Digital Heritage Trails Project at TDF MagnifiScience Center brings 5 endangered archaeological sites to life
A section of the Lost Cities of the Indus Delta exhibition is photographed here. SOURCE: THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE
An amazing exhibition is on display at the TDF MagnifiScience Center in Karachi. Opened today (Saturday), the exhibition sheds light on the ancient maritime civilization of the Indus Delta and the environmental threats that endanger its future.
“Lost Cities of the Indus Delta,” the product of a two-year Digital Heritage Trails Project (DHTP), uses 3D modeling, interactive displays and storytelling to bring to life five endangered archaeological sites that once flourished as global trade centers.
According to the event management, the exhibition will be a permanent installation at the MagnifiScience Center.
An interactive virtual reality exhibit for Lahiri Bandar, a famous port town located in what is now Mirpur Sakro Taluka, Thatta.
“This project has brought history, science and learning under one roof,” said Favad Soomro, CEO of Dawood Foundation, urging the youth to reconnect with the past to become responsible citizens of tomorrow. It provides an invaluable tool to help the public understand the importance of safeguarding heritage, he added.
A part of the interactive exhibition that shows an archaeological enigma.
Amer Bazl Khan, Director of Maritime Research and project leader, described the exhibition as the culmination of years of research aimed at transforming complex data into accessible public experiences.
“We have documented how the centers of gravity have shifted over the centuries. Before Karachi, it was the Indus Delta,” Khan said, explaining how an 11th century port, once the fourth largest in India, has now declined dramatically.
A magnetic map puzzle of Banbhore, a port city that once connected South Asia to Arabia
Merging science with history
Khan further emphasized the human aspect of the exhibition, showing the resilience of the people who once thrived in the region. “This project represents years of fieldwork and research, and aims to highlight the trade networks, cultures and daily maritime life of the Indus Delta.”
As part of the initiative, high-resolution 3D models of endangered sites and two documentaries will be presented, The lost cities of the Indus Delta and Cursed Watershave been produced. These films have been translated into multiple languages, including Pakistani Sign Language, with the help of Deaf Reach Karachi, ensuring wider accessibility.
British Deputy High Commissioner Lance Domm said: “It is important to have displays like these as it gives children something fun to do and at the same time gives them information.”
“It is important to have informal learning spaces.” Favad Soomro said: “There absolutely needs to be more of these in our city.”
The declining delta
The opening of the exhibition coincided with the launch of Cursed Watersa documentary that delves into the environmental deterioration of the Indus Delta. The documentary reveals alarming statistics about shrinking borders and the devastating effects of water scarcity.
The Indus Delta has shrunk from 13,000 square kilometers in 1833 to just 1,667 square kilometers today. Freshwater flow has plummeted from 150 million acre-feet a century ago to less than 10 million today.
Local landowner Gulab Shah summed up the crisis by saying: “Our elders used to say that we live in a country where the river flows into the sea. Now we say that the sea flows into the river”, poisoning the land with salt and rendering it unusable.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 people have been displaced due to lack of drinking water and loss of agricultural land due to rising salt levels. For those displaced to the outskirts of urban centers like Karachi, the move has eroded their cultural identity and social dignity.
The documentary also shows how traditional community structures and privacy once afforded women in rural villages have disappeared in the city, and many children from these displaced families are now forced to beg on the streets.
Watch the Aguas Malditas documentary here:
Ahsan Zafar Syed, CEO of Engro Corporation, said: “Despite what we are achieving today, anything we do will be unsustainable if we do not focus on human development as Pakistan currently ranks 168 out of 193 in the human development index.”
British High Commissioner Jane Marriott stated at the end of the ceremony that Karachi is facing rising sea levels due to climate change, which is directly contributing to the disappearance of Delta communities and cultural heritage sites. When talking about change and whether something can be done to prevent it, he said, “I have to believe the answer is yes.”
