In 1902, the new viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, appointed Marshall as Director-General of Archaeology within the British Indian administration. Marshall modernised the approach to archaeology on that continent, introducing a programme of cataloguing and conservation of ancient monuments and artefacts.[5]
Marshall began the practice of allowing Indians to participate in excavations in their own country.[6] Most of his students were Indian, and so, Marshall gained a reputation for being very sympathetic to Indian nationalism. Marshall agreed with Indian civic leaders and protesters who wanted more self-government for India or even independence for India. Marshall was highly admired by Indians during the time he worked in India. In 1913, he began the excavations at Taxila, which lasted for 21 years.[7] In 1918, he laid the foundation stone for the Taxila Museum, which today hosts many artifacts and one of Marshall's few portraits. He then moved on to other sites, including the Buddhist centres of Sanchi and Sarnath.
His work provided evidence of the antiquity of Indian civilisation, particularly that of the Indus Valley civilization and the Mauryan age (Ashoka's Age). In 1920, Marshall initiated at dig at Harappa with Daya Ram Sahni as director. Mohenjodaro was discovered by R. D. Banerji in 1921, and in 1922, work began there. The results of these efforts, which revealed an ancient culture with its own writing system, were published in the Illustrated London News on 20 September 1924.[8] Scholars linked the artifacts with the ancient civilisation of Sumer in Mesopotamia. Subsequent excavation showed Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro to be sophisticated planned cities with plumbing and baths.[9] But Marshall ignored the stratigraphy of the site, and excavated along regular horizontal lines. This mixed up the artefacts from different stratigraphic layers, causing much valuable information about the context of his findings to be lost forever. This mistake was corrected by R.E.M. Wheeler, who recognised that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig mechanically along uniform horizontal lines. Also a military precision was brought to archeology by Wheeler.[10]
Marshall also led excavations at the prehistoric Sohr Damb mound near Nal in Baluchistan; a small representative collection of pottery vessels from the site is now in the British Museum.[11]
Retirement and Death
Marshall retired from his post in 1934 and then departed India. He died on 17 August 1958, at his home in Guildford, Surrey, some 28 miles southwest of London.[12][13]
Marshall, John H. (1960). The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: the Story of the Early School, Its Birth, Growth and Decline. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Marshall, John H. (1960). A Guide to Taxila (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
john, marshall, archaeologist, john, hubert, marshall, march, 1876, chester, england, august, 1958, guildford, england, english, archaeologist, director, general, archaeological, survey, india, from, 1902, 1928, oversaw, excavations, harappa, mohenjo, daro, ma. Sir John Hubert Marshall CIE FBA 19 March 1876 Chester England 17 August 1958 Guildford England was an English archaeologist who was Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928 1 He oversaw the excavations of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro two of the main cities that comprise the Indus Valley Civilisation SirJohn MarshallCIE FBABorn 1876 03 19 19 March 1876Chester EnglandDied17 August 1958 1958 08 17 aged 82 GuildfordAlma materKing s College CambridgeKnown forExcavations in Harappa Mohenjodaro Sanchi Sarnath Taxila Crete and KnossosAwardsCIE Knighthood FBAScientific careerFieldsHistory archaeologyInstitutionsArchaeological Survey of IndiaInfluencesJames Prinsep H H Wilson John Leyden Henry Thomas Colebrooke Colin Mackenzie and William Jones Contents 1 Personal history and career 2 Retirement and Death 3 Honors 4 Publications 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPersonal history and career EditMarshall was at school at Dulwich College before King s College Cambridge 2 where in 1898 he won the Porson Prize 3 He then trained in archaeology at Knossos under Sir Arthur Evans who was rediscovering the Bronze Age Minoan civilization 4 In 1902 the new viceroy of India Lord Curzon appointed Marshall as Director General of Archaeology within the British Indian administration Marshall modernised the approach to archaeology on that continent introducing a programme of cataloguing and conservation of ancient monuments and artefacts 5 Marshall began the practice of allowing Indians to participate in excavations in their own country 6 Most of his students were Indian and so Marshall gained a reputation for being very sympathetic to