment by the river.
2. Investigation of the amount of transpiration and of the extent and nature of the root systems of
the native species of Tamarix, perhaps also of Salvadora, Prosopis cinerea, Desmostschys.
3. Investigate salt-content and palatability to livestock of the principal plants now growing in the
Moenjodaro area without irrigation.
4. Immediate reduction or even elimination of livestock from the Moenjodaro area, even for
several kilometers from the ruins, to cut down the dust and salt particles borne by the wind.
5. Have prepared a review of published knowledge of Phreatophytes, especially those of arid
regions.
6. Initiate the preparation of a documented descriptive flora of the Moenjodaro section of the Indus
Valley.
7. Initiate a continuing palynological study along the lines described in Section (5) of this report.
8. Initiate a study of the flora and vegetation of areas in the Upper Indus drainage that are possible
climatic analogues of the Moenjodaro region at the time of the flourishing of its civilization. Areas
may be selected tentatively on the basis of physiography and "best estimates" of what the
rainfall might have been to support a dry-land agriculture several thousand years ago. The help
of the archaeologists may be useful in this.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Allchin, G., and Goudie, A. "Prehistory and Climatic Changes in Western India." World Archaeology,
1974. 5(3):358-68.
2.
, Goudie, A. and Hegde, K. The Prehistory and Paleogeography of the Great Indian Desert.
New York: Academic press, 1978.
3.
"Prehistory and Environmental Changes in Western India." Man, 1970. 74:542-564.
4. Bryson, R.A., and Barreies, D.A. " of Major Possibilities Climatic Modification and Their
Implications: a Case Study." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 1967. 48(3):136-142.
5.
, and Murray, T.J. Climates of Hunger. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press,
1977.
6. Joshi, R.V. "The Characters of the Pleistocene Climate Events in the Indian Sub- Continent - a Land
of Monsoon Climate." Indian Antiquary, 1970. 4:53-63.
7. Krishnan, M.S. "Geological History of Rajasthan and Its Relation to Present Day Conditions."
Bulletin of the National Institute of Science in India, 3952. 1:19-31.
8. Meher-Homji, V.M. "Is the Sind-Rajasthan Desert the Result of a Recent Climatic Change?"
Geoforum, 1973. 15:47-57.
9. Raikes, R.L. and Dyson, R.H. "The Prehistoric Climate of Baluchistan and Indus Valley," American
Anthropologist, 1961. 63:265-281.
10. Randhawa, M.S. "Progressive Dessication of Northern India in Historical Times," Journal of the
Bombay Natural History Society, 1945 45:558-565.
* Based very largely on information kindly furnished by Professor M.M. Bandhari.
11. Seth, S.K. "A Review of Evidence Concerning Changes of Climate in India during the Proto-historical
and Historical Period," Forum, 1962. 62:19-31
12. Singh, G. "The Indus Valley Culture Seen in the Context of Post- Glacial Climatic and Ecological
Studies in N.W. India," Archaeology and Physical Anthropology in Oceania, 1971. 4(2):178-189.
13. "Late Quaternary History of Vegetation and Climate of. Rajasthan Desert, India," Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society. 1972. 267 B: 457-501
14. Vishnu-Mittre. "Plant Remains and Climate from the Late Harrapan and Other Calcolithic Cultures
of India - A Study in the Interrelationships," Geophytology, 1974. 4(l):46-53.
15. Wadia, D.N. "The Post-Glacial Dessication of Central Asia: Evolution of the Arid Zone of Asia,"
Monograph of the National Institute of Science in India. Delhi: India, 1960.
July 14, 1980
ADDENDUM TO BOTANICAL REPORT ON MOENJODARO RUINS SUBMITTED 1978
By F. R. FOSBERG
(I)
Judging from replies to questions submitted at the time of my visit and circulated to
competent authorities by Mr. Memon, a substantial body of information is available on
groundwater behavior and salinity, also on present climate, as well as a little information on
soils, and on the sources of the salt that is damaging the bricks. Less information is available
on the plants of the area and their relation to livestock, little on their salt tolerance, and none
on their salt content or other chemical constitution.
A number of Cl4 dates are available. Almost no fossil plants seem to be available, only the wheat
and Ficus religiosa-in the Moenjodaro museum. Almost no palynological work on the whole region has
been done and few collection of slides or photos are available.
No work on Phreatophytes or phreatophytic behavior has been done in the area (or in the country?).
Apparently there is a very adequate topographic map, 1 ft. contour interval available for the
Moenjodaro section of the Indus Valley.
There is apparently a paper on the past climates of the Moenjodaro area by Dr. Kurshid
Mustafa Kahn, but no reference to this was furnished. Some climatic data are now being collected at
Moenjodaro, but the record is still very short. The rainfall during 1978 was only about 26 cm, 20 cm of
this in July.
It seems likely that with a relatively small amount of additional work, especially physiological
and analytical, a reasonably understandable picture could be drawn of the present plant-ecology of the
Moenjodaro area, so far as relevant to the present project.
To extend this into the past, a paleobotanical, especially a palaeopolynological, effort would
have to be undertaken along the lines laid out in my 1978 report. This should not be undertaken lightly,
with the expectation of quick results. The basic collections and slides of present-day problems are lacking
and must be made, and studied. Then, and then only, can significant studies of fossil pollen be made. One
or more local, Pakistani, experts on pollen should be developed during this study, so palaeopalynology
can become an ongoing asset to archeology in Pakistan, not only at Moenjodaro but at the numerous
related sites in the Indus Valley and elsewhere in the country. This cannot be done without reasonable
assurance of continuing support.
ADDENDUM: Moenjodaro Ruins
July 14, 1980
Page 2
(II)
After my 1978 report to UNESCO was written and submitted, I was furnished, by their author,
two very important and significant documents bearing on the disintegration of the bricks in
the Moenjodaro ruins. These were (1) a published paper by A.S. Goudie of Oxford University,
entitled "Sodium sulphate weathering and the disintegration of Moenjodaro, Pakistan" (Earth
Surface Processes 2:75-86, 1977), and (2) by the same author, a memorandum to "the
Pakistan authorities" entitled, "The conservation of Moenjodaro, Sind, Pakistan, some
observations and recommendations".
