LAHORE: One of the oldest era monument have have been discovered in LahoreFort.
A Shahi Hammam [royal bath] aging back to Mughal Emperor Akbar’s reign hasbeen discovered at the Lahore Fort while clearing debris from a neglectedsection behind the Jahangiri Quadrangle and near the fort’s Akbari Gate.
Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) experts say the structure is a markof the earliest settlement inside the fort during Akbar’s era and it wasrevealed after removing almost 100,000 cubic feet of debris.
According to sources, the Shahi Hammam was a part of the Akbari Palace andthe later constructions or expansions by Mughal emperors Jahangir, ShahJahan and Aurangzeb were made on other sides.
“Previously, the area was neglected and had been turned into a junkyardwhere piles of debris and garbage could be seen,” sources said.
Read Top Stories
They added that the Archaeology Department never took up maintenance ofdifferent parts of the fort and so important places like the Barood Khana[British-era arsenal] and Royal Kitchens were also buried under debris andwild plantation. “New structures are being revealed since after WCLA tookup the task to clean the fort.”
Many times the question of looking into the age of Lahore fort arose but nosteps were taken for any excavation or studies, they said while speaking ofthe negligence of the authorities’ concerned.