Indian nationalism Marshall agreed with Indian civic leaders and protesters who wanted more self government for India or even independence for India Marshall was highly admired by Indians during the time he worked in India In 1913 he began the excavations at Taxila which lasted for 21 years 7 In 1918 he laid the foundation stone for the Taxila Museum which today hosts many artifacts and one of Marshall s few portraits He then moved on to other sites including the Buddhist centres of Sanchi and Sarnath His work provided evidence of the antiquity of Indian civilisation particularly that of the Indus Valley civilization and the Mauryan age Ashoka s Age In 1920 Marshall initiated at dig at Harappa with Daya Ram Sahni as director Mohenjodaro was discovered by R D Banerji in 1921 and in 1922 work began there The results of these efforts which revealed an ancient culture with its own writing system were published in the Illustrated London News on 20 September 1924 8 Scholars linked the artifacts with the ancient civilisation of Sumer in Mesopotamia Subsequent excavation showed Harappa and Mohenjo Daro to be sophisticated planned cities with plumbing and baths 9 But Marshall ignored the stratigraphy of the site and excavated along regular horizontal lines This mixed up the artefacts from different stratigraphic layers causing much valuable information about the context of his findings to be lost forever This mistake was corrected by R E M Wheeler who recognised that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig mechanically along uniform horizontal lines Also a military precision was brought to archeology by Wheeler 10 Marshall also led excavations at the prehistoric Sohr Damb mound near Nal in Baluchistan a small representative collection of pottery vessels from the site is now in the British Museum 11 Retirement and Death EditMarshall retired from his post in 1934 and then departed India He died on 17 August 1958 at his home in Guildford Surrey some 28 miles southwest of London 12 13 Honors EditMarshall was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire CIE in June 1910 14 and knighted in January 1914 15 He was awarded an honorary degree Doctor of Philosophy by Calcutta University in 1921 16 He was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 1936 Publications EditMarshall John H 1931 Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Civilization Volume 1 Volume 2 Marshall John H 1960 The Buddhist Art of Gandhara the Story of the Early School Its Birth Growth and Decline Cambridge Cambridge University Press Marshall John H 1960 A Guide to Taxila 4th ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press Taxila Achaeological Excavations Vol III Marshall John H M B Garde 1927 The Bagh Caves in the Gwalior State London The India Society Marshall John H Foucher Alfred 1902 The Monuments of Sanchi 3 vol Marshall John H 1918 A Guide to Sanchi Calcutta Superintendent Government Printing See also EditIndus Valley civilization R D BanerjiReferences Edit Banerji robbed of credit for Indus findings The Times of India Marshall John Hubert MRSL895JH A Cambridge Alumni Database University of Cambridge The India List and India Office List for 1905 London Harrison and Sons 1905 p 562 Possehl Gregory A The Indus Civilization A Contemporary Perspective p 10 2002 AltaMira Press ISBN 9780759101722 0759101728 google books Allen Charles 2012 Ashoka The Search for India s Lost Emperor chap 15 Allen Charles 2012 Ashoka The Search for India s Lost Emperor chap 15 passim Taxila in Focus 100 years since Marshall stories durham ac uk Retrieved 5 April 2022 The First Images of the Announcement The Illustrated London News Harappa www harappa com Retrieved 5 April 2022 Jane McIntosh The Ancient Indus Valley New Perspectives ABC CLIO 2008 ISBN 978 1 57607 907 2 pp 29 32 Themes in Indian History NCERT British Museum Collection John Marshall Harappa www harappa com Retrieved 5 April 2022 John Hubert Marshall 1876 1958 www emersonkent com Retrieved 5 April 2022 London Gazette 23 June 1910 Sir John Hubert Marshall British archaeologist Britannica www britannica com Retrieved 5 April 2022 The Times 19 December 1921 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to John Marshall archaeologist J H Marshall The Date of Kanishka Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1914 pp 973 986 Sir John Marshall A Guide to Taxila Calcutta Superintendent Government Printing India 1918 archive org Sir John Hubert Marshall britannica com A collection of 5000 images from John Marshall s personal archives at Durham University s Oriental MuseumPreceded byJames Burgess Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India1902 1928 Succeeded byHarold Hargreaves Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Marshall archaeologist amp oldid 1137943276, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