I can most strongly commend these documents to everyone concerned with .the Moenjodaro
project. I have but two suggestions to add to Dr. Goudie's remarks, both of which are embodied in my
1978 report, but which bear repeating here. They are (1) my suggestion that the present vegetation, which
is largely Tamarix spp., may well be contributing very much to the depression of the water table in the area
to its present rather low level, and (2) my observed - that the livestock in the area, mainly goats and
camels, are the principal agents that pulverize the prevalent salt crusts in the neighborhood of the ruins
into an impalpable dust which certainly blows into the ruins constantly. If these livestock were removed
to a considerable distance from the ruins, the salt input into the system could be substantially reduced.
These suggest minimizing disturbance of the present vegetation and banishing the livestock. These, with
the suggestions of Dr. Goudie, might be substantially less expensive than the proposed system of tube
wells.
School of Geography,
Mansfield Road,
Oxford.
OX1 3TB
Oxford 41791
(STD Code 0865)
27th April, 1979.
Dr. F.R. Fosberg,
Smithsonian Institution,
WAHINGTON D.C. 20560,
USA.
Dear Dr. Fosberg,
Seeing David Stoddart in a London public house the other evening he told me that you
were now involved with the Mohenjo-Daro Conservation Project in Pakistan.
A few years ago I was out there and did a modest little piece of work on the buildings.
This led to a paper (published in Earth Surface Processes). I also sent off a memo to the Pakistan authorities
expressing my views on the subject of conservation.
I thought that you might find these of some
Interest.
Very best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Goudie.
Enc:
The Conservation of Moenjodaro,
Sind, Pakistan.
Some observations and recommendation
By
A.S. GOUDIE
(Fellow of Hertford College and University Lecturer in Geography, Oxford)
THE C0NSERVATI0N OF M0ENJODARO SIND, PAKISTAN
(A) Previous Finding
1. The UNESCO report end the master Plan for Moenjodaro outline the possible causes of the rapid
disintegration by salt. The sources of salts are said to be:
a) Groundwater
b) Atmospheric (rain and dust inputs).
c) Material in the bricks and the foundations.
2. It has been identified that the rise in groundwater levels consequent upon modern irrigation
techniques has been substantial.
3. The exposure of the bricks to atmospheric temperature and humidity changes following from
excavation has also been identified as a cause of accelerated disintegration.
4. One of the main salts contributing to the disintegration process is sodium sulphate.
(B) Observations
1. Large parts of the site of Mohenjo-Daro occur at levels of up to about 13-11* m above the
groundwater level. Capillary rise does not take place over such a distance so that it is unlikely that
evaporation of groundwater will deposit significant quantities of salt at the higher levels. (see
attached paper)
2. The highly expensive tube well scheme to reduce groundwater levels is unlikely to "benefit the
higher levels at Moenjodaro significantly.
3. Given this fact another source needs to be sought to account for salt accumulation in some parts
of the site. It has been recognized increasingly by numerous scientists that airborne salts are
quantitatively extremely important in semi-arid areas, (see note) the salinated fields of the Indus
plain could provide a source of salt for Aeolian transport. This might well accumulate in the
excavated rooms during dust storms.
a) Experiments need to be conducted to assess the frequency , decree and chemistry of Aeolian salt
deposition.
b) If such experiments establish that Aeolian salt deposition is a significant component of the salt
problem steps such as tree planting should be taken to reduce the action of wind over the site.
Attempts should be made to desalinate the soil in areas from which the dust i3 derived. Studies
of dust storm trajectories need to be made.
4. The salt crystallization and hydration process will only take place in response to humidity and
temperature changes of a seasonal and daily nature. Thus were such changes to be greatly
reduced the weathering processes acting on the brick would also be greatly reduced. The only
effective way to do this is to cover over the excavations with dry, non-salty sand of low thermal
conductivity. An unnecessarily large area of excavations is at present exposed. Selected areas only
should be kept exposed, preferably on grounds of their cultural interest, tourist appeal, and
relative immunity from salt action.
One of the most daunting aspects of the Moenjodaro problem is the vast scale and size of the
site. Seduction of the area exposed would reduce this problem and allow concentration of conservation
work etc. on especially valuable parts of the site. Host visitors do not require to see large numbers of
rooms. They come to see the major features like the Granary end the Great Bath.
5. It is undoubtedly true that large quantities of salt have accumulated over the years within the fill
of non-excavated or partially-excavated buildings. Many of the worst affected walls are those
behind which there are substantial quantities of debris. Thus increased efforts should be made to
remove such debris from those selected areas that are to be left exposed.
6. The fact that sodium sulphate is the primary salt involved is disquieting. Experimental work (see
attached paper) shows it to be the most effective cause of rock breakdown - more effective than
frost or the crystallization and hydration of other salts. The lowering of groundwater levels by
pumping schemes will not remove such salt. It will only serve to lessen its accumulation at lower
levels in the site. At those situations which it is decided to leave exposed strenuous efforts should
be made to remove debris behind walls and to remove efflorescence’s by light brushing on other
appropriate methods.
Enclosures
2 papers by A.s Goudie.
NOTE
Atmospheric inputs of salt.
The following references to work in other countries may be helpful:
JUNGE C.E. (1958) Atmospheric chemistry. Advances in Geophysics 4, 1-108.
SIMTH R.M. ET AL (1970) Dust deposition in relation to site, season and climatic variables.
Proceedings Soil Science Society of America 34(1), 112-117.
YAALON D.H. (1964) Airborne salts as an active agent in pathogenic processes. Proceedings 8th.
International-Congress of Soil Science, Bucharest 5, 997.
SODIUM SULPHATE WEATHERING AND THE DISINTEGRATION
OF MOHENJO-DARO, PAKISTAN
A.S. GOUDIE School of Geography, Mansfield Road. Oxford. England
Received 24 May 1976 Reviled 19 October 1976
SUMMARY
In Pakistan various brick building structures are currently disintegrating in the Indus Valley. These include
the Harappan site of Mohenjo-Daro. The environment of this site is described, the nature and speed of
the disintegration problem is outlined, and the cause of disintegration is discussed. Weathering occurs in
association with the development of salt efflorescence’s and some bricks disintegrate only a few years
after being laid down. Chemical and X-ray diffraction analyses show that the predominant salt is the
sodium sulphate mineral thenardite. The reasons for its effectiveness are discussed. They include its high
solubility, the rapid change of solubility with temperature, and its hydration characteristics.
KEY WORDS Weathering
Salt Buildings Pakistan Sodium sulphate
INTRODUCTION
Although the power of sodium sulphate hydration and crystallization has been illustrated by various
laboratory simulation experiments (Birot (1954), Kwaad (1970). Goudie m al. (1970)), and has been shown
to be more effective than most other types of simulated physical weathering (Luquer (1895), Goudie
(1974)), there have been few field demonstrations of its effects and rate of operation.
