Bhamala Stupa ( ur, ) is a ruined Buddhist

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circum ...

and National Heritage Site near Haripur,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

that dates to the 2nd century CE. It is located on the bank of

Haro River Haro ( ur, ) is the name of a river that flows through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Punjab. Its main valley is in Abbottabad District in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northern Pakistan. The famous Khanpur Dam has been b ...

, a tributary of a

Khanpur Dam Khanpur Dam is a dam located on the Haro River in Khanpur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about 50 km from Islamabad. It forms Khanpur Lake, a reservoir which supplies drinking water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi and irrigation water to many of the a ...

, and is a tourist destination. Bhamala stupa is part of the larger Bhamala Buddhist Complex. The site is known for its 1,700 year old statue of the Buddha attaining enlightenment - considered the oldest such statue in the world.

Excavation

Sir Sufian Malik and Sir John Marshall first excavated the site in 1929, and work continued until the early 1930s. Excavations resumed in 2017. It is nominated at UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The nomination lead to the restoration of the ruins (mainly the Stupa). The site, as of June 2015, is under the control of Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Government of Pakistan. The site is believed to be one of the best preserved sites in the Taxila Valley. Ancient Buddha Statue, Bhamala Stupa

The stupa has a characteristic

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

plan, with flights of stairs in the four cardinal directions, which is one of the last steps of the evolution of the

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...

stupa, the preceding steps being:
1) the

Dharmarajika Stupa The Dharmarajika Stupa ( ur, ), also referred to as the Great Stupa of Taxila, is a Buddhist stupa near Taxila, Pakistan. It was built over the relics of the Buddha by Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. The stupa, along with the large monastic c ...

with a near-Indian design of a semi-hemispheric stupa almost directly on the ground surface,
2) the Classic

Loriyan Tangai Loriyan Tangai is an archaeological site in the Gandhara area of Pakistan, consisting of many stupas and religious buildings where many Buddhist statues were discovered. The stupas were excavated by Alexander Caddy in 1896, and the many statues of ...

Stupa, with an elongated shape and many narrative reliefs,
3) the near-pyramidal

Jaulian Jaulian ( ur, جولیاں; meaning ''Seat of Saints'') is a ruined Buddhist monastery dating from the 2nd century CE, located in Taxila, in Pakistan. Jaulian, along with the nearby monastery at Mohra Muradu, form part of the Ruins of Taxila&nb ...

stupa.After Le Huu Phuoc, Buddhist Architecture, Grafikol 2009, p.179 The cruciform design further evolved to the towering design of the second Kanishka stupa. The Bhamala stupa is dated to the 2nd-5th century CE.

Specifications

According to the current understandings, the shape of main stupa is cruciform and it is the biggest surviving example of this shape in Taxila and Gandhara region. The stupa is cross shaped and looks like an Aztec Pyramid. There are about nineteen but small votive stupas in courtyard surrounding the main stupa. Bhamala Site-Haripur.jpg, Smaller votive stupas. Bhamala Stupa, Pakistan.jpg, Monastery cells. Bhamala Stupa.jpg Bhamala stupa excavation.jpg, A Gandharan sculpture being excavated.

References

{{Cultural heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , state=expanded Haripur District Archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Excavation

Specifications

See also

References