![]() Ruins of houses at Mehrgarh, Balochistan | |
Alternative name | Mehrgahr, Merhgarh, Merhgahr |
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Location | Balochistan, Pakistan |
Region | South Asia |
Coordinates | 29°23′N 67°37′E / 29.383°N 67.617°E |
History | |
Founded | c. 7000 BCE |
Abandoned | c. 2600 BCE |
Periods | Neolithic |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1974–1986, 1997–2000 |
Archaeologists | Jean-François Jarrige, Catherine Jarrige (archaeologist) |
Followed by: Early Harappan period |
Mehrgarh is a Neolithic archaeological site (dated c. 7000 BCE – c. 2500/2000 BCE) situated on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan in modern-day Pakistan.[1] It is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River and between the modern-day Pakistani cities of Quetta, Kalat and Sibi. The site was discovered in 1974 by the French Archaeological Mission[2] led by the French archaeologists Jean-François Jarrige and Catherine Jarrige. Mehrgarh was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986,[3] and again from 1997 to 2000.[4] Archaeological material has been found in six mounds, and about 32,000 artifacts have been collected from the site. The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh, located in the northeast corner of the 495-acre (2.00 km2) site, was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE.