Judeir Damb is an archaeological site in the district Nasirabad of Balochistan, located between Jhat Pat (Dera Allah Yar) and Dera Murad Jamali. Nasirabad Division, constituting Jaffarabad and Nasirabad districts, is an agricultural area with green cultivated land all around, irrigated through the water of the Indus River. The socio-economic conditions of this region are constituted by agriculture and it is famous for its wheat and rice production. Given the proximity of the region to Sindh, it reflects a rich cultural landscape. However, little is known about Judeir Damb, an archaeological site in the region.
About
Judeir Damb is a proto-historic site and unexcavated situated in the extreme region of Kachi Plains. Even most of the locals are unaware of the historical and cultural importance of the Judier Damb. In contemporary times, the area is inhabited by native Baloch tribes living in the nearby villages. The systematic description of the site appeared in the archaeological records of Pakistan in 1964, identified and reported to the Department of Archeology and Museums of Pakistan by R.L. Raikes. Raikes describes Judeir Damb to be situated about twenty miles north of district Jacobabad Sindh, on the Kachi Plain.
During the time of its existence, Judier Damb was a moderate settlement with a thin population numbered around 20,240 and encompassed a geographical area of 2,700,000 ft. The work of Allchin also refers to the Judier Damb as an earlier and mature Indus site in the sub-continent dating back to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. The further archaeological description of Judeir Damb site comprises the main mounds which are divided by numerous water gallies resembling the analogy of Mohenjo-Daro’s ancient streets.
Moreover, there is a small row of five mounds isolated from the main mounds on So, the origin of the civilizational culture of the Judeir Damb is linked with the Harappan people and Indus Valley civilization by various accounts.
Research Reports
GM Shar and M. Vidale have reported that objects found at the site have revealed a high degree of material civilization. The artifacts, including wares, bricks, ornaments, pottery, etc. exhibit an extraordinary uniformity level in their patterns and designs. This degree of uniformity informs about the extension of geographical and stratigraphical distribution. The objects discovered with relative abundance were of grey, greenish, and yellowish colors with a rough and thick texture, mostly plain in their composition. The wares and pottery discovered were also of Indus type. The varied shadows of colors, the rhythmic inscription of clay slip on the objects, functional edges, and horizontal lines comprised the decorative pattern of the objects found in the Judeir Dumb site.
A chronological correlation proposed by Jean Francois Jarrige suggests that Judeir Dumb represents the subsequently evolutionary cultural stage of the earlier Indus region. The Judeir Dumb reflected similar cultural patterns resembling Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa Period II, Mehrgarh VIIC, Damb-Sadat III, Nausharo I, Kot Diji, and Amri IIB. The archaeological work carried out and conducted in Balochistan also offers a relationship of continuity between the archaeological peasant culture in Balochistan and the culture of Harappa.
So, the origin of the civilizational culture of the Judeir Damb is linked with the Harappan people and Indus Valley civilization by various accounts. Jarrige’s work further proposes that Judier Damb reveals one of the earliest forms of farming settlement in the sub-continent. Different explanations are offered in various archaeological reports for the origin of the culture of Judier Damb. However, the questions about the origin and abandonment or destruction of the city are uncertain with a possible speculative explanation. Among the various archaeological explanations, the purposed reasons for the abandonment are more or less violent, such as earthquake shocks, resources deficiency, flooding among many others, which disrupted settlements, communications, and commercial life.
Hub of Civilisation
A large proto-urban flatland of Judier Damb that prospered in prehistory holds pivotal significance in reinventing the archaeological exploration in the sub-continent. The archaeologists view Balochistan as of massive importance in understanding the civilizations in South Asia. The civilizations in the Balochistan region were the essential route of trade and communication, which started during the Neolithic period. This claim is based upon the discovery of archaeological objects similar to the ones unearthed in nearby civilizations such as Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Kablibagan (India), Shar-e-Sokhta (Iran), Nisa (Turkmenistan), and Mundigaak (Afghanistan).
Judier Damb is one of the unexplored historical places to be researched and visited in Balochistan. The rarity and absence of research records attract archaeological researchers for further study. In addition to that, the historical importance of Judier Damb for being an essential part of the earlier human settlement, cultural evolution, and continuity of human civilization would be a site worth visiting.
A big thanks to Abdul Zahir for exploring this rich site. Such sites are storytellers and civilization preservers. Exploring such sites can enrich our tourism industry. Whereas it would also connect us with past civilizations.