Archaeological sites of Pakistan (last part)
SHAHBAZ GHARI
Shahbaz Garhi located in Mardan district, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Shahbaz Garhi is situated on the junction of three ancient routes; first from Kabul to Pushkalavati, second to Swat through Buner, and third to Taxila through Hund on the bank of Indus River. Situated on the modern Mardan-Swabi Road, the town was once a thriving Buddhist city surrounded by monasteries and stupas.
This area has following archaeological sites:
Ashokan Inscriptions
Rock edicts of Ashoka (272-231 BC) were carved on two rocks on a hill. This edict was inscribed in Kharoshthi script.
Stupas to Commemorate the legend of Prince Visvantara
According to one Buddhist legend, Buddha in one of his previous life as Prince Visvantara gave in charity a white miraculous elephant that have the power to produce rain to neighbouring hostile country suffering from draught. His own people banished him. Prince with his wife and two children lived on Mekha-Sanda Hill. Later he gave his two sons to a Brahman in charity who sold them in the market of Shahbaz Garhi. Grandfather of the children recognized his grandchildren and acts of charity of the Prince were recognized by his people and invited him back to the city. Two stupas were built to commemorate these acts by which the Prince achieved dana paramita (Perfection of Charity).
Japanese team in 1960’s excavated sites of this legend as per directions given by Sun Yung and Xuan Zang who visited in 520 AD and 630 AD respectively.
The stupa at Chank Dheri commemorate the while elephant. Sahri Stupa commemorated Prince Visvantara giving up his children. There are ruins of stupa and monasteries on the hill of Mekha-Sanda.
According to a Buddhist legend Buddha in one of his previous life visited this area as Prince Sudana, means ‘of noble charity’. The surrounding plain is still known as Sudana Plain.
SIRAJ-JI-TAKRI
Siraj-ji-Takri or Seeraj-ji-Takri is a Buddhist archaeological site located in Sindh, Pakistan. The Buddhist city of Siraj-ji-Takri is located along the western limestone terraces of the Rohri Hills in the Khairpur District of Upper Sindh, along the road that leads to Sorah. Its ruins are still visible on the top of three different mesas, in the form of stone and mud-brick walls and small mounds, whilst other architectural remains were observed along the slopes of the hills in the 1980’s. This city is not mentioned from any text dealing with the history of the Buddhist period of Sindh.
SOKHTA KOH
The coastal Harappan site at Sokhta Koh, 'burnt hill' (also known as Sotka Koh) was first surveyed by an American archaeologist George F Dales in 1960, while exploring estuaries along the Makran coast, Balochistan, Pakistan. The site is located about 15 miles north of Pasni. A similar site at Sutkagen-dor lies about 30 miles inland, astride Dasht River, north of Jiwani. Their position along a coastline (that was possibly much farther inland) goes well with evidence of overseas commerce in Harappan times. Based on pottery styles, it is estimated that the settlement belongs to the Mature Harappan (Integration) Era (2600-1900 BC).
Topography
Sokhta Koh is an outcrop of low hillocks in the Shadi Kaur (river) valley, surrounded by jagged, stratified hills north of Pasni. Presently, the river flows just next to the site while loops of old riverbeds meander nearby. Small rivulets and 'nullahs' mostly fed by rainwater, empty into Shadi Kaur, itself rather anaemic in the stark and dry countryside.
While the hillocks are about two miles in circuit, the visible remnants of the settlement, which occupy the south-eastern portion, are less than a mile around. The settlement itself is difficult to appreciate from the ground since no structures stand out in relief. Except for a few sporadic digs, the site has not been extensively excavated.
Dry ravines, which mark out the northern and southern boundaries, traverse the site. Also visible are signs of numerous open-pit ovens buried under rubble. Another noteworthy point is the lack of visible evidence of walled fortification.
Buildings
In the absence of detailed digging, little can be said about the architecture and buildings. However, at several places, erosion by elements reveals remnants of rooms in which stratified rock was used as a base, over which mud or mud-brick walls were raised. Absence of baked bricks, despite a well-established pottery industry, indicates that rainfall may have been low and hence not a threat to mud structures. Riverine flooding, if any, was also probably not a factor due to the siting of the settlement atop hillocks. An aerial view gives a clear indication of rectangular room foundations as well as alignment with the cardinal points of the compass.
