Resistance at the Edge of Empires by Cameron A. Petrie

Author:Cameron A. Petrie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Published: 2020-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Surveyed sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab

In addition to the excavated sites that have occupation dating to the first millennium BC and the first and early second millennia AD, there is a significant number of sites that have been observed during survey reconnaissance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Many of these sites are known from the historical sources but, as yet, no excavation has been conducted in order to provide any definition for the phasing of their occupation. It is not necessary to review all the published survey data but several other sites are worth mentioning.

In his discussion of the known remains dating to the Hindu-Shahi period, Rehman (1979: 266–281) recorded a number of late first-millennium AD sites in addition to those that have been discussed above, including a number that had previously been reported and attributed by Cunningham. For instance, Cunningham was the first to report a number of structures and temples in the Salt Range at Amb, Malot, Katas, and Baghanwala (Nandana), and estimated that they dated between AD 650 and 900 on the basis of the style of temple architecture (Rehman 1979: 266). However, Meister (1996) and Rehman (1997) have since discussed the architecture of these temples, and Meister has suggested that they fit into the idiosyncratic school of Gandhara-Nagara architecture, which was developing between the sixth and the eleventh centuries AD (Meister 1996: 41). This school also includes the temples at Mari, Kallar, and Kathwai (Meister 1996). As such, these structures were supposedly constructed progressively during the periods of Hephthalite, Turkic, Turki-Shahi, and Hindu-Shahi rule. Rehman (1979: 285) suggested that Hindu temples were not numerous under the Turki-Shahis but became so after the revolution of Kallar in AD 843. However, Rehman does concede that the existence of Hindu sculptures dating to the Turki-Shahis indicates that it is likely that Brahmanism was practised alongside Buddhism (Rehman 1979: 298). Kuwayama (1976; 1992a, 2002d, 2002e) has shown that Brahmanical sculptures from a number of sites in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including Khair Khaneh and Gardez, can be dated to the reign of the Turki-Shahis.

The site of Amb has been described as a fortress and contains a number of temple ruins (Meister 1996: 50). Malot was also a fortress, protected by its precipitous location and high walls and towers (Rehman 1979: 270–272). The Malot enclosure contains a temple and a gateway, both in ‘Kashmiri’ style (Rehman 1979: 271). The Katas temples and sub-shrines have been dated to the sixth and seventh centuries AD (Meister 1996: 43), while the site of Nandana became the stronghold of the Hindu-Shahis after the loss of Hund (Rehman 1979: 273). It is situated on top of a ridge, is also surrounded by a fortification wall with semi-circular bastions and has a ruined Hindu temple and mosque (Rehman 1979: 274). As no excavations were conducted at these sites, the chronology of the temples is based entirely on architectural and decorative parallels. This also means that there is no indication of precisely when the fortifications around these structures were constructed.

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