In Pakistan, however, there is a substantial degree of evidence from various archaeological sites to
suggest that sodium sulphate attack is a cause of catastrophic decay of buildings and other structures.
MOENJODARO AND OTHER HARAPPAN SITES
In the Indus valley and neighboring areas, a remarkable civilization flourished from about 2300 to 1750
BC (Allchin and Allchin (1968, p. 140)). Some of the settlements of this civilization have been excavated
over the last half century.
The largest and most important of these Harappan or Indus Civilization sites is Mohenjo-Daro
(Moenjodaro) in the Larkana district of Sind (Figure 1). This has been excavated by numerous workers,
including Marshall, Mackay, Wheeler and Dales, since its discovery in 1922.
It is situated on the Indus plain, where the general level lies at about 47 m above sea-level. The
excavated parts of the ruins lie almost entirely between plain-level and the 49 m contour. However, the
highest part of the site, the Buddhist Stupa Mound, rises to more than 61 m. The median flood-level of
the Indus is about 47 m and the high flood-level about 50 m. The groundwater-level fluctuates seasonally
by about 2-4 m, from 1-5 to 3-9 m below plain-level. Thus the highest parts of the site lie about 16 m
above the groundwater-level.
The groundwater itself has a moderate salinity, the total dissolved solids ranging from 416-3419
ppm (UNESCO (1964)).
The area is one of considerable aridity and of predominantly high temperatures. At Dokri
Experimental Rice Station, the nearest meteorological station to Mohenjo-Daro, the mean annual rainfall
is about
® 1977 by John Wiley & Sons. Ltd
1.
2.
3.
4.
Amri
Chanhu-Daro
Lohamjodaro
Moenjodaro
116 mm. At Sukkur, which probably has similar temperature conditions, the mean monthly maximum
temperatures range from 22-2 to 4I-9~C and the mean monthly minimum temperatures from 7-2 to 3I-3:
C (Table I).
THE DISINTEGRATION PROBLEM
The Master Plan for Mohenjo-Daro (1972) states (p. 12). 'it is a paradox or facts that the ruins of
Moenjodaro buried beneath the accumulations of five thousand years remained in an excellent state of
preservation. But as soon as they were exposed from oblivion to the incredible gaze of the 20th century,
they were overtaken by the plague of waterlogging and the leprosy of salinity*. Likewise, UNESCO (1964,
p. 17) report 'the brick paths laid for the visitors are suffering heavy and rapid damage by exfoliation and
disintegration of the bricks. Many details of the ancient architecture have been lost within only a few
years by the same cause'. This disintegration has been noted also by archaeologists.
Table I. Air temperature data for Sukkur. Sind (°C)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Mean
Maximum 22-2 25-94 31-06 36-78 41-89 37-83 40-17 38-44 38-00 35-55 30-11 24-56
Mean
Minimum 7-22 11-11 15-33 20-22 26-44 31-23 28-33 27-11 25-94 20-5 14-5 9-27
Range
14-98 14-83 15-73 16-56 15-45 6-60 11-84 11-33 12-06 15-05 15-61 15-29
Processed from data in Ahmad (1964)
SODIUM SULPHATE WEATHERING
Figure 2. Disintegration of bricks in a path laid in 1972 at Moenjodaro (Photo December, 1975)
Van Lohuizen-de Leeuw (1974) comments that 'the astounding remains of Moenjo-Daro...are for the
greater part in a state of utter disintegration and decay and are rapidly approaching the point of total
destruction' (p. 1). She continues, 'Moenjo-Daro the City of the Dead, is indeed rapidly decaying and
approaching its own death*.
Thus it is clear that the disintegration of the burnt bricks has taken place since the mid-1920s, before
which they were in a state of relatively good preservation. In that time many have changed from regularly
sized (0 285 m x 0-135 m x 0 055 m) bricks into amorphous piles of dust. However bricks affected by this
disintegration are being replaced continuously by comparable burnt bricks of the normal size" (as above)
or by 'English' bricks (023 m x 0-125 m x 0 063 m). Some of these bricks too are being destroyed rapidly.
In December 1975 brick paths and some walks laid as recently as 1972 and June 1974 (e.g. the path from
L area to HR area) were observed to be disintegrated (Figure 2). Artificial building materials were not the
only ones to be thus affected. Limestone aggregate used for the sub-grade of roads (built 1971/1972) and
for ornamental effects in front of the Rest House (built 1964) were also found to be locally disintegrated,
often to powder. In general, therefore, it is clear that in favorable situations, such as at ground-level and
on the lower parts of exposed walls (Figure 3), disintegration of natural and artificial materials takes place
with great efficiency, a timespan of 2-12 years often being sufficient for complete breakdown to occur.
Seven samples of the affected brick were collected. Their water absorption capacity (which has been
found to correlate well with rate of breakdown in experimental studies) ranged from 20-12 per cent to
26-16 per cent.
Comparable breakdown of Harappan bricks has also been noted by this author at other Indus civilization sites, including Chanhu-Daro (excavated 1935-1936 and standing 10 km east of Sakhran), Lohamjodaro and Amri. These sites have been excavated over the last forty years (Mackay (1934), Casal (1964)).
Elsewhere in Sind, on the Indus alluvium, man-made structures, particularly houses and reinforced
concrete electricity pylons, are suffering severe attack, especially at their bases.
SALT EFFLORESCENCES
The disintegration is associated with the development of a white efflorescence on brick and stone
surfaces (Figures 4 and 5). Disintegration is minimal where there are no efflorescence’s. The disintegration
is
Caused by the hydration and crystallization of various salts. The growth of the crystals has been noted |
as occurring daily by the UNESCO team (UNESCO (1964, p. 46)): 'At night and very early in the morning,
when it was cold and the humidity of the air was relatively high, the floors and the lower parts of the walls
of the various buildings became damp. With rising temperatures and lowering humidity of the air, the
evaporation exceeded the flow of capillary water. As a result the surfaces of the floors and walls dried out
and in the morning one could observe the rapid growth of needle-like crystals of salts...a growth of
bunches of needle-like crystals repeated every morning a new.
The development of the salt efflorescence’s results from several different, processes. Over much of
Sind the development of modern irrigation systems has led to an increase in the height of groundwaterlevels, to waterlogging and to consequent salinity.
