WAC-10
Darwin 22-28 June 2025
WAC-10
Nitmiluk Gorge

Zahida Quadri

Zahida Quadri, a member of WAC – World Archaeology, holds the position of Assistant Director (Excavation) at the Culture, Tourism, Antiquities & Archives Department of the Government of Sindh. She has dedicated twelve years of service to the Government of Sindh and currently stands as the only female field Director in Pakistan in this role. Her excavation initiatives include the ancient port city of Banbhore, Mansurah (Barhamanabad), the earthen architecture fort at Mommal Ji Mari, the historical location of Kath Bhamban, the Indus period site of Allah Dino, and the UNESCO world heritage site of Mohenjo Daro. Zahida earned her master’s degree in the history of Art and Architecture and is currently pursuing her M. Phil. studies at the Taxila Institute of Archaeology & Civilization, affiliated with Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan. Her excavation projects emphasize the significance of local legends and folklore in archaeological research. These narratives have often led to substantial archaeological finds, though sometimes they can be misleading. In her role as Field Director Excavation, she promoted public archaeology in Sindh. She functioned as a survey officer for a year, compiling a list of 300 heritage buildings for the “protected Heritage list. Her disaster risk management initiative, “We connect Makli,” stands out as she trained and formed a volunteer task force within the community to protect the world Heritage site of Makli, which suffered from devastating floods in 2010, 2021, and 2022. She established the first emergency response cell, equipped with disaster preparedness tools, with support from ICCROM, the ALIPH Foundation, the Egyptian Rescue Foundation, and the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities. For capacity building and connecting various provincial entities, as well as site managers of World Heritage in Pakistan, she developed a comprehensive forty-day training course on Conservation and Management of World Heritage in Pakistan in 2021, covering sessions on disaster risk management, dossier preparation for sites on the tentative list, and revising conservation practices. She is also a founding member of ISO/TC 349 Cultural Heritage Conservation. Her paper presentations and publications are as follows:

  1. “The Case Study of Regional Museums of Pakistan”. ICR Regional Museum Conference 2017. (Finland)  
  2. “The Forgotten site of Allahdino, A story of a small Harrapan Village at Karachi.”

In an International Archaeology Conference, Heritage Now, organised by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan in Lahore-2017

  • “From Migration to Mega City: The Karachi Saga”, presented a paper in the Fifth Biennial Conference of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies (ACHS) for the theme, “ Mobilities & Migration” at UCL, UK.in August 2020.  
  • “Earth Day webinar: Museums and Sustainability”, organised by ICOM Working   
      Group on Sustainability.
  • Reuse of Religious Heritage places: “The Lost Temples of Karachi: History in the Making” Religious Heritage: Celebrating and conserving places of religious and ritual significance in a global world and in changing climates” – ICOMOS Scientific Symposium 2022 – Religious Heritage 29-30 October 2022
  • Aftermaths of Floods on the Built Heritage in Pakistan: The Case Study of Mohen Jo Daro and Makli, Presented, September 27th, 2023, at   RICS Global Building Conservation Conference 2023.
  • “Capacity Building for Managing and Reducing Disaster Risk: Efforts to build Community- and Regional-level Preparedness”, Presented at ICOMOS Conference on, Expect Unexpected Floods, December 9, 2023.
  • “Moving Forward with the Past: Protecting and Rethinking Modern Heritage”, +921 Heritage Talk, by Pakistan Chowk Community Centre.
  • “Excavation & Preservation of Landscape of Banbhore: Excavation Field Report presented at the Technical Session on Archaeology of Sindh: Discoveries & Findings of Excavation, Exploration and Research outcomes, 2023-25, held on February 13th 2025, at National Museum of Pakistan by Government of Sindh.

PAPER PUBLISHED:

  1. Beyond the Fortified Town: Preliminary Insights on Land Use and Occupation Strategies at Banbhore (Sindh- Pakistan)- Co-authored, Published at South Asian Studies- Routledge- Taylor & Francis Group. Date: 23-09-2022
  2. Study the Effects of wind-borne salinity on the monuments and development of feasible mitigation measures to reduce this impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV)of the Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta, Pakistan- Published in Sindh Antiquities, Vol-06, No: 02-2020
  3. Excavation Report, Banbhore the case beyond Debul, 2022-23 Field Season, Sindh Antiquities, Vol 07, No:01, 2021

MODERATED SESSION:    

  • Hyderabad Literature Festival 2020: Heritage is treasure: How to save it? (Session 4)
    • Celebrating Equality, Diversity & inclusion in Museum, 2020:   International

Museum Day Webinar, organised by ICOM Pakistan  

  • Museum and Sustainable Development Goals: International Conference on Museums, organised by ICOM Pakistan, ICOM Turkey, ICOM Malaysia.
    • Silk Route Heritage Collection and Connection Through Museum:

International Conference on Museums, organised by ICOM Pakistan, ICOM Mongolia, ICOM Kyrgyz and KUMID Turkey.  

  • Museum In Digital Age: International Conference on Museums, organised by ICOM Pakistan, ICOM Georgia, KUMID Turkey.
    • Decoding the Indus Valley Civilization: An Archaeological Journey: Karachi Literature Festival, sponsored bytheFrench Embassy&Organisedby theOxford University Press  
    • Moderated session in Zambia, Regional Museum and its Socio-economic Role at the International Museum Conference held in Livingstone Zambia by ICOM ICR, NATHIST & INTERCOM from Nov 1-5, 2024.

CONDUCTED TRAININGS IN PAKISTAN FOR MUSEUM & HERITAGE PROFESSIONALS  

  • Women in Museum: National Project of showcasing women Museum curators’ contribution in Museum across Pakistan, 18th May 2019, in collaboration with ICOM Pakistan, Ministry of National Heritage Division, Islamabad.
  • Capacity Building Training for Site Managers for the Management & Conservation of World Heritage Sites, organized at Makli, for managing Disaster, writing dossiers, and management. March-June 2019 in collaboration with UNESCO Pakistan, Government of Sindh, ICOMOS Pakistan, ICOM Pakistan & Heritage Foundation Pakistan.
  • First Aid to Culture Heritage at the Time of Crisis & Disaster, in collaboration with ICCROM, ALIPH Foundation, Egyptian Rescue Foundation, trained 25 community members and formed a team of Cultural First Aiders, established an emergency response cell at Makli (WHS). 4th -7th October 2022
  • Use of Equipment’s and the role of Journalism at the time of Disaster at the World Heritage Site.  February 26th -27th, 2023, in collaboration with UNESCO Pakistan, & Government of Sindh.
  • Museum and Education: Museum Security and controlling illicit Trafficking of Artifacts, 27th September, 2024, in Collaboration with ICOM Pakistan, INTERCOM-ICOM & Government of Sindh.
  • Museum & Strategic Planning: Livingstone Museum, Zambia 4th -5th November 2024, International Conference on Museum, in collaboration with INTERCOM, ICR, NATHIST, SUSTAIN, ICOM Zambia, ICOM Africa, Ministry of Culture & Tourism – Zambia.