Sir John Marshall and the Transformation of Indian Archaeology

This study focuses on Sir John Hubert Marshall, a British archaeologist who is known for developing modern archaeology in India. Sir John Hubert Marshall served as the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India between 1902 and 1928. During his service period, he made immense contributions to the discipline of archaeology, including announcing the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilization, an event that altered the understanding of Indian history.

By focusing on the contributions of various earlier scholars, such as Charles Masson, James Prinsep, Alexander Cunningham, and Lord Curzon, among others, the paper provides insight into the state of Archaeological studies in India before Marshal.

The article further highlights Marshall's initiatives in conservation, regional reorganization of the Archaeological Survey of India, scientific excavation techniques, and the encouragement of Indian participation in archaeological research. The article argues that Marshall not only reshaped the discipline of archaeology in India but also transformed the historical imagination of the Indian subcontinent, enabling the recognition of a civilization that predated the Vedic age and redefined the antiquity of South Asian history.

Sundar Ganesan

Sundar Ganesan is an archivist, curator, and researcher. He is one of the founders of the RMRL Trust. He established the Indus Research Centre following the advice of Thiru. Iravatham Mahadevan in 2007. The centre is now headed by Mr. R. Balakrishnan. Sundar is one of the few people who were trained by Iravatham Mahadevan in the subject. He headed the project of developing the web concordance of IM77. He has co-authored papers with Mahadevan and curated two exhibitions on the Indus Civilization - including the one that was organized for the World Classical Tamil Conference in 2010. He is the author of the book 'The Tall Man: Biju Patnaik co-authored 'Thunderous Run Bountiful Harvest' on Jallikattu. He is currently the Director of the Roja Muthiah Research Library.

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