Alexander the Great and the later Greco-Bactrian Empire with its unique artistic
expression eventually led to the emergence of the Kushan Empire that ruled much
of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India from 30 AD to 375 AD.
It is remarkable that the common thread through that part of history
is Buddhism, which existed already in
Alexander’s
day and still lives on today. Hellenistic art, however, was soon picked up by
the Buddhist sculptors and painters to explode in fascinating and vivid artwork
that lived on to the end of Kushan dynasty in the
Gandhara civilization.
The Swat region in Pakistan
is very remote and only occasional archaeological excavations have been carried
out. Consequently, today’s discovery of a Buddhist monastery in Barikot (Bazira in antiquity) from
the 1st century AD is headline news.
It is a vast complex in the center of a small valley composed of
several stupas, meditation halls and a school where philosophy was taught. The
Buddhist monks lived in small cells cut out of the mountain walls above.
The most remarkable feature at this Abbasahib-China Buddhist site are
the fresco paintings. Six of these figures are intact and depict Buddha in different poses, including the
Namaste (greeting) pose. The frescos are not only rare, they are said to be
unique since no other example of such wall painting have been discovered so far
in the Gandhara area. It is difficult to see
the real beauty of these paintings because they are set in niches situated
right underneath the ceiling. Scholars speak of a new chapter in the historical records
of early Buddhism in Swat.
Until now, it was believed that Swat and Gandhara possessed an
important painting school but this could not be documented until these intact
murals were found. A serious plea is made to preserve this unique
archaeological site!
Overall, there seem to be approximately 150 Buddhist heritage
sites in the northwestern corner of Pakistan
alone, including the Swat Valley. So many treasures
are still hidden and awaiting to be discovered!
[Pictures from The Archaeology News Network]
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