Korea Heritage Service (KHS) and the Korea Heritage Agency (KHA) have begun a joint excavation of the Mankiala Stupa in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Islamabad. In this project, two experts from KHA (an archaeology specialist and a conservation scientist) and seven students from the Department of Archaeology at Quaid-I-Azam University (QAU), who are expected to lead the future of archaeology in Pakistan, are also participating. The project mainly focuses on capacity-building, including training on the use of equipment that are recently being used in excavation sites.
The project will take place from October 7 to December 6. Professor Ghani-ur-Rahman, the Director of Taxlia Institue of Asian Civilizations (TIAC) at QAU stated, "This project will be an excellent opportunity for students, as there was no archaeological excavation project in Islamabad since 2016." He also added that he selected the most brilliant senior level students to participate in the excavation.
The Joint Excavation Project of the Gandhara Ruins at Mankiala is being conducted as part of a Korean Official Development Assistance (ODA) project in Pakistan. The goal of this project is to enhance capacity for preserving cultural heritage by teaching the use of the latest technologies, such as Drone, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and Total Station. Especially, as a pilot project under provisions of the agreement between Pakistan and Korea, the project mainly focuses on.