Wah Gardens

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Excavations needed to preserve Wah Gardens

By Amjad Iqbal

Dawn

TAXILA, Jan 15: The excavation work on the recently- discovered water channel system and a water tank at Wah Gardens is yet to restart after it was suddenly stopped thanks to the apathy of the officials of the federal department of archeology’s sub-regional office Taxila,sourcesin the department told.

They said during a recent landscaping and facelift of the south east side of the world famous Gardens, dating back to 1600 AD, the department officials made a remarkable discovery of an unexcavated garden besides platform of main water tank.

The new discovery includes original floor of main platform, measuring 14 x 12 feet, and other steps of the same structure. According to archeologists, this discovery is very important and will help assess the actual layout of the main water tank and its boundaries. A coin bearing image of Emperor George of India, dated 1917, was also found during landscaping.

The original drainage system linking to the main water tank of the Gardens was also exposed. At the depth of 1 feet, remarkable original fresh water drain linked through the wall plus walkway of main tank wall were exposed. In the same trench, southern corner was excavated up to 3-and-a-half feet, exposing an arched water channel. The drain was adorned internally with red sand stone.It has been learnt that the department has stopped the excavation for unknown reasons. The completion of excavation is crucial for restoration and preservation of Mughal Gardens, and also for research work and studies in and outside Pakistan. The unprofessional attitude of the officials concerned could be gauged from the fact that the trenches and water channel discovered during the study were refilled, while no further excavation and study was made by archeologists.

When contacted, an official of the federal department of archaeology and museum confirmed discovery of new water channels and a water tank during the recent study. Responding to a question, he said due to lack of funds, the department had not carried out the complete excavation and restoration work at the Gardens. He, however, added that the necessary work would be carried out once funds were released by the government or any donor agency .The Mughal Gardens have great importance in the archeological history of the subcontinent. According to historians, Mughal Emperor Jehangir, while travelling to Kashmir, stopped at a small village near Hassanabdal. The village called Jalalsar was situated near a number of springs. “Wah, Wah, exclaimed the weary emperor at the idyllic sight. From then on the village was renamed as Wah. Today, the area is called the Wah Gardens as the emperor had built a miniature Shalamar Gardens at the site.