At Mohenjo-Daro, when excavations started in 1922, the water table was about 7-6 m below the surface,
whereas now it averages only about 2 m. This phenomenon is especially serious in areas of extensive rice
cultivation such as Larkana district. It is clear that some of the salt is derived from high groundwater-levels
and from waterlogging, and that sale efflorescence’s develop at the upper limit of the capillary fringe.
However, in that the height of the capillary fringe above the water table in alluvial silts will tend to be of
the order of 3 m, (Jenkins (1932, p. 112) gives a figure of 1-2-1-8 m for Sind), it is likely that this mechanism
is only effective at lower levels. Higher up the mound of Mohenjo-Daro, which as already noted rises to
16 m above the groundwater-level, other sources of salt are probably more important. These include the
initial salt content of the bricks (themselves frequently manufactured in areas of moist and, therefore,
potentially saline alluvium), and inputs from the atmosphere in rain and dust (though analytical data on
these are not available). Around Moenjodaro large expanses of fields are covered by white
efflorescence’s, and some of this salt may be transported.
SODIUM SULPHATE WEATHERING
Figure 4. Salt efflorescence and disintegration on east-facing wall in DK area, Moenjodaro
Figure 5. Salt efflorescence and disintegration associated with seepage from partially excavated fill behind a wall
in DK area, Moenjodaro
A. S. GOUDIE
by Aeolian processes to accumulate among the walls of the mound. It is unlikely that the proposed
tubewell scheme to reduce groundwater-levels (Master Plan (1972)) will have much effect in terms of the
salts derived directly from the bricks and debris of the mound or by aerosolic inputs.
THE NATURE OF THE SALTS
Although the presence of large quantities of any salts might in itself be sufficient to cause disintegration,
it appears likely that the extreme rapidity of this process in the Sind plain is caused by the nature j of the
salts comprising the efflorescence’s. Even though the efflorescence’s are composed of more than: one
salt, the predominant component is sodium sulphate, with some other sulphate (including calcium!
sulphate, magnesium sulphate and potassium sulphate). This is illustrated for Mohenjo-Daro and else-' j
where in Sind by" the analyses listed in Table II. At Mohenjo-Daro, sulphate averages 17-65 per cent » and
sodium 10-92 per cent with carbonates (6-90 per cent) and chlorides (0-96 per cent) being quantitatively
less significant. At the Dhands, small lakes on the east side of the Indus plain at the margin of the sand
desert in Khairpur and Thar Parkar districts, the efflorescence’s are more mixed in their constituents, with
sodium sulphate averaging 12-97 per cent, sodium chloride 10-12 per cent, sodium bicarbonate I4-SS per
cent, and sodium carbonate 21-52 per cent. The predominance of sodium salts at Mohenjo-Daro, together
with the high salinity of the efflorescence’s, is confirmed by analyses of
Table II. Chemistry of the efflorescence’s
(A) Mohenjo-Daro (processed from data in UNESCO (1964)) (Weight %)
Sample
CO,
CI
S04
Ca
Mg
Na
K
P2
2-8
0
39-70
17-7
0-58
1-99
066-
P3
11-1
0
2-26
3-14
145
1-54
0-66
P4
15-9
0
7-81
2-57
051
14-4
0-17
P5
1-7
0
23-86
2-57
0-68
11-9
0
P6
14-9
0
20-55
2-71
0-54
20-2
0-17
P8
>7
0
16-31
3-14
041
10-4
0-50
PU
4-4
0
15-89
3-57
063
9-5 .
0-12
48
0
9-67
3-27
080
5-64 -
0-33
40
11-4
:o
0
21-52
32-89
3-00
1-57
0-42
0-19
12-6
260
0-33
216
P24
1-9
7-63
20-28
2-43
007
14-25
1-99
P25
6-2
3-91
MO
3-71
007
2-67
0
690
096
17-65
4-12
0-53
10-92
059
P20
P22
P23
Mean
vs."'
(B) The Sind Dhands (processed from data in Cotter (1923)) (Weight %)
270
12-8
•354
2-9
2-6
2-6
2-9
157
7-7
7-8
7-3
7-5
3-1
2-6
9-7
8-5
7-5
7-2
3-7
14
8
210
425
1297
Mithri
14-6
21-5
Galuwari
Lahuri v
Drigwari
Ashrafwaro
12-8
12-5
140
140
1-78
1-6
1-6
1-8
1060
5-2
5-3
50
5-1
Kifio Chaho
Chara khan waro
Kandiwaro
Ridhwari
13-9
130
16-1
11-4
1-9
1-6
59
5-2
51
4-9
2-5
10-0
15-1
16-0
' 16-4
17-2
^
29-4 :
14-3
21-7
. 15-1
270
18-5
180
14-9
Khan
16-6
7-7
14-2
302
15-2
12-7
Dangi Jo Chaho
1-5
17-2
28-7
1-1
4-2
28-4
Mean
1276
6 16
8-78
21-52
14-55
1012
21-2
20-1
23-3
22-8
SODIUM SULPHATE WEATHERING
Table III. Electrical conductivity and sodium characteristics of Moenjodaro efflorescence’s
Height above
ground-level
Electrical conductivity1
Sodium2
Sample
(m)
(/xmho/cm at 25°C)
(%)
MD 75/119
MD 75/115
MD 75/113
MD 75/111
MD 75/109
MD 75/212
MD 75/210
MD 75/208.
MD 75/203
MD 75/320
MD 75/318
0
0-4
0-6
0-8
1-0
0-2
0-4
0-6
H
0
0-66 x 10*
0-60 x 10s
0-25 x 10s
009 x 10s
065 x 10s
0-74 x 10s
0-61 x 10s
0-83 x 10'
0-83 x 10J
0-88 x 10s
0-79 x 10s
21-60
24 66
18.12
16 80
1950
2310
15 60
25-50
21-36
28-08
32-88
MD 75/316
MD 75/314
MD 72/312
MD 75/308
MD 75/304
Mean
0-4
0-6
0-72 x 10s
0-59 x 10s
0-82 x 10s
0-80 x 10s
0-71 x 10'
0-66 x 10s
38-70
29-76
35-10
34-50
28-20
25-22
02
- 08
1-2
1-6
—
1 Obtained on a 1:5 mixture of efflorescence and deionized H 0.
2
*% of dry weight of efflorescence obtained by analysis of water-soluble
extract analyzed by flame photometer.
