Jamal Garhi

Jamal Garhi
View of Jamal Garhi from the Buddhist ruins.
Shown within Pakistan
Location Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Coordinates 34°19′N 72°04′E / 34.317°N 72.067°E / 34.317; 72.067Coordinates: 34°19′N 72°04′E / 34.317°N 72.067°E / 34.317; 72.067
Type Settlement
Stupa drum panel showing the conception of the Buddha: Queen Maya dreams of a white elephant entering her right side, 100-300 AD, carved schist, Jamal Garhi, British Museum
Indo-Corinthian capital from Jamal Garhi

Jamal Garhi is a small town located 13 kilometers from Mardan at Katlang-Mardan road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northern Pakistan. Jamal Garhi was a Buddhist monastery from the first until the fifth century AD at a time when Buddhism flourished in this part of the Indian subcontinent. There is a beautiful monastery and main stupa, surrounded by chapels closely packed together.[1] The site is called ‘The Jamal Garhi Kandarat or Kafiro Kote’ by the locals.

Discovery

The ruins of Jamal Garhi were first discovered by the British explorer and archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham in 1848. The stupa at the site was opened by Colonel Lumsden in 1852 but little of value was found at the time[2]. In 1871, the site was excavated by Lieutenant Cromten, who unearthed a large number of Buddhist sculptures which are now part of the collections of the British Museum[3] and the Indian Museum in Calcutta. At the monastery a Kharoshti inscription was also discovered which is now kept in Peshawar Museum.

Ruins

Sculptural remains

See also

References

  1. "Jamal Garhi".
  2. Cunningham, Alexander (1875). Jamal Garhi, Archaeological Survey of India 5, Report for the year 1872-73. pp. 46–53.
  3. British Museum Collection
  4. British Museum Collection
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.