Pottery
The site is strewn all over by hundreds of thousands of potsherds which constitute the visible detritus of the extinct settlement. Scores of open pit ovens for firing the pottery can also be discerned. It is tempting to think of this vast pottery-making industry as a sort of a 'packaging facility' for perishable commodities that were exported in exchange for luxury goods. The sherds are of kiln-baked ware that includes jars, plates, pierced colanders, lids with knobs and fine terra cotta bangle-shaped pieces. The pottery is wheel-turned and mostly pink, with a few buff samples. Some wares, particularly jars, have a reddish glazed band around the neck. The designs are a decorative feature of most pottery and are only of black colour. Designs are restricted to geometrical shapes and include horizontal lines of varying thickness, fish scale patterns, intersecting circles, comb-like patterns and wavy lines. Human and animal motifs are notably absent. 'Potters marks' are evident on the rims of some jars and pots. The complete absence of toys, seals, statues and jewellery, at least at the uppermost level, indicate a rather utilitarian environment. Further excavation is bound to reveal at least some elements that might mitigate the seeming socio-cultural isolation of this Harappan outpost.
Abandonment & Relocation
Sokhta Koh may have been abandoned due to recession of coast caused by one or more of following reasons:
- Gradual or catastrophic tectonic uplift
- Deposition of alluvial soil/silt in Shadi Kaur delta
- Deposition of sand on beach and in the estuary by wave action
Evidence of ruins of another location nearer to the sea, at the mouth of Shadi Kaur, seems to indicate possible relocation after the estuary harbour at Sokhta Koh had dried up due to coastal recession. Discovery of a harbour, as well as the source of firewood for large-scale pottery firing would be significant challenges for future excavations.
Significance as a Trading Outpost
Chris J D Kostman in his paper, The Indus Valley Civilization: In Search of Those Elusive Centers and Peripheries, discusses:
"A primary, if not the primary, rationale for long-range trade driving force would be a need for 'luxury goods,' raw materials, and other items not found in the riverine alluvial plain which made up the vast majority of the Indus Civilization. In the Indus Valley, sought-after materials included copper, gold, silver, tin, jasper and agate cherts, carnelian, azurite, lapis, fine shell, steatite, antimony, and ivory. Forays would have been made towards and beyond the civilization's peripheral areas to obtain these goods. At the minimum, then, there is an economic motive for inter-regional travel. Silvio Durante's study (1979) of marine shells from India and their appearance in the archaeological record in such distant sites as Tepe Yahya and Shahr-i-Sokhta in Iran, as well as in the Indus Valley, sheds light on the ancient trading routes of certain types of shells which are specifically and exclusively found along the Indian coastline proper. Durante primarily discusses the marine shell Xancus pyrum and the fact that it was traded whole and intact, then worked or reworked
at its destination site, perhaps then moving on to other locations. The importance of this specific shell is that Xancus pyrum has a very limited geographic distribution and thus has almost the same significance in the field of shells as that of lapis lazuli in the context of mineral resources (as regards the determination of the possible routes along which a locally unavailable raw material is transported from a well-defined place of origin to the place where it is processed and, as also in the case of Xancus pyrum, consumed). Perhaps, as these shells crossed so many cultural hands, they were left unworked in order for the final owner or consumer to work the raw material into a style and usage specific to their region. Durante offers four possible trade routes from their gathering zone along the west and northwest Indian coast to destinations west: sea route direct to the Iranian coastal area; sea route to Sutkagen-dor and Sotka-koh on the Makran coast, then overland westwards; overland through the Indus plain and then through the Makran interior to Sistan; overland through the Indus Valley and then through the Gomal Valley to Sistan."
SUKTAGAN DOR
The westernmost known site of Indus Valley Civilization was Sutkagan Dor. It is located about 480 KM west of Karachi on Makran coast near the Iran border in Baluchistan. A defensive wall of 30 feet wide exists. Though inland, may have been near navigable water in ancient times and on a trade route between other centers.
TAKHT-I-BAHI
Takht-i-Bahi or Takht Bahai is a site of historical importance in the Mardan District of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. It contains the remains of a famous Buddhist monastery from the 1st century CE and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Takht means "throne" and bahi, "water" or "spring" in Persian/Urdu. The monastic complex was called Takht-i-Bahi because it was built atop a hill and also adjacent to a stream.
Takhtbai is the most fertile tehsile in the Mardan Division, There are many crops grown in the Takht Bai Tehsile, some of which are tobacco, wheat and sugar cane. Asia's first sugar mill was built here by the British Government near the Buddhist monastery.
TAXILA
Taxila is an important archaeological site in Pakistan containing the ruins of the Gandhāran city and university of Takshashila (also Takkasila or Taxila) an important Vedic/Hindu and Buddhist centre of learning from the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. In 1980, Taxila was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site with multiple locations.
Historically, Taxila lay at the crossroads of three major trade routes: the royal highway from Pāṭaliputra; the north-western route through Bactria, Kāpiśa, and Puṣkalāvatī (Peshawar); and the route from Kashmir and Central Asia, via Śrinigar, Mānsehrā, and the Haripur valley across the Khunjerab pass to the Silk Road.
