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Deposited in DRO: 17 June 2011 Version of attached le: Published Version Peer-review status of attached le: Peer-reviewed Citation for published item: Ali, I. and Batt, C. M. and Coningham R.A.E., R. A. E. and Young, R. L. (2002) 'New exploration in the Chitral Valley, Pakistan : an extension of the Gandharan Grave culture.', Antiquity., 76 (293). pp. 647-653. Further information on publisher's website: http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/076/Ant0760647.htm

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Durham University Library, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3LY, United Kingdom Tel : +44 (0)191 334 3042 | Fax : +44 (0)191 334 2971 https://dro.dur.ac.uk New exploration in the Chitral Valley, Pakistan: an extension of the Gandharan Grave culture

IHSANALI, CATHY BATT, ROBINCONINGHAM & RUTHYOUNG*

New survey in the Chitral Valley has doubled the number of recorded Gandharan Grave culture sites in the region and extended their geographical range. The numbers and location of sites indicates that the Gandhuran Grave culture was well established in the Chitral valley, suggesting that the valley may have been central to this cultural development, rather than marginul.

Key-words: Pakistan, Chitral, Gandharan Grave culture, field survey, chronology

Introduction 40-42; Haserodt 1996: 3). Extremes of terrain During 1999 the International Hindu Kush and climate have resulted in water resources Expedition, funded by the Royal Geographical playing an important role in shaping social or- Society, conducted fieldwork in the Chitral ganization, in addition to influencing settlement Valley. The objective of the expedition was to and subsistence patterns (Haserodt 1996: 9; Israr- study the impact of mountain rivers on human ud-Din 1996: 19; Young eta]. 2[)00: 138). This and natural activity (Meadows pers.comm.). The role has led to the clustering of settlement on expedition included an archaeological team to the fertile Pleistocene fluvio-glacial terraces and examine the potential of surveying settlement alluvial fans, as opposed to the arid and rocky sites. Given the scarcity of previous archaeo- slopes (FIGURE1;Haserodt 1996: 5; Stacul1969a: logical investigation, this was an important 92). opportunity to define the location, number Due to its position in the Hindu Kush, Chitral and type of sites in the middle Chitral Val- is accessible only by high passes, of which the ley. It should be emphasized that this was a most important are the Lowari (3118 m) and preliminary exploration, and in addition to the Shandur (3374 m). These links with Paki- time constraints, the volatile political situa- stan are closed between September and April tion and the nature of the terrain limited the by snow and rain, although it is possible to divert survey. However, even with these restraints, westwards into Afghanistan following the line the number of known Gandharan Grave cul- of the Chitral river before crossing back into ture sites in the valley was doubled. The Pakistan. Despite its modern isolation and ex- wealth of archaeology that was recorded jus- treme terrain, Chitral was less remote in the tifies future investment in field seasons and past and its position made it an important transit systematic survey. corridor between south, central and western Chitral is one of the most isolated regions Asia. The historical significance of this feature, in Pakistan. I.ocated in the extreme northwest a section of the famous Silk Road, is attested of the North West Frontier Province, it has the by scholars who have identified it as a signifi- Afghan provinces of Badakshan to the west and cant channel for trade and the movement of Wakhan to the north, the Northern Areas of ideas and people (Stein 1921). Pakistan to the east, and the Districts of Dir and Swat to the south. There are more than 40 The Gandharan Grave culture peaks over 6000 m in Chitral District, and these The Gandharan Grave culture is the name given contrast with valleys that plunge more than 900 by Dani (1992: 395) to the protohistoric cem- m below the main settlements (Dichtcr 1967: eteries that were first noted in an area approxi-

* Ali, Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan. Ratt & Coningham, Department of Archaeological Scienccs, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 lw, England. Young, School of Archaeological Studies, 1Jniversity of Leicester, Leiccster LEI 7RH. England.

Received 2 July 2001, accepted 9 January 2002, revised 7 March 2002 ANTIQUITY76 (2002): 647-53 648 NEWS & NOTES

FIGURE1. O’hitrnl Valley slio wing Chitrul River, alluvial fans, fertile cultivated tcrrnccs and ro&y slopes. matcly corresponding to ancient Gandhara -- Khola, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, has the easternmost satrapy or province of the also been assigned by some to the culture Achaemenid Empire. Stacul (1987), however, (Allchin 1995: 125). Further affinities have been prefers to refer to the sites as protohistoric or recorded with prehistoric burial sites in regions pre-Buddhist cemeteries. Excavations in Dir, as distant as the southern Himalayas of IJttar at Balambat and Timargarha (Dani 1967), and Pradesh (Agrawal ef al. 1995: 552). Although in Swat at Aligrama, Bir-kot-ghundai, Kalako- the extent of the culture may be expanded to a deray and Loebanr I (Stacull987)suggest a ho- region far greater than the extent of the satrapy mogeneous culture, represented by similar grave of Gandhara, the term Gandharan Grave cul- and burial patterns, pottery assemblages, and ture has been retained here for ease of refer- other artefacts (Dani 1992: 407-8, 415; Stacul ence. 1989: 322). The similarity in grave construction, burial This core of Gandharan sites was extended patterns and pottery assemblages, combined north to Chitral by Stacul’s (1969a) brief sur- with stratigraphic excavation, has allowed the vey and excavation, east to the Indus (Stacul construction of both internal phasing at each 1987: 64-5; 1966) and south to the Vale of site, and a relative chronology. Despite the dif- Peshawar (Khan 1973: 34). It should also be ferent dating schemes used by different projects noted that no comparative research has been (Dani 1967; Stacul 1987; 1969b), the correla- carried out in Afghanistan, but it is now highly tion between sites has allowed the development likely that sites will be found on the Afghan of a chronology based, in part, on revised ra- side of the border. The cemetery site of Sarai diocarbon dates (TABLE1). NEWS & NOTES 649