16 samples collected in 1975 (Table III), the percentage of sodium in the water soluble extract averaging
25-22 per cent and the electrical conductivity expressed as /pmho/cm at 25'C averaging 0-66 x 10s .
X-ray diffraction was also carried out on selected samples at Moenjodaro to obtain a measure of
the -minerals present. The data are summarized in Table IV. The minerals identified include quartz, mica,
chlorite, aphthitalite, burkeite, sodium carbonate, and thenardite. The three most important minerals
identified are thenardite, aphthitalite [(K, Na)3 Na(SOJ2] and burkeite [Na6(C03) (SOJJ. The quartz, mica
and chlorites are impurities introduced into the efflorescence’s by wind-transported dust and by the
disintegration of bricks and mortar.
THE PRESENCE AND NATURE OF SODIUM SULPHATE EFFLORESCENCES ELSEWHERE
'The clear indication of the power of physical weathering by sodium sulphate crystallization and hydration
raises the question as to how widespread this phenomenon might be. Table V suggests that sodium
Table IV. X-ray diffraction data on efflorescence mineralogy
Sample
Height above
ground-level
On) ,
Quartz
304
308
312
314
316
1-6
1-2
0*
0-6
0-4
XX
XXX
XXX
XX
X
02
XX
318
Thenardite
XXX
XXX
XX
XXX
xxxx
xxxx
Aphthitalite
Mica Chlorite
Burkeite
Na,COj
XX
XX
XX
XX
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
tr
XX
XX
X
XX
XX
tr
X
XX
X
tr
tr
X
X
XX
—
Key: XXX* Abundant; XXX Considerable; XX Some; X A' little; tr Trace; — Absent
A.S. GOUDIE
Table V. Sodium sulphate deposits outside Sind
LOCATION
INDIA (PUNJAB AND BIHAR)
NORTH AMERICA
HAWAII
(CALIFORNIA, OREGON, NEW MEXICO,
WYOMING, UTAH, TEXAS)
SEARLES LAKE
SASKATCHEWAN
ENVIRONMENT
SOURCE
ALLUVIAL PLAIN SOIL EFFLORESCENCE
EFFLORESCENCE ON RECENT LAVA
LAKES
AUDEN ET AL. (1942. PP. 3 AND 30)
WELLS (1923)
REEVES (1968)
LAKE
LAKES
DEATH VALLEY
SPAIN (ARANJUEZ)
FLOOD PLAINS AND MARCHES
LAKE
AFRICA
NATRON LAKES
BILMA OASIS
EGUEI
LAKES
EUGSTER AND SMITH (1965)
HASBAND ET AL. (1966)
RUEFFEL (1968)
HUNT ET AL. (1966)
PALACHE ET AL. (1951)
PALACHE ET AL. (1951)
U.S.S.R
DOMOSHOKAVO
KARA-BOGAZ GULF
LAKES ALTAI, BEISK,SCHUNETT
KISIL KUL
LAKES
CLARKE (1916)
FAIRBRIDGE (1968,P. 581)
ANTARCTICA
EFFLORESCENCE’S IN AND ON
MORAINE
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
MISCELLANEOUS EVAP.
DEBENHAM (1920)
MELEOD (1964)
BOWSER ET AL. (1970)
DORT AND DORT (1970)
PALACHE ET AL. (1951)
SOIL EFFLORESCENCE
DRIESSEN (1970)
SOUTH AMERICA
TARAPACA (IQUIQUE)
CARACOLES (ANTORAGASTA)
AGUAS BLANCAS (ATACAMA)
TURKEY
GREAT KONYA BASIN
Sulphate is widespread under arid and semi-arid conditions, occurring in and around lake basins, as
efflorescence’s in and on soil (especially puffy solonchaks), and in association with avaporites. Aphthitalite
and burkeite, which occur in association with volcanoes and with lake basins such as searles lake,
California (palache et al. (1951)) and flood plains such as those of Death Valley (hunt et al. (1966)).
The chemistry of selected efflorescence deposits from outside Pakistan is summarized in table VI. In
most cases, as at Moenjodaro, the sodium sulphate occurs with significant quanties of some other salts.
THE POWER OF SODIUM SULPHATE WEATHERING
The power of sodium sulphate as an agent of disintegration in comparison with other salts and other
mechanical weathering processes (Goudie (1974)), May perhaps be explained on four grounds:
. Sodium sulphate undergoes a high degree of volume change from its dehydrated state (Na2S04—
thenardite—density 2-68) to its hydrated state (Na2S04.10H20—mirabilite—density 1-46). At 1 atmospheric
pressure, in the presence of a saturated solution, the equilibrium temperature for the reaction
Na2S04.10H20^;Na2S04 + 10H20
is 32-4°C. The transition temperature decreases significantly in the presence of NaCI (as low as 17-9°C in
an NaCl-saturated environment) and to a lesser extent with Na2C03 (Eugster & Smith (1965), Driessen.
Victorial Land
(Antarctica)
(Arizona)
Cordoba
(Argentina)
Moradabad
(India)
U.K.
UK.
U.K.
U.K.
Santa Catalina
Location
Efflorescence
Efflorescence on brick
Efflorescence on brick
Efflorescence on brick
Efflorescence on
jointing material
Salt body *
Auden et aL (1942)
Schaflcr (1932)
SchafTer (1932)
Schafler (1932)
Schafler (1932)
Bowser et al (1970)
Efflorescence
Efflorescence
Clarke (1916) 1
Clarke (1916)
—
—
•Mi
——
—
——
——
——
8-55
1i
-p.
NaHCOj
966
——
11
Table VI. Analyses of sodium sulphate deposits from
outside Pakistan
Source
Type
Na2CO,
—
—.
