Ihsan H. Nadiem (born 1940) is a Pakistani

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

museologist Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Early life and career

Born in

Sahiwal Sahiwal ( Punjabi / ; ; ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in central Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population accordin ...

(old name of the city is Montgomery),

Punjab, British India The Punjab Province, officially the Province of the Punjab, was a province of British India, with its capital in Lahore and summer capitals in Murree and Simla. At its greatest extent, it stretched from the Khyber Pass to Delhi; and from the ...

, Nadiem studied at

Government College, Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university i ...

, and did his postgraduation in Geography from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public university, public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South As ...

. In 1961, he was then trained as

on a scholarship by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

. At a later stage, he specialised in

Museology Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

on a French Government Fellowship. He joined the Department of Archaeology, Pakistan and excavated at

Banbhore Banbhore, Bambhore, Bhanbhore or Bhambhore (; ) is a city dating to the 1st century BCE located in modern-day Sindh, Pakistan. The city ruins lie on the N-5 National Highway, east of Karachi. It dates back to the Scytho-Parthian era and was ...

Swat A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

(Pant, Saidu-I and Saidu-II),

Moenjodaro Mohenjo-daro (; , ; ) is an archaeological site in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. Built 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major city, cities, contemp ...

and

Tulamba Tulamba (also Tulambah) () is a small town in Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontine ...

. As a museum

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, he was in charge of museums at

Harappa Harappa () is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal, that takes its name from a modern village near the former course of the Ravi River, which now runs to the north. Harappa is the type site of the Bronze Age Indus ...

Umerkot Umerkot (Urdu: ; Dhatki language, Dhatki : عمرڪوٽ; Sindhi language, Sindhi: عمرڪوٽ; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, �mərkoːʈ formerly known as Amarkot) is a city in the Sindh province of Pakista ...

Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort (; ; ) is a citadel in the walled interior of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of the Walled City and spreads over an area greater than . It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which ...

and

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...

. He managed the regional offices of the department at

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

and

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

before being posted as officer ncharge of the Publications Branch, which he reactivated after it had remained dormant for 13 years. He launched the ''Pakistan Institute of Archaeological Training and Research'' (PIATR) at

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

and co-ordinated it following its launch. He was the Director General of ''Punjab Archaeology'' at

, and then Southern Circle of Archaeology at Hyderabad (Sindh)/Karachi. These assignments entailed archaeological research and maintenance and administration of antiquities in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and North West Frontier – in the former case – and Sindh and Balochistan in the latter case. He retired from active government service in 2000 and is now an author on the cultural heritage of Pakistan. He has also served as professor in the

University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

where he structured courses on "Conservation of Architectural Heritage" as a subject for master's degree in architecture. He has published about twenty five research papers in different journals of international repute; over 250 articles on cultural heritage of Pakistan appearing in various dailies and periodicals and an excavation report in two volumes, from Rome. In addition, he edited ''Pakistan Archaeology'' volume 10–22, and prepared and published professional and technical reports. He also writes English poetry. His poems have appeared in different publications, and as collections entitled ''Illusory Trance''(now out of print) and ''Golden Rays''. His book on ''Moenjodaro, Heritage of Mankind'' was first published in 1994, and the edition sold out within months. Its second edition, revised and enlarged, was published in 1995 and a third edition three years later. He has so far published 27 books from the House of Sang-e-Meel Publications and 3 books from Alfaisal Publishers, both at Lahore, on the cultural heritage of Pakistan. In addition his book - Subjects and Themes in the Holy Qur'an, in two volumes - has also been published by Alfaisal Publishers, Lahore. Since 2010 he is working as Director in Dyal Singh Research & Cultural Forum - an institute devoted to the study and research in the culture, language and history of Punjab (on both side of the divide between Pakistan and India)

Publications

Ihsan H. Nadiem's books are based on his 32 years of archaeological research work. He's quoted as saying, "I wanted to write books that were not voluminous, that were not burdened with technical jargon and in which facts and figures did not dominate the writing".

Books published by Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore, Pakistan

*A Brief History of Pakistan - From the Earliest Times () *Destination Pakistan ) *Lahore - A Glorious Heritage, 4th Revised Edition ()ABIA: South and Southeast Asian Art and Archaeology Index: Volume Three by Ihsan H. Nadiem
GoogleBooks website, Retrieved 5 May 2025 *Islamabad, Pothohar, Taxila Valley and Beyond.() *Golden Rays - poems. () *''Punjab and the Indian Revolt of 1857'' () *''Portrait of Punjab: Land – History – People''. (2009) *''Cholistan to Bahawalpur: Physiography, Past, People & Places''. (2009) *''Balochistan': Land, History, People''. (2007) Books published by Ihsan H. Nadiem on goodreads.com website
Retrieved 5 May 2025 *''Peshawar: History & Cultural Heritage'' (2007) *''Islamabad: Pothohar, Taxila Valley & Beyond – History & Monuments'' (2006) *''Historic Landmarks of Lahore: An account of protected Monuments'' (2006) *''Portrait of North West Frontier Province'' (2006) *''Gardens of Mughal Lahore'' (2004) *''Buddhist Gandhara: History, Art and Architecture'' (2003) (This above book has also been translated into Sinhala language and published from Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Nepalese language and published from Kathmandu, Nepal *''Portrait of Sindh'' (2002) *''Built Heritage of Pakistan: A Compendium of Architectural Legacy, Important Archaeological Sites and Historic Monuments'' (2002) *''THAR – the Great Pakistani Desert: Land • History • People'' (2001) *''Makli, The Necropolis at Thatta'' (2000) *''Historic Mosques of Lahore'' (1998) *''Lahore – A Glorious Heritage'' (Second Edition 2006) *''Rohtas – Formidable Fort of Sher Shah'' (First published 1995, second edition 2004) *''Moenjodaro – Heritage of Mankind'' (First published 1994, 3rd Revised Edition 2002) *''Punjab and the Indian Revolt of 1857'' (2006) *''Golden Rays'' *''Historic Mosques of Lahore'' (1998)

Books published by Al-Faisal Publications, Lahore, Pakistan

*''Forts of Pakistan'' (2004) *''Punjab: Land, History, People.''(2005) *'' Themes and Subjects in the Holy Qur'an (two volumes) 2014 ( & 969-503-910-3 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY DYAL SINGH RESEARCH & CULTURAL FORUM, LAHORE - PAKISTAN (Edited) * Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia - As Seen By His Contemporaries (Second Revised Edition) * The Rising of Khalsa.... * Bhagat Singh: Life and Philosophy

References

External links

Moenjodaro on goodreads.com website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadiem, Ihsan H 1940 births 20th-century Pakistani historians 21st-century Pakistani historians 20th-century Pakistani archaeologists 21st-century archaeologists Pakistani museologists Pakistani curators Government College University, Lahore alumni University of the Punjab alumni Living people Academic staff of the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore Mohenjo-daro