Mehrgarh

Excavated by a French mission from the 1970s, Mehrgarh pushed the origins of farming in South Asia back by millennia: the earliest levels, from around 7000 BC, show mud-brick houses, barley and wheat cultivation, and herding of cattle, sheep and goats, with the settlement occupied for some four thousand years before being abandoned around the time the Indus cities rose. The finds are remarkable, including granaries, thousands of burials with grave goods, some of the earliest known cotton, and human teeth showing drilled cavities, evidence of dentistry around 7000 BC. The site is a series of low mounds on the plain rather than standing architecture, and it has suffered badly since excavation ended: erosion, agricultural encroachment and looting have damaged large areas, and there is no museum, signage or protection on the ground. Finds are held in museums in Pakistan and France.

What you actually see

• The mounds - low eroded rises marking the settlement phases.
• Excavation traces - cuts and sections left by the French mission.
• The Kachi plain - flat farmland with the Bolan hills behind.
• Nothing interpretive - no museum or signage on site.

When to go

November to February; the Kachi plain is among the hottest places in the country from spring onward, with summer temperatures over fifty degrees. Mornings are the only sensible time. There is no visitor season as such since the site is unmanaged.

Honest expectations

Be realistic: there is essentially nothing to see for a non-specialist, just eroded mounds in farmland, with no interpretation, no facilities and no staff. The site is damaged and partly encroached. It matters enormously for what was found here, not for what stands. Local advice on current access is worth seeking.

Nearby

The Bolan Pass climbs northwest; Sibi is east on the plain.