Interpretations of the Gandharan Grave of protohistoric cemeteries close to Chitral town culture (Stacul 1969a: 93-5). He noted the contrast Previous interpretations have suggested that the between the fertile terraces and fans and the culture was introduced into the region by in- ‘very arid and stony nature of the valley’ and coming groups, possibly Indo-Aryan speaking the frequency of the cemetcries within the former peoples (Allchin &Allchin 1982: 349; Dani 1978: (Stacul 1969a: 92). Comparisons of the new 52-3; Stacul1969b: 86-7). These interpretations graves’ construction methods and associated use a combination of modern linguistic patterns, artefacts led Stacul to suggest that they belonged hypothetical language families, the Rigveda and to the ‘Gandharan Grave culture’.This conclu- the concept of a post-Harappan dark age (Mallory sion was strengthened by Allchin’s study of Iron 3989; Dani 1992; Parpola 1994), all of which Age ceramic vessels from the modern town of are open to question. An alternative, that of Ayun (Allchin 1970). indigenous development, is supported by evi- Our own preliminary survey in 1999 was dence from recent excavation and exploration, restricted to the middle Chitral valley between and the re-interpretation of existing material Ayun and Chitral Town (FIGURE2), building (Coningham 1995; Shaffer 1993). In parallel, on Stacul’s earlier work, augmented by a brief Stacul has recently identified a continuum survey in the Rambour valley. During two weeks within the Swat valley from c. 1700-400 BC, of survey, 18 sites were identified and it is clear and now supports the concept of an indigenous that most may be assigned to the Gandharan development for the culture. He suggests that Grave culture (TABLE2). This attribution is based the distinctive funerary monuments may have upon similarities between artefacts from illicit been developed in response to increasing agri- excavations at a number of surveyed sites in cultural intensification and population pres- Chitral, as well as structural details exposed at sure (Stacul 1987: 68-9, 121). those sites, and published material from Swat (Stacul 1987) and Dir (Dani 1967). For exam- Archaeological survey in Chitral ple, the circular pits, marked by circular rings Due to the limitations identified above, little of boulders, containing rectangular cists at Kolo research has been previously carried out within Gree (Site 9) (FIGURE3) have parallels with Chitral, with the exception of Stacul’s single Timagarha (Dani 1967) and Zarif Karma (Khan season in 1968 when he discovered a number 1973). Further analogies may be made between period [Swat 14C date chronology) site (cal BC) source interpretation 1v Aligrama 1360-1300 Stacul 1987 1710-1690 Stacul 1987 121 0-1 09 0 Possehl 1994 Chalcolithic Loebanr I11 1730-1600 Stacul 1987 1560-1225 Possehl 1994 Chalcolithic Timargarha 15tli-14th century Dani 1967 1590-1470 Possehl 1994 prehistoric necropolis

V Aligrama 1540-65 5 Posschl 1994 protohistoric Timargarha 8th-9th century Dani 1967 Achaemenid 1000-800 Possehl 1994 protohistoric necropolis

