Chanhudaro is an Indus Valley Civilisation site in central Sindh, about 19 km from Nawabshah on the Nawabshah to Sakrand road, near the village of Jamal Kirio (also spelt Jam Keerio). It was a working town where craftsmen turned carnelian and other stones into beads, made seals and shell bangles and cast copper tools, and it was excavated in 1931, in 1935 to 1936 and again by a French team since 2015. What you see today is a group of low mounds in farmland, not standing walls like Mohenjo-daro, so it suits people who want to understand the Indus world rather than photograph it.
This guide covers what Chanhudaro was, what each round of digging found, how to get there from Nawabshah or Hyderabad, and whether it is worth the detour.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Where | Near Jamal Kirio village, Shaheed Benazirabad district, Sindh |
| From Nawabshah | About 19 km on the Nawabshah to Sakrand road |
| From Hyderabad | About 105 km by road, roughly two hours |
| From Mohenjo-daro | About 130 km to the south |
| Size | About 7 hectares of low mounds, up to about 7 m high |
| Occupied | Broadly 4000 to 1700 BCE, at its height about 2500 to 2300 BCE |
| Excavations | 1931, 1935 to 1936, and from 2015 |
| Facilities | None confirmed; no ticket office or museum on site |
Where is Chanhudaro?
The site lies in Shaheed Benazirabad district, the district whose headquarters is Nawabshah. Dawn's reports place it along the Nawabshah to Sakrand road, 19 km from Nawabshah city and close to the village of Jam Keerio; the national heritage register names the village Jamal Kirio and gives the coordinates as about 26.17°N, 68.33°E. On the ground that puts it closer to Sakrand on the N5 than to Nawabshah itself.
Wikipedia places Chanhudaro about 130 km south of Mohenjo-daro and about 12 miles east of the present bed of the Indus. The river once ran closer, and the shift of the Indus away from towns like this is one of the explanations offered for their decline.
What was Chanhudaro?
The name is a short form of Chanhun-jo-daro, Sindhi for "the mound of Chanhun". It was a mid-sized town of the Indus Valley Civilisation, about 7 hectares across, made up of three low mounds that excavation showed were parts of one settlement. The national register describes the remains as four small mounds and one large one, measuring about 290 by 210 metres and up to 7 metres high.
Wikipedia gives an occupation range of 4000 to 1700 BCE. Dawn's 2017 report on the French excavation placed the town's main phase in the golden period of the Indus civilisation, about 2500 to 2300 BCE. Like Mohenjo-daro it had baked brick houses and a planned drainage system, but what sets it apart is how much of the town was given over to craft work.
Why is Chanhudaro known for beads?
Chanhudaro is regarded as a centre for making carnelian beads. Excavators found a workshop, often called the bead-making factory, complete with a furnace. Stone beads were made here from carnelian, jasper and quartz, alongside beads of gold, copper, bronze, shell, terracotta and faience, in disc, cylinder, barrel and segmented shapes. The finds include bead blanks and the stone drills used to bore them, so archaeologists can follow the whole process from raw stone to finished bead.
The bead trade was only part of the picture:
- Copper and bronze. Knives, spears, razors, axes, fish hooks, vessels and dishes turned up in such numbers that Ernest Mackay is credited with nicknaming the site a "Sheffield", after the English steel and cutlery town.
- Seals. Chanhudaro is thought to have been one of the places where Indus seals were made, along with the bigger cities.
- Shell. Shell bangles and ladles were worked here.
- Toys and figurines. Terracotta cart models and a small terracotta bird that works as a whistle are among the best-known finds.
One sign of the Indus script appears only on objects from Chanhudaro, on eleven inscribed pieces, and the scholar Asko Parpola has suggested it may stand for the town's own name. A small broken figure of a dancer or spear thrower from the site is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Who excavated Chanhudaro?
There have been three main rounds of work.
- 1931. The Indian archaeologist N. G. Majumdar investigated the mounds in March 1931 and noted how closely the layout matched Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.
- 1935 to 1936. A joint team from the American School of Indic and Iranian Studies and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, led by Ernest Mackay, excavated through the winter season. Most of the famous finds come from this dig.
