Dear Pakwheelers,Assalam Alaikum,
There is a Ford Model T rotting at Moenjodarro. According to an article by Mr. Aadil Jadoon, published in Dawn, The Review August 26, 2004, this car belongs to Sir John Marshall. Sir John Marshal headed the team of archaeologists, which excavated Moenjodarro.
The interesting article and photos of the Model T follow.
Regards,
RZ
A vintage car
By Aadil Khan Jadoon
Moenjodaro was once a metropolis of the Indus Valley Civilization. Sir John Marshall excavated Moenjodaro in the 1920s. His Vintage Ford Model T , a picture of neglect, is also on exhibit at the site he uncovered, writes Aadil Khan Jadoon
Moenjodaro (mound of the dead) is located about 563 km. from Karachi, in the district of Larkana (Sindh). The Moenjodaro archaeological site has mud-brick and baked-brick buildings, an elaborate covered drainage system with soakpits for disposal bins, a large state granary, a spacious pillared hall, a College of Priests, swimming pool (the great bath), a large and imposing building (probably a palace), and a citadel mound which incorporates in its margin a system of solid burnt brick towers.
Half-hearted efforts are being made to save the ruins from crumbling due to a rising water table. Rice cultivation in the area surrounding the site has been banned, but the growers are not only powerful enough to defy the ban, they are doing it with the blessings of the concerned authorities. To this day the rice cultivation in the area continues to endanger this historical monument.
Neglect has become one of the key features in Pakistan especially when it is concerned with the preservation of historical monuments. This tourism potential is not being promoted or exploited to Pakistan’s advantage, all due to the slack attitude of the Sindh and the federal government.
The state of neglect is in evidence everywhere when one visits the site. Although Pakistan has one of the oldest civilizations in the world, nothing is being done to attract the tourists to visit the site. The law and order situation is not satisfactory either, nor are the facilities up to mentionable standards.
Archaeologists have an exasperating tradition of labelling their discoveries after the name of the site on which it is first found. since Harappa and Moenjodaro were the first to be excavated in the 1920s, Sir John Marshall, who headed the team of archaeologists, called it “The Indus Valley Civilization” because it flourished in the valley of Indus River. Marshall’s announcement wowed the world and pushed India’s known history back by almost 2,000 years. A recent count has shown that as many as 1,400 Indus sites have been found, of which 917 are in India, 481 in Pakistan and one in Afghanistan. Moenjodaro is rightly regarded as the principal site.
Sir John Marshall’s car, a Vintage Ford Model T, is also on display at Moenjodaro. The Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzi and the Flivver) was an automobile produced by Ford Motor Company in 1922. The model was the first automobile mass produced on assembly lines with completely interchangeable parts. It was only available in black, as black paint dried the fastest.
Henry Ford is reputed to have made the statement, “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.” The car was a great commercial success, and for years in the late 1910s and early 1920s it was estimated that more than half of all motorcars in existence in the world were Model T Fords. In fact, it was so successful that Ford did not purchase any advertising between 1917 and 1923, in total, more than 15 million Model Ts’ were manufactured, more than any other model of automobile for almost a century.
Sir John Marshall’s car is decaying due to the water spouting out of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation office’s airconditioner, which is located right above the car, and water is corroding the vehicle. Such is the state of neglect and incompetence, that a historical monument which is 80 years old is being destroyed due to the officials working there. How then can one expect a monument which is supposed to be around 5,000 years old and spread over a large area, be looked after by them?
