Le attività di formazione, scavo e restauro della Missione Italiana nello Swat (2011-2016)

The history of the Italian archaeological school in Swat began in 1955 with Giuseppe Tucci, who inaugurated a tradition that survives to this today. The mission that he founded has had an uninterrupted presence albeit with a hiatus between 2007 and 2010 when a self-declared Taliban emirate was established in Swat, and has assumed a prominent role in Indo-Pakistani archaeology. Since its beginnings, the Italian mission has obtained excellent results in the excavation and preservation of the Buddhist shrines of Butkara 1, Panr 1, and Saidu Sharif 1 under the direction of Domenico faccenna. many sites of different eras have been investigated by prominent figures as Giorgio Gullini, Giorgio Stacul, maurizio Taddei, Umberto Scerrato, and Pierfrancesco callieri. from 2011 to 2016, the mission, which is now under the patronage of ISmEO and directed by the author of this contribution, led the joint Italian-Pakistani project “Archaeology, community, Tourism-field school” (AcT), funded by the Pakistani- Italian Debt Swap Agreement (PIDSA). AcT project included research, restoration and teaching activities aimed at promoting archaeological tourism, aiding the economic growth of the region involving the local community in the study and preservation Swati heritage. The core of this project is the new Swat museum, that is the result of the cooperation between Italian and Pakistani experts, and was inaugurated in November 2013. The older local museum, built under the initiative of Giuseppe Tucci in 1963, was severely damaged by an explosion in 2008; its surviving parts were restored and incorporated into new construction. The sixty-year presence of the Italian mission, the responsibility of extensive archaeological areas on behalf of the Pakistani government and the continuity of the local working relationships on a generational scale has made this program unique in its field and has offered the conceptual basis of the AcT and archaeological site management. Archaeology was initially only an earning opportunity for many, but through active participation has created a growing sense of belonging and shared responsibility. Such an awareness is fundamental for the protection and restoration of the sites; for which end the field school organized by our project provided the methodological base. In addition to its social-economic value, the AcT project pursues scientific aims of utmost relevance for Indo-Pakistani archaeology. fieldwork has provided a new, indepth interpretation of Proto-historic cemeteries, and the mission has promoted excavation and restoration programs at Buddhist sites, such as Saidu Sharif, Jahanabad, Amluk-dara, and Gumbat. moreover, excavation activities, directed by the author of this contribution, have been being carried out at Barikot, where evidence of the early city (6th century Bc), with subsequent Achaemenid, mauryan, and Indo-Greek phases,were brought to light.