—
192
1081
593
NaCl
10000
45-70
50-90
46-20
83-10
8-66
5314
9404
Na2S04
8-60
1-20
070
360
3-71
mmmm
CaS04
1*50
2-40
—
—
Tracc
46-70
——
32-34
K2S04
——
35-20
0-40
—
——
,
MgSO
A. S. GOUDIE
Table VII. Volume increase from dehydrated to hydrated state
Salt
Na.CO,
NajSO*
CaCU
MgSd„
MCI,
CaS04
Molccular
weight
Hydrate
Formula
Volume
weight of
Density change
hydrate Density of hydrate (%)
10600
Na^COj.lOHjO
28616
14200
11099
12037
95-23
136-14
Na,S04.10H >0
CaCl,.2H,0
MgS04.7H,0
MgCU.6H,0
322-2
2-68
147 03
215
24648
2-66
203-31
2-325
CaS04.H,0 17217
2-532
1-44
374-72
1-464
0835
I-6S
1-57
261
315
241-10
223-20
21633
2-32
42-27
Processed by author from data in Weast (1973)
Table VIII. Solubility of some common salts in water
Solubility at 0°C
Solubility
(wt % at 0°Q
Solubility
S
(wt % at 35 Q
as a percentage of
that at 35'C
NajCO,
6-54
32-90
1988
NaNO,
Na2S04
NaCl
MgS04
42-20
4-76
26-28
18-00
49-60
33-40
26-57
29-30
85-08
14-25
98-91
61-43
Processed by author from data in Stephen and Stephen (1963)
(1970)). Normal warm desert temperatures and humidity cycles could promote the volume increase
(which amounts to 315 per cent) daily. For comparison the volume increases on hydration for other
common salts are listed in Table VII. Moreover, as Winkler (1975, p. 125) writes: The hydration of the
sodium sulfates thenardite to mirabilite is more rapid than hydration of other salts; their hydration and
dehydration may repeat several times in a single day: even low hydration pressures may become effective
in such rapid change.* The dehydration of mirabilite to thenardite does not take longer than 20 minutes
at 39 3C (see Boulanger and Urbain (1912) and Mortensen (1933)).
2. The rapid decrease in the solubility of Na2S04 as the temperature falls from 32-3°C is important (Figure
2). Thus the substantial drop in night time temperatures at Mohenjo-Daro, which on average is about 1378'C could lead to crystallization from a saturated salt solution. Such a crystallization -of a salt solution on
a temperature fall affects a much larger volume of salt pe; unit time than crystallization induced by
evaporation, which is a gradual process (K.waad (1970, p. 79)). The solubility of sodium sulphate is more
sensitive to temperature than is that of other common salts such as sodium nitrate, magnesium sulphate,
sodium carbonate, sodium chloride and calcium sulphate (Figure 6 and Table VIII).
3. Nevertheless, because sodium sulphate is so highly soluble substantial quantities of sulphate are
available for the process of crystal growth when solutions are evaporated by high diumal temperatures.
Evaporation would also help to create a saturated solution from which crystals could grow on cooling.
4.This effect of a temperature rise could be compounded by the fact that unlike many compounds, the
solubility of sodium sulphate does not increase in a linear fashion with temperature (Figure 6). Above a
temperature of about 32°C the solubility is reduced. Thus strong diurnal heating of saline solutions could
lead to crystal growth. The summer month temperature range is sufficient in Sind for this process to
operate (Table I). On raising the temperature of a solution containing 100 g of H20 and 78-6g of Na2S04 to
60'C, the anhydrous Na2S04 would precipitate out of solution until only 46 g were present in the 100 g of
water (Rueffel (1968)).
SODIUM SULPHATE WEATHERING
Figure 6.
5.The needle-shaped nature of the sodium sulphate crystals might tend to increase their disruptive
power. The crystals of mirabilite are of a very long prismatic type (Wells (1923)).
CONCLUSION
The field evidence from Mohenjo-Daro and other sites in Sind, Pakistan, supports laboratory 'findings i as
to the power of mechanical weathering by the hydration and crystallization of sodium sulphate. Data have
been presented indicating a rapid rate of breakdown, the nature of the bricks affected (size j. and water
absorption capacity) and the nature of the efflorescence’s. Sodium sulphate is also shown J to be relatively
widespread in other parts or the world. The nature of sodium sulphate, particularly) its solubility and
hydration characteristics, combined with the temperature cycles prevalent in Sind, account for the severe
disintegration witnessed in the area.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1 The author visited Mohenjo-Daro, Amri, Chanhu-Daro and Lohamjodaro in the company of Dr. and |;
Mrs. Raymond Allchin, Mr. P. G. Arbuthnot, and Dr. M. A. Halim. He is indebted to them for their
collaboration and co-operation. Thanks are also due to Mr. A. A. Farooq (Custodian of Mohenjo-Daro), |
and Mr. Mohan Lai (Engineer). The Royal Society kindly provided a grant-in-aid to cover the cost | of travel,
and the Department of Archaeology, Government of Pakistan kindly provided permission \ for us to
undertake our investigations. I am also indebted to Lew Watts (Sedimentology Research .J Laboratory,
Reading) for performing X-ray diffraction analyses on the efflorescence’s. The plates were kindly supplied
by Dr. Raymond Allchin. This paper is one outcome of the Cambridge Archaeological Mission to Pakistan,
1975/76. Professor R. U. Cooke and Dr. I. S. Evans kindly commented on an early draft of this paper.
REFERENCES
Ahmad, K. S. (1964) A Geography of Pakistan. Oxford University Press (Karachi), 216 p. Allchin B. and
Allchin R. (1968) The birth of Indian civilisation. Penguin (Harmondsworth) 365 p.
A.S. GOUDIE
Auden, J. B., Gupta, B. C.. Roy. P. C. and Hussain. M. (1942). 'Report on sodium salts in Reh soils in the
United Province with notes on occurrences in other parts of India,' Records Geological Surety of India
(Calcutta) 77. 1-45.
Birot, P. (1954). 'Desegregation des roches cristallines sons Paction des'sels," C. R. Acad. Sci. (Paris) 238.
1145-1146.
Bowser. C. J.. Rafter. T. A. and Black, R. F. (1970). "Geochemical evidence for the origin of mirabilite
deposits near Hobb Glacier, Victoria Land. Antarctica.' in Mineraloiiical Society of America Special Paper
No. 3, 261-272.
Casal. J.-M. (1964). Fouilles d'Amri. 2 vols (Paris).'
Clarke. F. W. (1916). 'The data of geochemistry," United Stales Geological Survey Bulletin 616, S2I p.
Cotter. G. (1923). "The Alkaline lakes and the soda industry of Sind." Memoirs Geological Survey of India
(Calcutta) 67(2), 202-297!
Debenham, F. (1920). 'A new mod: of transportation by ice: the raised marine muds of south Victoria
Land (Antarctica),' QuarterI). Journal of the Geological Society, 75. 51-76.
Dort. W. and Dort. Di S. (1970) 'Sodium sulfate deposits in Antarctica,' Modern Geology 1.97-117.
Driessen. P. M. (1970). Soil salinity and alkalinity in the Great Konya Basin, Turkey. Centre for agricultural
publishing and documentation, wageningen. 99 p.