N.B. uiily sites with radiocarbon dates have been included

TABLE1. Summary chronology of Swot 6. Dir Protohistoric sites. 650 NEWS & NOTES

F1c;rJKE 2. Map of Chitral Valley showing distribution of sites surveq.ed. NEWS & NOTES 651 two fiddle-shaped terracotta human figurines lar contact with adjacent regions (Ali etal. 1998). and a ‘burnished red ware’ bowl on stand from The confirmation of a concentration of Lashtotak (Site 4), and specimens recovered from Gandharan graves in Chitral has important Timargarha and the basal levels of the Early implications, not only for the prehistory of Historic city, the Bala Hisar of Charsadda Chitral, but also for the northwest of the sub- (Wheeler 1962; Ali et al. 1998). continent. Not only is this the most northerly The discovery of 15 new sites, affiliated with discovery of these sites, but it is evident that the Gandharan Grave culture, is significant as they are present in significant numbers and it doubles the number of the sites in the re- concentration. This suggests that the Gandharan gion. It is also interesting to note that although Grave culture was well established here, rein- most were located within the fans and terraces forcing the idea that the entire valley system of the valley bottoms, as observed by Stacul was central to this cultural development, rather (1969a: 92), the remaining five were recorded than remote or marginal; a development which on the arid and rocky slopes above. Indeed, it resulted in the emergence of early urban forms is more likely that sites will be disturbed within such as Hathial and the Bala Hisar of Charsadda the fans and terraces as these are intensively on the plains in the beginning of the 1st mil- cultivated today. The presence of two sites lennium uc (Ali et d.1998). within the extremely narrow and inaccessible Within Chitral, the occupation of three val- Rambour valley extends the distribution of leys by the non-Muslim Kalasha is also very Gandharan Grave sites to thc very borders of important and the contrast between the Kalasha Afghanistan. and their neighbours has been described as a In comparison with our knowledge of the ‘remarkable example of cultural resistance at archaeology of Dir and Swat, the sequence in the end ofthis twentieth century’ (Loude 1996: Chitral is still uncertain and models have placed 329). One of the intriguing questions of social these valleys as marginal in terms of contact identity in Chitral is the origin of the Kalasha. and development when compared with regions While most research has focussed on linguis- to the north and south (Dani 1992: 415, 419; tic reconstruction (e.g. Cacopardo 1996; Dani Tusa 1979: 690-91). However, evidence from 1992; Parkes 1996), little work has been car- Dir (Dani 1967) and Swat (Stacul 1997: 344; ried out in terms of archaeological research. 1989: 322) suggests that these valleys were Our identification of the presence of Gandharan engaging in long-distance trade of both goods Grave sites within the Kalasha valleys has in- and ideas in prehistoric times, had sophisti- teresting implications for the prehistory of this cated subsistence strategies and were in regu- area. no. name structures fadterrace slope period

1 Broz Tamunyak cists? X Gandharan Grave Culture? 2 Thuryandeh, Ayun cisls X Gandharan Grave Culture 3 Sangoor cists X Gandharan Grave Culture 4 Lashtotak, Ayun cists X Gandharan Grave Culture 5 Saham Junah, Ayun cists? X Gandharan Grave Culture G Noghoor Gree buildings/wall x Historic Fort? 7 Sangoor, Chakasht cists X Gandharan Grave Culture 8 Gahirat cists X Gandharan Grave Culture 9 Kolo Gree cists/circle X Gandharan Grave Culture 10 Noghorzum buildings/wall X Historic Fort? 11 Lawar (Larsar) buildings/wall X Historic Fort? 12 Koghuzi/Zukhshain cists? X Gandharan Grave Culture 13 Chewdhok cists X Gandharan Grave Culture 14 Jashagha Goal cists X Gandharan Grave Culture 15 Basnak cists? X Gandharan Grave C:ulture 16 Balanguru, Rarnbour cist x Gandharan Grave Culture 17 Chakguru, Kambour cist? X Gandharan Grave Culture 18 Bala Hisar cists X Gandharan Grave Culture

TABLE2. Chitral Archaeological Survey: surrirriary of sites 652 NEWS & NOTES

FIGURE3. Gandharan Grave site at Kolo Gree [Site 9), showing stone lined burial pit and orthostats.

Conclusion refutes Wheeler’s hyper-diffusionistic models The results of our single season in Chitral are [Wheeler 19621 and further strengthens the case significant and the density of archaeological for the indigenous development of South Asia’s remains indicates that further research should second urbanization (Coningham 1995).Another be undertaken. This should take two forms, interesting speculation, though one that can- firstly the systematic location and mapping of not be pursued at present, is the presence of sites in order to test our initial suggestions con- Gandharan Grave sites in Afghanistan. Although cerning cultural affinity, site location; and sec- none have been published, given the location ondly, the excavation of selected sites. The latter and density of sites to the east of the border it would allow formal comparisons with published is likely that this pattern extends over a con- Gandharan Grave sites, and contribute to the siderable part of northwest Afghanistan. Such development of a new model of social organi- a pattern would allow us to test whether Chitral, zation and change in the northwest region of a peripheral area today, was the centre of this south Asia during the late Iron Age. Indeed, cultural development in antiquity; however, the early 1st millennium BC radiocarbon dates such a hypothesis can only be tested once the from excavations at the Bala Hisar of Charsadda, volatile political and military environment of in combination with ‘burnished red ware’ and the region abates. rippled rim vessels from its sequence, now pro- vides clear continuity between the Gandharan Acknowledgemenfs. The aiithnrs wonlrl like to thank Drs Grave culture and the development of the Early Peter and Azra Meadow, urganiszers of the Intcrnational Hindu Kush Expeditinn; Gill Rahim Khan, Mohammad Historic cities (Ali ef a]. 1998).Predating Per- Naeem and Q. Naeeni Khan. archaeological team members, sian contact by several centuries, this evidence University of Peshawar, Pakistan; Professor F.A. Diirrani NEWS & NOTES 653 and nr F. Swati, liniversity of Peshawar, Pakistan: Sir David their financial support: The Royal Geographical Society; Dain; and Steve Cheshire, Oxford Archaeological Unit, for The Arts and Humanities Research Board; The Society for the map. South Asian Studies (The British Academy); The Univer- We would also like to acaowledge the following for sity of Bradford; The University of Peshawar; and IJNESCO.

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