Today, Taxila is located in the western region of the Islamabad Capital Territory—to the northwest of Rawalpindi and on the border of the Punjab and North West Frontier Provinces—about 30 kilometres west-northwest of Islamabad, just off the Grand Trunk Road.
History
Legend has it that Taksha an ancient Indian king who ruled in a kingdom called Taksha Khanda (Tashkent) founded the city of Takshashila. The word Takshashila, in Sanskrit means "belonging to the King Taksha". Taksha was the son of Bharata and Mandavi, historical characters who appear in the Indian epic Ramayana.
Ahmad Hasan Dani and Saifur Rahman Dar trace the etymology of Taxila to a tribe called the Takka. According to Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, "Taxila" is related to "Takṣaka," which means "carpenter" and is an alternative name for the Nāga.
- c. 518 BCE– Darius the Great annexes the North-West of the Indian-Subcontinent (modern day Pakistan), including Taxila, to the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
- ~450 BC, Herodotus makes reference to Greek influences in this area. The language used in the area is bilingual for the better part of a 1000 years, with Greek being the second language.
- 326 BCE– Alexander the Great receives submission of Āmbhi, king of Taxila, and afterwards defeats Porus at the Jhelum River.
- c. 317 BCE – In quick succession, Alexander's general Eudemus and then the satrap Peithon withdraw from India. Candragupta, founder of the Mauryan empire, then makes himself master of the Punjab. Candragupta Maurya's advisor Kautilya (also known as Chanakya) was a teacher at Taxila.
- During the reign of Chandragupta's grandson Aśoka, Taxila became a great Buddhist centre of learning. Nonetheless, Taxila was briefly the center of a minor local rebellion, subdued only a few years after its onset.
- 185 BCE– The last Maurya emperor, Bṛhadratha, is assassinated by his general, Puṣyamitra Śunga, during a parade of his troops.
- 183 BCE– Demetrios conquers Gandhāra, the Punjab and the Indus valley. He builds his new capital, Sirkap, on the opposite bank of the river from Taxila. During this new period of Bactrian Greek rule, several dynasties (like Antialcidas) likely ruled from the city as their capital. During lulls in Greek rule, the city managed profitably on its own, managed independently and controlled by several local trade guilds, who also minted most of the city's autonomous coinage.
- c. 90 BCE– The Indo-Scythian chief Maues overthrows the last Greek king of Taxila.
- c. 25 CE – Gondophares, founder of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, conquers Taxila and makes it his capital. (This date conflicts with the year 46 AD stated by Prof. M. M. Ninan).
- c. 33-52 CE Thomas the Apostle is contracted as a carpenter for a construction project for Gondophares.
- 76– The date of and inscription found at Taxila of 'Great King, King of Kings, Son of God, the Kushana' (maharaja rajatiraja devaputra Kushana).
- c. 460–470– The Ephthalites sweep over Gandhāra and the Punjab; wholesale destruction of Buddhist monasteries and stūpas at Taxila, which never again recovers.
Before the fall of these ancient invader-kings in India, Taxila had been variously a regional and national capital for many dynasties, and a true center of learning for Vedic learning, Buddhists,Classical Hindus, and a possible population of Greeks that may have endured for centuries.
The British archaeologist Sir John Marshall conducted excavations over a period of twenty years in Taxila.
Taxila today
Present day Taxila is one of the six Tehsils (sub-district) of Rawalpindi District. It is spread over an undulating land in the periphery of the Pothohar Plateau of the Punjab. Situated just out side the capital Islamabad's territory and communicating with it through Tarnol pass of Margalla Hills, Taxila is a mix of posh urban and rustic rural environs. Urban residential areas are in the form of small neat and clean colonies populated by the workers of heavy industries, educational institutes and hospitals that are located in the area.
The industries include heavy machine factories and industrial complex, ordnance factories of Wah Cantt and cement factory. Heavy Industries Taxila is also based here. Small, cottage and house hold industries include stone ware, pottery and foot wear. People try to relate the present day stone ware craft to the tradition of sculpture making that existed here before the advent of Islam.
In addition to the ruins of Gandhara civilization and ancient Buddhist/Hindu culture, relics of Mughal gardens and vestiges of historical Grand Trunk Road, which was built by Emperor Sher Shah Suri in 15th-16th centuries AD, are also found in Taxila region.
Taxila museum, dedicated mainly to the remains of Gandhara civilization, is also worth visiting.
A hotel of the tourism deparment offers reasonably good services and hospitality to the tourists.
Taxila has many educational intitutes including University of Engineering and Technology (UET). Thomas is still honored in Taxila in an annual festival in early July, attended by thousands, celebrating the passage of his bones through Taxila on their way to Edessa.
