The Amb Temples (), locally known as Amb Sharif (; ''"Noble Amb"''), are part of an abandoned

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple complex on the Sakesar mountain, located at the western edge of the

Salt Range The Salt Range ( and Namkistan نمکستان) is a mountain range in the north of Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau and the north ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

province. Although foundations go back to the period of

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbe ...

, the temple complex was built in the 9th to 10th centuries CE during the reign of the

Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis, also referred to as the Kabul Shahis and Uḍi Śāhis, were a dynasty established between 843 CE and 1026 CE. They endured multiple waves of conquests for nearly two centuries and their core territory was described as having c ...

empire.

Location

The ruins are located near Amb Sharef village, on Sakesar mountain in the Soon Valley of

. The ruins form the westernmost ruins of a string of Hindu temples in the

mountains that includes the

Katas Raj Temples The Katas Raj Temples (Punjabi language, Punjabi: شری کٹاس راج مندر, Urdu: شری کٹاس راج مندر), also known as Qila Katas (Punjabi language, Punjabi: قلعہ کٹاس, Urdu: قلعہ کٹاس), is a complex of several H ...

and

Tilla Jogian Tilla Jogian (; , meaning "hill of Jogi (caste), jogis "), also known as Balnath Tilla or Gorakh Tilla, is an abandoned Hindu temple and monastic complex located on the summit of the ''Tilla Jogian'' mountain in the Salt Range in the Jhelum Distr ...

monastic complex.

Architecture

The main temple is roughly 15 to 20 metres tall, and built out of brick and mortar on a square

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

. It is regarded as the "loftiest" of temples built by the Hindu Shahi empire. The temple ruins have three stories, with stairwells leading to inner ambulatories. The temple is decorated with Kashmiri style motifs on its exterior, including a cusped niche. The structure of the main temple, differs from Kashmiri temples which typically have pointed tops. The main temple is instead similar in style to the nearby ''Kalar'' temple, and

Kafir Kot Kafir Kot or Kafirkot (; ) is an ancient Hindu temple complex in the Dera Ismail Khan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It consists of the ruins of five temples and a large fort. It was an ancient Hindu fort with a famous ...

temple in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province. To the west about 75 metres lies another smaller temple, which is 2 story or 7 to 8 meters high, situated near a cliff. The temple features a small vestibule chamber facing towards the main temple. It was a few metres from a second similarly sized temple, which no longer exists. The entire temple complex was surrounded by a fortification, with the earliest construction at the site dating to the late Kushan period.

Conservation

The site was visited by

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Sappers who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly crea ...

in the late 19th century, and was partly conserved in 1922-24 by Daya Ram Sahni. The temple had been looted over the centuries. The last remaining statuary was taken in the late 19th century and placed in the

Lahore Museum The Lahore Museum (; ) is a museum located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location on The Mall in Lahore during the British colonial period, Lahore Museum is Pakistan's larg ...

. The site is currently protected by Pakistan's ''Antiquities Act (1975)''.

Gallery

File:Amb_Temple_in_Soon_Sakasar_Valley_Khushab_at_sunset.jpg, The main temple File:AMB Temples, three temples inside fort big temple side view.jpg, The main temple features a Kashmiri-style cusped archway File:Amb Temple in Soon Sakasar Valley Khushab by Usman Ghani.jpg, A view of the smaller temple with its vestibule chamber File:AMB Temples, three temples inside fort big temple side architectural features.jpg, The base of the main temple File:AMB_Temples,_three_temples_inside_fort_big_temple_corner_plinth_view.jpg, A view of the main temple's plinth

References

Hindu temples in Sindh {{Pakistan-struct-stub

Location

Architecture

Conservation

Gallery

See also

References