Remains of a 2300 years old Buddhist Temple has been discovered in Northwest Pakistan along with several other Buddhist artefacts by a joint team of Pakistani and Italian archaeologists. Archaeologists from the Italian Archaeological Mission known as the ISMEO have been excavating the ruins of the Bazira city from the Buddhist period in Barikot tehsil of Swat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in collaboration with archaeologists from Pakistan. A few days ago, the Italian Mission had also announced the discovery of a Shahi Vishnuite temple in its entirety in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A senior official said, “The Pakistani and Italian archaeologists during joint excavations at a historic site have discovered over 2,300 years old Apsidal temple of the Buddhist period in north-west Pakistan besides recovering other precious artefacts. The temple discovered in Swat is even older than the Temples discovered in Taxila remains of Pakistan.” The temple is said to be the oldest Buddhist temple in Pakistan.
Around 2,700 ancient artefacts from the Buddhist period including coins, rings, pots and writing of the Kharosthi language of the Greece king Menander period were unearthed during the excavation.
Andreas Ferrarese, Italian ambassador to Pakistan informed that archaeological sites in Pakistan were of great significance to different religions of the world.
Notably, Italian archaeologist Luca M. Olivieri had earlier said that a series of robbers’ pits were also explored in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and that the excavations revealed a Buddhist monument that survived the robbers’ vandalism. About another excavation in Barikot which was carried out in November 2021, Olivieri said, “we discovered a row of graves of unknown age and other archaeological features. These graves contain pottery shards and other rare finds which could date back (typologically and preliminarily) to the Indo-Greek and Saka-Parthian period.”
The Italian experts have expressed confidence that more archaeological sites will be discovered in the excavations in historic Bazira city in Swat District. Dr Abdus Samad, the director of museum and archaeology, said that Bazira city in Barikot Swat is older than Taxila remains. PhD students of top Italian Universities and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa archaeology departments were engaged in excavations of those sites.
Dr Samad informed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has purchased fourteen archaeological sites, where excavation was in progress.