Department of Archaeology
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Latest Discoveries in the Cultural Heritage of Ancient Gandhara and Other Parts of Pakistan Main Stupa at Najigram, Swat Valley September 4 - 6, 2005 Swat DEPARTMENTUniversity OF of ARCHAEOLOGY Peshawar Ancient Pakistan, Vol. XVII - 2006 Symposium CONTENTS Title Page Introduction, Aims and Objective and other related Information (Pre-scheduled 46 programme) ....................................................................................................................... Ethnic Profile of Gandhara ……..................................................................................... Abdur Rehman and Shah Nazar Khan 75 Terracotta Female Figurines from Protohistoric Swat …………….........................… 83 Arundhati Banerji Monsoon Preparation Work at DK-G Area Moenjodaro During 2005 ……………… 91 Muhammad Safdar Khan The Darel Valley: the Chinese Sources and the Field Research (1998-2004)……….. 101 Haruko Tsuchiya Fascinating Discoveries from Buddhist Sanctuary of Badalpur, District Haripur, Taxila Valley …………………………………………………………………………… 119 Muhammad Arif and M.H.Khan Khattak Kaka Khel Ancestor Adam Baba and his Tomb at Karboga (Kohat) N.W.F.P ……… 127 Shakirullah and Gul Rahim Khan Ghaligai Hill Engravings Reveal a Personification of “Uttarasena” (King of Uddiyana): A New Thought …………………………………………………………… 133 Badshah Sardar A Copper Hoard of the Great Kusanas ……………………………………………… 139 Gul Rahim Khan Lower Palaeolithic in the Soan Valley, Rawalpindi, Pakistan …………………….. Muhammad Salim 159 Glimpses of the International Symposium in Pictures ……………….…………….. 167 Note: Out of thirty two presentations (see pp.70-72), only the above nine papers were received for publication. 45 Ancient Pakistan, Vol. XVII - 2006 Symposium INTRODUCTION Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar The Department of Archaeology was established in 1962 by the University of Peshawar under the founding Chairman Professor Ahmad Hasan Dani, an archaeologist of international repute. Apart from regular M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees awarding programme, the Department is thoroughly engaged in field oriented research throughout the Province. Its graduates are now occupying key positions in various administrative and teaching institutions in and abroad. Some of them have been awarded medals like Sitara-e-Imtiaz and fellowships at universities in abroad due to their solid contributions in their respective field of research. Graduates of this Department have founded teaching departments at the universities of Khairpur, Karachi and the Punjab. The sitting directors of the Punjab and the North West Frontier Provinces are trained here, while several others occupy important positions in the Federal and Provincial institutions in the Country. Research activities of the Department have not only increased awareness among the people, but also have strengthened the process of preservation of our tangible heritage and indirectly helped in enhancing the economy of the country. Since its inception the discoveries of the Department in various fields have crowned the University of Peshawar with a good name nationally as well as internationally. The first stunning discovery was that of Sanghao Cave which was excavated by Professor Dani in 1963 and is the first ever and earliest evidence of the Middle Stone Age settlements in South Asia. The next important discovery was Shaikhan Dheri in Charsadda, so far the oldest Buddhist site of the Peshawar Valley. Simultaneously in 1964 Gandhara Grave Culture at Thana, Timar Gara and Balambat in Malakand Division was discovered and the sites excavated. It was A.H. Dani who named this culture as such for the first time, prior to which the Italians referred it to Assakenoi and dated it to the time of Alexander of Macedonia. Radio carbon (C14) dating confirmed Dani’s theory who had already suggested chronological sequence of the graves from 1750 – 500 BC, dividing it in three periods. Another important achievement of the Department was excavation of different Buddhist sites of Andhan Dheri, Chatpat, Bambolai, Damkot and others in the Adinzai valley that ultimately led to the establishment of Chakdara Museum in District Dir. On the basis of systematic excavations over here, Professor A. H. Dani developed his theory of the origin of Gandhara Art. In early seventies late Professor Farzand Ali Durrani of the Department explored some Neolithic and Protohistoric sites like Gumla, Hathala and the famous site of Rehman Dheri in the Gomal Valley that has a far reaching impact on the history of archaeology of the subcontinent. Also in the early seventies under the supervision of Professor Farid Khan important discoveries of Pre and Protohistoric sites such as Islam Chawki, Sheri