Italian archaeological mission discovers oldest Buddhist temple in Pakistan

A very ancient Buddhist temple, probably the oldest ever discovered, dating back to the 3rd century B.C., has been found in Pakistan, thanks to the ISMEO (Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East) Archaeological Mission in Pakistan. The discovery was made in the Swat Valley, in Barikot, and revealed to AGI by the Mission’s director himself, Professor Luca Maria Olivieri ofCa’ Foscari University of Venice - Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies.

According to the statement, this is a very important find because it reveals new details about the architectural organization and life in the ancient city, the relations between the Greek rulers of the time and Buddhism, and the spread of the religion throughout the region. “The discovery of a large religious monument founded in Indo-Greek times certainly points to a large and ancient center of worship and pilgrimage,” Olivieri explained, stressing that “the attribution to such an ancient age for Buddhism in this region is of enormous importance.”

The rediscovered temple has an apsidal podium shape with a circular cella and inner stupa, a shape so far unique and evidently harking back toIndia. Italian and Pakistani archaeologists think it may date back to at least theIndo-Greek age, thus shedding “new light on the favor with which Greek rulers already in the mid-2nd century B.C. looked upon Buddhism.” “However, we are waiting for radiocarbon data,” Olivieri added. "The monument discovered at Barikot is even older than the dynastic line of the ruler Menander. It would open up very important directions of study regarding the early expansion of Buddhism in the northwestern territories of ancient India, now in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan."

It is also thought that this latest discovery may reveal the existence of a true temple street along the axis that went up from the walls toward the acropolis. In addition to the building, a minor stupa, a cella and the podium of a monumental pillar were found on either side of the monument. Also identified was a staircase leading to the cella, reconstructed in three phases, the most recent dating to the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, from the same era as a series of rooms in the form of a pronaos that led to an entrance that opened onto a public courtyard overlooking an ancient road, probably one of the road axes leading from one of the city gates to the center of the ancient city.

Image: © Archaeological Mission to Pakistan ISMEO/Ca’ Foscari Venice.

Italian archaeological mission discovers oldest Buddhist temple in Pakistan

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