2300-year-old Buddhist temple found in Pakistan

(ORDO NEWS) — The ruins of a 2,300-year-old Buddhist temple have been unearthed by archaeologists in Swat District in northwestern Pakistan. Here, an Italian-Pakistani team of scientists is excavating the ruins of the Buddhist city of Bazira. The Arkeonews portal tells about the excavations in detail.

In addition, a few days earlier, Italian scientists announced the discovery of the Shahi Vishnuite temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In addition to the temple, archaeologists have unearthed over 2,700 other artifacts from the Buddhist period, including coins, rings, pots and inscriptions in the Charost language from the period of the Greek king Menander.

A recent discovery of artifacts in the city of Bazira has proven that Swat was a sacred site for several religious denominations.

“This is an important discovery, especially in relation to religious tolerance and multiculturalism in Gandhara,” said Abdul Samad Khan, the region’s chief archaeologist.

The kingdom of Gandhara arose on the territory of northwestern Pakistan and modern eastern Afghanistan about 2 thousand years ago, and disappeared after a thousand years.

Throughout its history, the city of Swat has constantly passed from hand to hand of the Hindu, Buddhist and Indo-Greek rulers who came to the region from Greece along with Alexander the Great.

Abdul Samad Khan believes that the opening of Hindu and Buddhist temples is evidence that either the followers of these religions lived together in this region, or built multi-level structures one after another.

—

Online:

Contact us: [email protected]

Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.