Sir John Hubert Marshall (
March 19,
1876 Chester -
August 17,
1958 Guildford) was the Director-General of the
Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928. He was responsible for the excavation that lead to the discovery of
Harappa and
Mohenjodaro, two of the main cities that comprise the
Indus Valley Civilization.
Marshall was educated at
Dulwich College as well as
King's College, Cambridge. In 1902 he was appointed Director-General of Archaeology by
Lord Curzon within the
British Indian administration, and modernised the approach to archaeology on that continent, introducing a programme of cataloguing and conservation of ancient monuments and artefacts.
It was thanks to Marshall that native Indians were allowed for the first time to participate in excavations in their own country. In 1913, he began the excavations at
Taxila, which lasted for twenty years. He laid the foundation stone for the Taxila museum in 1918. The museum hosts many artifacts and also hosts one of Marshall's very few portraits. He then moved on to other sites, including the
Buddhist centres of
Sanchi and
Sarnath. His work revealed to the world the true age of Indian civilisation especially
Indus Valley Civilization and
Mauryan age (
Ashoka's Age).
Sir John Marshall is also known for his important part in
excavations at
Knossos and various other sites on
Crete between 1898 and 1901 .
John Marshall was knighted in
1914.
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