Tracing Surveyor roles in Colonial Archaeological Expeditions in South Asia: A Case Study of Afrazgul Khan’s Work with M. Aurel

Abstract

Numerous accounts of colonial period archaeology in South Asia include repeated references to surveyors from the Survey of India (SoI) who accompanied archaeological expeditions. The maps produced during these expeditions were often created by South Asian surveyors and draughtsmen and provide the background and legacy data for a wide range of archaeological heritage conservation projects. Even as the intricate knowledge captured on the maps is leveraged by researchers, it also vitally brings back the focus on the South Asian surveyors, surfacing the names of the men that have remained in the margins (and metadata) of the maps. Results of archival research showcase the rich contribution of these individuals beyond map-making, from their role in archaeological investigations to the construction of archaeological collections through sourcing artefacts while surveying. Field diaries and personal and official correspondence, as well as the awards many of them received, reveal their rich careers and personal histories. This case study of the archival footprints of one such surveyor, Khan Sahib Afrazgul Khan establishes the varied roles he and other surveyors held as well as their many acknowledged and unacknowledged contributions to archaeology. Significantly, it does this by using the largely first-person account written by Khan and documented in letters and field notebooks that have, until now, remained unexamined.