Eugster, H. P. and Smith, G. I. (1965). ‘Mineral equilibria in the Searles Lake evaporities, California.’
Journal of petrology 6 473-522.
Fairbridge, R. W. (ed) (1968). Encyclopaedia of Geomorphology, Reinhold (New York), 1295 p.
Goudie, A S., Cooke, R U. and Evans, I. S. (1970) 'Experimental investigation of rock weathering by salts,*
Area (London) 4. 42-48,
Goudie, A. S. (1974). "Further experimental investigation of rock weathering by salt and other
mechanical processes,* Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie N.F. (Berlin & Stuttgart) Supplementband 21. 112.
Hasband, W. H. W„ Filson. D. H. and Spyker J. W. (1966) 'Recovery of sodium sulphate from alkaline lake
deposit* in Saskatchewan," Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin 59. 357-361
Hayden. J. D. (1945) 'Salt erosion," American Antiquity 10(4), 373-378.
Hunt. C B., Robinson, T. \V„ Bowles, W. A. and Washburn, A. L. (1966). 'Hydrologic basin. Death Valley,
California,' United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 494B.
Jenkins, W. J. (1934) Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture in Sind, Bombay 1933. 135 p.
Kwaad, F. J. P. M. (1970). Experiments on the disintegration of granite by salt action.* in Unto.
Amsterdam Fys. Geogr. em Bodenkundig. Lab. PuhL (Amsterdam) 16. 67-80.
Lohuizen-De Leeuw, J. E^ van (1974) "Moenjo-Daro—a cause of common concern." South Asian
Archaeology 1973, Brill (Leiden).
Luquer, L. McL (1895). 'The relative effects of frost and the tulphate of soda efflorescence rests on building stones."
American Society of Civil Engineers. Transactions 33. 235-247.
Mackay. E. J. H. (1943) Chanhu-daro excavations. New Haven, Conn.
Master Plan (1972) Master Plan for the preservation of Moenjodaro. Dept. of Archaeology and Museums, Ministry
of Education and Provincial Coordination, Government of Pakistan.
McLeod, I. R. (1964) "Saline lakes of the Vestfold hills. Princess Elizabeth Lani,' in R. J. Adie (ed.) Antarctic Geology.
North Holland Publishing Co. (Amsterdam) 65-72.
Mortensen. H. (1933) "Die "Salzsprengung" und ihre bedentung fur die regional-klimatische Gliedenung tTer
Wusten," Pctermanns Geographische Mitteilurgen 79. 130-135.
Palache, C. Berman. H. and Frondel. C (1951) The system of Mineralogy. Volume II. Wiley, New York. 1124 p.
Rahman, M. (1975) A geography of Sind Province, Pakistan, Karachi Geographers' Association (Karachi) 217 p.
Reeves, C. C. Jr. (1968) Introduction to Palaeo-limnology, Elsevier (Amsterdam) 228 p.
RuefTeL P. G. (1968) 'Development of the largest sodium sulphate deposit in Canada,' Canadian Mining and
Metallurgical Bulletin 61. 1217-1228.
SchafTer, R. J. (1932) The weathering of natural building stones," Department of Scientific aid Industrial Research
Special Report No: 18, H.M5.0. London.
Stephen, H. and Stephen. T. (1963) Solubilities of inorganic and organic compounds. Vol. I. Binary Systems 'art I.
Pcrgamon, Oxford, 960 p.
Thompson, T. G. and Nelson. K. H. (1956), 'Concentration of brines and deposition of salts from sea water under
frigid conditions.* American Journal of Science 254. 227-238.
UNESCO (1964) Preservation of the Monument of Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan, UNESCO, 63 p.
Weast, R. C. (1973) Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Chemical Rubber Co.. Cleveland.
Wells, R. C (1923). "Sodium sulphate: its sources and uses.* United States Geological Survey. Bulletin, 717. 43 p.
Winkler, E. M. (1975). Stone: properties, durability in man's environment. Springer Verlag, 2nd. edn. (Wien and
New York) 230 p
OPTIONAL FORM NO. 10
JULY 1973 EDITION
GSA FPHR (41 CFR) 101-11.6
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
Memorandum
TO: Dr. Paul N. Perrot
DATE: AUGUST. 8, 1978
FROM: F. R. Fosberg
SUBJECT: Comments on report of symposium on plant community and landscaping of Moenjodaro.
I must apologize for not earlier looking over the documents sent with your memo of April 10,
which came when I was 1n Hawaii and which got burled 1n my mountain of paper.
Even my very brief visit to the Moenjodaro site last fall gives me a-much better idea of the
problems being considered, but more of a topographic and climatic background 1s necessary for any
intelligent consideration of the matter.
The Impression I have of the symposium report 1s that there was little preparation for it before
the meeting. There 1s no evidence, that the participants were furnished with any digest of the information
actually available on what the ecological conditions were at the site 5000 years ago. (By sheer accident I
stumbled on a short discussion of this at just about the time I visited Moenjodaro 1n a book that I was
reading on the trip Climates of Hunger, by Re1d Bryson and a colleague). The information is certainly
meager enough, but would have been of value.
Clearly the participants in the session on "Plant Community" did .not really have 1n mind what
we usually mean by a plant community, and no concept of this appears in the report. Certainly a
description of the existing plant communities and an attempt to determine what they were 5000 years
ago would seem basic to any approach to utilization of plants .In the present situation. This does not
appear 1n the report.
It 1s not really clear what functions It is hoped plants may perform 1n the restoration and
protection of the ruins, though various terms and Ideas, such as desalinization, lowering the water table,
shelter belts, etc. are freely used. The mechanisms Involved are not discussed, nor are there references
to any of the rather abundant literature on these concepts. The term "Phreatophytes" 1s now where used,
though Phreatophytes seem to be the only plants that could have any appreciable effect on the watertable.
Buy U.S. Savings Bonds Regularly on the Payroll Savings Plan
I am not at all sure what the supposed function of plants in "desalinization" could be. Plants
cannot remove salts from the area, even though they may take up considerable amounts of salts in their
tissues. Such salts are simply put back into the soil as the plant parts decay after falling. The only way they
could affect any actual removal of salts would be for the plants themselves to be harvested and completely
removed from the site. I do not think this is practical nor that 1t could really be what the participants had
in mind.
