Harold Hargreaves (born 29 May 1876) was a British Indian archaeologist who served as Director General of the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

(ASI) from 1928 to 1931.

Early life

Born on 29 May 1876, Hargreaves specialized in Buddhist iconography and served as headmaster of the Government High School in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

before joining the Archaeological Survey of India.

Career in the ASI

Between 1910 and 1912, Hargreaves officiated as Superintendent of the Frontier Circle when the then Superintendent, Buddhist scholar

Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

had been to England on deputation. When the serving Superintendent of the Northern Circle, J. Ph. Vogel resigned from the survey, Hargreaves was transferred to the Northern Circle to fill in his post. During his tenure in the Northern Circle, Hargreaves visited the mounds at

Harappa Harappa (; Urdu/ pnb, ) is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The Bronze Age Harappan civilisation, now more often called the Indus Valley Civilisation, is named after the site, which takes its name from a mode ...

Rajanpur Rajanpur ( ur, ), is a city and the headquarters of Rajanpur District in the far southwestern part of Punjab, Pakistan. The district lies entirely west of the Indus River. it is a narrow, to wide strip of land sandwiched between the Indus Riv ...

and

Sarnath Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pr ...

and participated in the excavations at Harappa under John Marshall. Hargreaves returned to the Frontier Circle a few years later and carried out excavations at Nal,

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

in May 1924. He was made Deputy Director General of the ASI and in 1928, succeeded John Marshall as Director General.

References

* {{authority control 1876 births Year of death missing Directors General of the Archaeological Survey of India