Khan Tarakai, Lak Largai, Lewan and others were made in the Bannu Basin. In 1981 and 1982 two grand international symposia in the Pearl Continental Hotel Peshawar were held solely by the Department in which more than 120 delegates including 40 foreigners participated at each event. Apart from this a number of national conferences, workshops and extension lectures have been organised periodically. In early 1980s a salvage operation under Gandhara Archaeological Project was conducted on a large scale in the Swat valley to explore and excavate potential Buddhist sites. The most important sites excavated under this project are Loebanr, Parrai, Chargpatai, Butkara III and Shnaisha. Making the excavated Buddhist art pieces in relation to their archaeological context as a base, Professor Muhammad Farooq Swati conducted an intensive research on the origin of Buddhist Art (Gandhara 46 Ancient Pakistan, Vol. XVII - 2006 Symposium Art) that led to Ph.D. dissertation of the University of Cambridge. According to the new hypothesis he presented, the origin of the Gandhara Art took place on the soil of Swat valley sometime in the 3rd Century BC that ultimately evolved into the emergence of Gandhara Art and Civilisation at the end of the 1st Century AD. Sharing some broad characteristic features, the Buddhist art extending from the Indus Valley to that of the Oxus in the Northwest is termed as the Indus Oxus School of Buddhist Art. This vast peace of land, due to regional and bio-cultural diversity, can be divided into various art styles akin to specific regions such as Udiyana, Gandhara, Kapisa and Bactria. He also discovered zonal artistic workshops, each active in its respective zone furnishing and refurbishing religious sites throughout the life time of Buddhism in the valley. While active in executing the Gandhara Archaeological Project, Professor Abdur Rahman and Professor Farid Khan of the Department conducted exploration in the nearby regions of Dir, Bajaur, and Buner enlisting a number of Buddhist sites over there. Professor Abdur Rahman also conducted archaeological surveys in the Peshawar valley and the districts of Chitral, Kohat and D.I.Khan and discovered a number of new Buddhist, prehistoric and historic period sites. Professor Taj Ali an authority on Muslim Art, Architecture and archaeology of Pakistan conducted his research on the origin of early Muslim architecture in the sub-continent and was awarded Ph.D. degree by the University of Bonn, Germany, in 1986. Presently on deputation to Berlin in Germany he is working as Professor on Iqbal Chair. The Ancient land routs of the Peshawar Valley have been traced by Professor Ihsan Ali through an intensive survey of the valley discovering hundreds of settlement and religious sites. He is awarded a Ph.D. degree by the University of Cambridge on his prime work. Presently on deputation to the provincial Directorate of Archaeology, he is engaged in strengthening the foundation of Archaeology by constructing museums in various districts and conducting exploratory, documentary and research activities in the Province. Dr. M. Nasim Khan an energetic staff member of the Department has been conducting research on diverse fields such as rock art and painting, ancient writing, numismatics and archaeology of the NWFP. Recently his most important work at Kashmir Smast in District Mardan has completely changed a century long concept of the British, Japanese, Italian and Pakistani scholars. All of them assigned the ruins and artefacts from the site to the Buddhist period. Contrary to them, the wisdom of his experience, knowledge and hard work, Nasim Khan declared it a Hindu religious site. The distinguished features of the site and artefacts disclose them among the earliest of their kind ante dating similar Hindu cultural remains by a couple of centuries anywhere in South Asia. On his quality research, he has been awarded with several fellowships by various institutions, including the Royal Asiatic Society. Currently, the Department is engaged at least in 40 different individual projects most of them leading to Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees. Research conducted by the faculty is regularly published in its bulletin, Ancient Pakistan, which is widely known for its quality work. Artefacts from Prehistoric, Protohistoric and Historic period sites down to the Muslim Period retrieved through excavations from all over the Province are housed in the newly constructed University Museum (Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology). Although the establishment of the Museum goes back to 1963, the construction of its new building (completed in 1998) is a precious gift of late Professor Farzand Ali Durrani to the University of Peshawar. It not only provides recreation and education to the general