- Since 2015. The French Archaeological Mission in the Indus Basin, directed by Aurore Didier of the CNRS, reopened the site with Pakistan's federal archaeology department and the Sindh culture department. Dawn reported that the 2017 season, which ran from January to 5 March, found bead blanks, bead drills, toys, pottery workshops, houses, a monumental building, ovens and figurines. A 2023 Dawn report described a French team led by David Sarmiento Castillo working with Pakistani archaeologists under Zahida Quadri, and quoted the view that Chanhudaro supplied ornaments well beyond its own walls.
After Independence, the Pakistani archaeologist Mohammad Rafique Mughal also carried out exploratory work in the area.
What can you see at Chanhudaro today?
Be clear about this before you drive out. Dawn reported in 2017 that the French team refilled its trenches after excavation to protect the structures from erosion, which is standard practice. So the visible site is a spread of low, eroded mounds with pottery sherds and brick fragments on the surface. There are no reconstructed walls or streets, no shade, and we could not confirm a caretaker, signboards or a ticket office. Sindh's culture minister announced plans in 2017 for a museum and guest house at the site, but we found no report that either has been built.
The national register lists the site as privately owned and not protected under the Antiquities Act. Please leave everything you find on the surface where it lies; beads and sherds out of context are worthless to archaeologists and to the next visitor.
If excavation is under way, normally in the cooler months, the team may or may not welcome visitors. Ask through the Sindh Antiquities Department rather than turning up at a working trench.
How do you get to Chanhudaro?
Nawabshah is the base. It is on the main Karachi to Peshawar railway line, and it is a short detour east of the N5 National Highway at Sakrand.
From Nawabshah
Take the Sakrand road south-west for about 19 km and ask for Jam Keerio or Chanhun-jo-daro. Allow half an hour each way. A local driver who knows the village is the easiest option, because the mounds are reached on farm tracks.
From Hyderabad
Drive north on the N5 through Hala to Sakrand, then turn east towards Nawabshah; the site is about 10 km from Sakrand. By our check with OSRM route data it is about 105 km from Hyderabad, so plan on two hours each way with stops. Our Hyderabad to Mohenjo-daro guide covers the same highway further north if you are combining the two Indus sites.
Go between November and February. Central Sindh is extremely hot from April to September, and an open mound offers no shelter. Carry water, a hat and sturdy shoes.
Is it safe to visit?
The site lies just south of Nawabshah. The UK government's Pakistan travel advice (updated 22 September 2026) advises against all but essential travel to Sindh north of Nawabshah, so if you approach from Sukkur or Mohenjo-daro you will pass through that area. Pakistani visitors travel this part of Sindh all year; check local news and current police advice before setting out, and travel in daylight. Overseas visitors should check their own government's advice, since travelling against it can void insurance.
Is Chanhudaro worth visiting?
It depends on what you want from it. If you have already seen Mohenjo-daro and want to understand how the Indus cities were supplied with beads, tools and seals, standing on the mound where those things were made is genuinely satisfying, and it costs you only a short detour from the N5. If you want ruins to walk through, you will be disappointed, and your time is better spent at Mohenjo-daro itself or at Amri, which shows what came before the Indus cities.
For a fuller picture, see our overview of Indus Valley sites in Pakistan. If you are stopping in Nawabshah for lunch, our Nawabshah food guide has ideas, and the experiences page lists the heritage trips we help plan.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Chanhudaro located?
Near the village of Jamal Kirio (Jam Keerio) in Shaheed Benazirabad district, Sindh, about 19 km from Nawabshah on the road to Sakrand.
What is Chanhudaro famous for?
It was a craft town of the Indus Valley Civilisation, best known for its bead-making workshop with a furnace, where carnelian and other stones were made into beads. Copper tools, seals and shell bangles were also produced there.
Who discovered Chanhudaro?
N. G. Majumdar investigated the site in 1931. Ernest Mackay led the larger American excavation in 1935 to 1936, and a French mission has worked there since 2015.
Can you see ruins at Chanhudaro?
Only low mounds with sherds and brick fragments on the surface. Excavated areas have been refilled to protect them, and there are no standing structures like those at Mohenjo-daro.
Is there an entry fee at Chanhudaro?
We found no ticket office or published fee. It is an open site in farmland, so go with a local driver and ask permission from landowners nearby.
How far is Chanhudaro from Mohenjo-daro?
About 130 km to the south. By road it is around 200 km, because the route follows the highway rather than a straight line.
