{"id":13183,"date":"2025-10-25T15:04:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2025\/10\/25\/strengthening-swat-archaeology-italian-partnership\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T15:09:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:09:56","slug":"strengthening-swat-archaeology-italian-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/2025\/10\/25\/strengthening-swat-archaeology-italian-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Strengthening Swat Archaeology with Italian Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

A landmark gathering at Serena Hotel in Swat celebrated seven decades of collaboration between Pakistan and Italy in Swat archaeology. Organized by Dr. Luca Olivieri<\/strong> and Elise Iori<\/strong>, the event marked the platinum jubilee of the Italian Archaeological Mission (1955\u20132025), highlighting long-term research, conservation and community engagement across the valley.<\/p>\n

The Italian Archaeological Mission’s work has profoundly shaped how Swat archaeology is studied and preserved, with excavations and documentation at numerous sites and more than 1,500 scholarly publications informing both national and international research. The mission has also actively supported Pakistan’s nominations of Jamal Garhi and Barikot for UNESCO World Heritage recognition, strengthening the case for global protection of the region’s archaeological legacy.\"\"<\/p>\n

Speakers underlined the mission’s emphasis on local capacity building, a hallmark of its approach in Swat. As one participant observed, ‘Luca has made archaeologists from local villagers,’ a reflection of sustained training, fieldwork opportunities and an inclusive conservation ethic that has turned communities into custodians of their own past.<\/p>\n

The ceremony also launched the Khyber PATH project \u2014 Professions for Climate Adaptation, Eco-Tourism, and Heritage \u2014 a joint initiative between the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). Khyber PATH aims to link Swat archaeology with sustainable tourism and climate-adaptive livelihoods, ensuring heritage preservation supports local economies while responding to environmental challenges.<\/p>\n

Gratitude was extended to the Royal Family of Swat, represented by Princess Dr. Mahmud Aurangzeb<\/strong>, Justice Hasan Aurangzeb<\/strong> and Princess Zenab Adnan<\/strong>, whose patronage since 1955 has been credited with enabling long-term archaeological work. Justice Hasan Aurangzeb reiterated his family’s ongoing commitment to protecting Swat’s cultural sites.<\/p>\n

The event brought together provincial officials and international partners, including Imran Shauket<\/strong> (Ambassador for Buddhist Heritage Promotion, GTPL), philanthropist Yali Xuan<\/strong>, Dr. Samad<\/strong> (Secretary Tourism and Archaeology KPK), Dr. Aftab Rana<\/strong> (Managing Director PTDC) and scholar Dr. Stefan Baums<\/strong> from Munich University. Their presence underscored how Swat archaeology remains a focal point for multinational cooperation involving Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Italy, Germany and China.<\/p>\n

The 70-year milestone in Swat archaeology was celebrated not only as a record of scholarly achievement but as proof that long-term partnerships can foster local expertise, protection of heritage and sustainable development. With Khyber PATH now underway, organisers said the next chapter will focus on translating seven decades of research into resilient jobs, tourism opportunities and preserved sites for future generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swat archaeology marks 70 years with Italy as Khyber PATH launches to boost heritage, sustainable tourism and local skills across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":13182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13185,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13183\/revisions\/13185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peakpoint.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}