Lahore Fort dungeons to be opened for the first time
The exhibition is part of the ‘Lahore Fort Cultural Week’ being observed under United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in collaboration with the Punjab Archaeology Department (PAD). The exhibition will be held from July 10 to July 16. A large number of paintings and photographs of Lahore and its culture will be on display, by artists both young and old.
The basement chambers of the Lahore Fort were never open to the public under the Mughuls, who used the Fort as their residence, and were subsequently never opened at any point under either Sikh or British rule. This will be the first time in history that the chambers will be open to the general public. A few years ago when the Fort was under the federal archaeology department there was a proposal to establish a city museum in the basement chambers. However, when the fort came under PAD it was decided that only short-term exhibitions would be held in the chambers. The basement chambers are spread over the entire northern area of the fort under Shish Mahal, Deewan-e- Khas, the backyard gardens and the Jahangir quadrangle. Other basement chambers exist below the Fort but as of now, only those four have been opened to the public.