Most of the plants in the various lists are moderately salt- tolerant, or at least slightly so. A few
of them are very much so. Some of the ones purporting to be effective in transpiring water do not impress
me as being especially good at this. Some of them have highly effective mechanisms for reducing
transpiration. The ones that are able to transpire large amounts of water must either be very deep- rooted
(Phreatophytes) or exist because of irrigation. There seems to have been little attempt to sort the species
out on these characteristics.
There seems to be a bit of ambivalence between the desire to reconstruct the landscape of
5000 years ago and to construct an artificial landscape that will perform such functions as wind-reduction,
lowering the water table, desalinization, beautification, etc. These functions should be clearly recognized
and assigned priorities. Certainly a landscape with Casuarina, Eucalyptus, and Agave would have not even a
faint resemblance to that of the Indus Valley 5000 years ago.
The proposal to obtain palynological information as to the plants present 5000 years ago 1s
certainly commendable. A list of plants based on pollen recovered from drill cores would yield far more
information than merely what plants were present. If done properly it could yield climatic and agricultural
data, and even information on water 'tables, periods of plenty and periods of famine, etc. However, to do
this is much more complicated than merely obtaining the cores and sending them to the Smithsonian or
any other palynological laboratory. Any serious work on fossil pollen of Pakistan must be based on a very
good collection of pollen samples and slides from living plants from the country. It must also be supported
by good ecological information on the living plants. To the best of my knowledge no such collection exists.
Hence my suggestion to Dr. Daifuku at our meeting in your office that a project be started using PL-480
funds to build up a pollen collection, both in Pakistan and U.S., to provide the basis for a continuing study
of the prehistory of Moenjodaro and other sites in Pakistan.
The thing I miss most in this report is a total lack of discussion of what might be present-day
areas in Pakistan that are comparable to Moenjodaro must have been 5000 years ago. Of course, to start
with this would be only an approximation, but much information could be gained, arid closer and closer
approximations could be made. The value, both in reconstructing something like the landscape of
prehistoric Moenjodaro and in understanding what the limitations to present-day planting are could be
enormous.
If my present plans are carried out I will be in Pakistan a few days in the first week in October,
enroute to Ceylon, I would be glad to talk to the people involved in this project, but would not be able to
spend very much time. I could go to Moenjodaro for perhaps two days if such a visit would be useful. My
plan is to go to Rawalpindi to visit Professor Nasir and possibly do some work in that area. This could have
a bearing on understanding Moenjodaro as the climate in some of the valleys there may be similar to that
in Moenjodaro when it was flourishing.
I think you may have, from my comments above, some idea of the approaches I am thinking of
in this project. I cannot devote very much time to it, as I have much to finish in my island work. But I might
be useful 1n an advisory capacity. At any rate, we can discuss it in late August or early September, if you
think it would be worthwhile. I would not be available for a meeting in December or January.
A copy of this might be sent to Dr. Daifuku, but probably better not send it to the Pakistani
group, as I have not Had time to soften it up and they might take it as criticism and be offended.
QUESTION ON REPORT AND
ON THE MOENJODARO
1. Is there a micro topographic? Of the Indus flood plain in the Moenjodaro area if so, what is the
contour interval?
2. Is there a soil map of the area available? What scale?
3. Who is the author and what is the reference for the paper on past climates of the Moenjodaro
area?
4. Is there a prevailing wind-direction in Moenjodaro? If so, what is it?
5. What is the source of the wind-blown salt particles mentioned in the symposium report as
damaging the bricks?
6. Are generalized climate tables available for different localities in Pakistan? Not just for
Moenjodaro but places such as Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, etc. What is the reference if so?
7. Are there any archaeological evidences of irrigation in ancient Moenjodaro?
8. Are there any active sand dunes in the Moenjodaro area?
9. What are the percentages of ha+ K+ Oz+ Mg+ cautions in the ground water and in the water
used for irrigation at Moenjodaro.
10. Are the bricks that are being damaged by salts ancient bricks or modern bricks used in
restoration?
11. Are the bricks held together by mud or by Lima mortar? Is the water used to make the mud or
mortar saline or Lemay?
12. Does the Indus River ever overflow the levies that line it to prevent flooding?
13. Is there a description or map available of the agricultural pattern of the Moenjodaro section of
the Indus Valley?
14. What are the fodder plants raised at present in this section of the Indus Valley? Which are
grazed and which used as hay if any?
15. Have there been any transpiration made of plants now growing the Indus Valley to determine
which are the most affection Phreatophytes?
16. Has any study been made of the literature on Phreatophytes in relation to water supply?
17. What and where the “New Site” and “Old Site” are mentioned on the appendix II bar diagrams?
Is there a map showing locations of these observation wells?
18. Were any drill cover preserved from the boring of the observation wells?
19. Where are the macrofossils wheat, Ficus religiosa, etc. that were recovered from the
Moenjodaro excavations. What is their state of preservation? How are they preserved? Is there
stratigraphic for them?
20. Has there been established a stratigraphic system for the Moenjodaro excavations with at least
relative dates?
21. Has there been found any
or
that has been or could be carbon-dated?
22. What is the extent of pollen slide collection and pollen photo micrographs available in Pakistan
and where?
23. Has any scale of salt-tolerance been established for plants now growing in the Moenjodaro
region?
24. Have any analysis been made of dried vegetation material of pants now growing in the
Moenjodaro region?
25. Does alfalfa (medic age sativa) thrive in the Moenjodaro region? If so, with irrigation or without?
If so, how many cuttings a year.
26. Do goats or any other livestock eat Tamarix?
27. What is the maximum rise of water in walls in area DK, from what minimum level in
ground surface around the area.
to
No. WL & FT (SC-II) 2I (33)/78
Wildlife & forest department
Government of Sindh
M. R. Kiyani road. Karachi.
Karachi dated the 30th.Oct.78
To,
Mr. Abdul Hameed Memon
Project Director
Authority for the Preservation of Moenjodaro
Block No.2I, Pakistan Secretariat
Karachi.
Subject: Planting of salt tolerant trees and land scaping in Moenjodaro – Question ere.
Reference: Your letter no.3/78-AMP dated the 19th.Oct.78.
Replies to the questions pertaining to this department are as under:
Question No.8: There are no active sand blows from riverside dunes and river bed when there are
strong winds.
Question No.14: Following fodder plants etc. grow in the locality:
Trees;
Aracia Arabica/nilotica.
Prosopis spicigera/Juliflora/Glandulosa.
Populus euphratica.
Sisyphus jujube.
Tamarix articulate.
Babool.
Kandi/
Juliflora.
Bahan.
Ber.
Asri.