Ancient centre of learning
Takshashila's was an early center of learning going back to the 5th century BCE. Takkasila is also mentioned in several Jātaka stories, written in Sri Lanka around 500 CE.
Taxila is significant in Buddhist tradition because it is believedthat the Mahāyāna sect of Buddhism was founded there. The Sanskrit grammarian Pānini, the political theorist Kautilya and the Ayurvedic healer Charaka studied at Taxila at various points in time. Kautilya, who later became adviser to the founder of the Mauryan empire, is said to have composed his treatise on statecraft the Arthaśāstra in Taxila.
TULAMBA
Tulamba is a small city in PakistaniPunjab. A native of Tulamba is referred to as a Tulmabvi. It's situated on the eastern edge of the Ravi River, between the cities of Abdul Hakeem and Mian Channu. Earlier it belonged to the district of Multan, but in 1985 Tulamba was included in the newly made district of Khanewal. Tulamba's population is nearly 50,000. Spoken language is RachnaviPunjabi (also called Jangli).
History
Tulamba is more than 2500 years old. People say that Tulamba was here even in the era of Noah. Tulamba faced many armies as it was in the way to famous Multan. The forces coming from North and West had to pass from Tulamba to go to Multan.
On digging, five eras are known. The first era belongs to Moi tribe. The remaining four belong to Greek, Sasani, Budh, Hindu and Muslim civilizations. From Aplodots Sir Megas to Muhammad Ghauri, the coins of several governments were found here.
When Alexander (the great) invaded Indian Sub-Continent, he also came to Tulamba. In that time, Tulamba was ruled by Moi people. They were very brave and courageous, that's why Alexandar faced big difficulties here but at last succeeded.
The ancestor of Mughals, Taimur-e-Lang also invaded Tulamba. At that time Tulamba was called Tulma.
The history of Muslims begins with Muhammad bin Qasim when he came to Tulamba in his way to Multan. The place from where he passed is now called Qasim Bazar.
Sher Shah Suri built a Fort right in the center of the city, whose boundary wall and some building is still there. The Girls High School and the offices of Town Committie are present in the Fort.
The ruins of older city are on a distance of one kilometer from the city. Though they are in miserable condition due to rains and negligence, but their bricks are still visible. When Dr. Sayyed Zahid Ali Wasti visited Tulamba in 1967, he saw the ruins spread in the area of several miles. He saw a Fort with walls and a very high Tower. He saw a three thousand years old trench around the fort which was dig for the protection of the fort. He describes that walls were beautifully plastered with mud and floors were not solid. Yet most of his description is now unpredictable, because ruins are very much destroyed now.
Geography and Climate
Tulamba is situated on the eastern edge of river Ravi at the distance of 100Km from Multan. It's coordinates are following.
Longitude: 72°13'E
Latitude: 30°33'N
The climate of Tulamba is good. The summer season is very hot followed by a big series of rains. The winter season is very cool and often foggy. Overall the climate is good for living.
Culture, Lifestyle and Economy
Tulamba is a formal punjabi city. Usual dress is Shalwar Qameez, Dhoti (Tehband) is also popular. Old people keep Pagri or Safa on their head. All the houses are built with solid bricks and concrete. Lifestyle is modern, the use of electric and electronic equipments is common.
Major works are Farming and Trading. Many people are serving in Government in Private sector.
Popular sports are Kabaddi, Kushti (wrestling), Gulli Danda, Cricket.
Educational Institutions
There is a Government Girls Higher Secondary School for girls and a Government High School for boys in Tulamba. One Primary School and a Middle School (called bohar wala school) is also there. Two public schools are also working.
Sites of Interest
The Ruins are present on the edge of the city. The Sidhnai Canal and a point on the edge of river Ravi (called T) are also good for picnic.
Transportation
Tulamba is linked with Multan and Lahore through N-5 National Highway which is on a 15 minutes drive from Tulamba.
There are two more ways to go to Multan, one is through Abdul Hakeem and other is through Makhdoom Pur and KabirWala.
Facilities and Problems
Tulamba is rapidly becoming a developed city. The facilities of Fresh Water, Electricity, Telephone and Internet are easily available. The only problem is that Tulamba is still avoided the Natural Gas. The Gas pipeline passes quite nearly but Tulamba is not given Gas. This is the only problem here.
Crops, Fruits and Land ownership
The land of Tulamba is suitable for every crop. Crops include Wheat, Cotton, Sugar-Cane and vegetables. Fruits include Mango, Orange, etc.
There is no feudal system in Tulamba. People are free to have as much land as they want. Some people work themselves on their lands, others have workers employed to work on their lands.
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