UN News: Heritage Sites Around the World

www.punjab-info.fsnet.co.uk/taxila.html

Pakistan’s Taxila Valley On The

Ancient Silk Route

Thirty kilometres northwest of Rawalpindi out along the Grand Trunk Road lies Taxila, one of the most important archaeological sites in the whole of Asia.

Situated strategically on a branch of the Silk Road, which linked China to the West, the city flourished both economically and culturally. Taxila reached its greatest heights between the 1st and 5th centuries A.D.

Buddhist monuments were erected throughout the Taxila Valley, which was transformed into a religious heartland and a destination for pilgrims from as far afield as Central Asia and China.

Undoubtedly badly shaken by the arrival of Huns into the area in the mid-5th century A.D., the city plunged into decline when quarrels among the nobility undermined royal power in the 6th and 7th centuries. The remains of the valley can still be visited today where many Buddhists monasteries and temples still stand.

Taxila Valley, proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, consisted of three cities – Bhir Mound, Sirkap and Dharmarajika.

Settlements in Bhir Mound date from 6th century B.C. The city does not seem to be pre-planned as compared to other urban sites, but there is evidence of considerable sophistication.

The eastern part of the city so far excavated appears to have been chiefly a residential area. The western part, by contrast, appears to have had ceremonial importance.  Crucial to this interpretation is the so-called Pillared Hall and its structure suggests that, here on Bhir Mound, may have been the earliest Hindu shrine yet discovered.

The city of Sirkap, or "Severed Head", is to be found spreading down the Hathial Spur and onto the plains of the Taxila Valley. The present layout of the city was established by the Greeks sometime around 180 B.C. and takes the form of a wide and open grid system. The city is encompassed by an almighty wall over five kilometres long and up to six metres thick. A number of temples and monasteries can be found here such as Apsidal Temple, Sun Temple, Shrine of the Double Headed Eagle, Kunala Monastery and Ghai Monastery.

The major attraction in Dharmarajika is the Great Stupa, one of the largest and most impressive in Pakistan, which is located two kilometres east of Bhir Mound and Sirkap. The chapels and chambers around the Great Stupa were built at various times from the 1st century B.C. to the post Kushan period. These structures display a wide range of designs and probably they were donated by pilgrims and possibly represent various schools of Buddhism.

Other sites of interest include the city of Sirsukh, which is believed to belong to the Kushan period. To the north of Sirkap are four temples, all standing on earlier mounds and overlooking the city. They are all in the style of Greek temples. The best to visit is the one at Jandial, 1.5 kilometres north of Sirkap. There are several more Buddhist monasteries, which are worth a visit too.

The archaeological museum at Taxila is a real treasure house. Its collection of coins, jewellery, relics, and gold and silver caskets alone are worth a King's ransom. But its real glory comes from stone and stucco. Its impressive collection will help you get to know the Lord Buddha better.

The ivy-covered, Gothic-style museum is set in a picturesque garden. There is in the central hall a plaster cast of the stupa topped with seven umbrellas found in Mohra Moradu. A relief map of the valley pinpoints the location for the different excavated sites.

There are rows of cases filled with the famed sculptures, stucco reliefs, stones, plaster and terra-cotta figures, glass tiles and such objects as toilet articles, seats, beads, bark manuscripts, silver utensils, carpentry tools, surgical instruments and much else.