Butkara Stupa

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Butkara Stupa is an ancient Buddhist monument near Mingora in Swat, Pakistan. It probably began in the 2nd century BCE, possibly built during Ashoka’s reign, though dating is not certain. The stupa was enlarged five times over the centuries, each time covering and rebuilding the earlier structure.

In 1956, an Italian archaeological team led by Domenico Faccenna began careful excavations to understand how the stupa was built and expanded. They showed that the stupa received Greco-Buddhist decorations in the 2nd century BCE, indicating the influence of Indo-Greek rulers. An Indo-Corinthian capital found at the site, depicting a Buddha figure among foliage, held a reliquary and a coin of Azes II at its base, dating the sculpture to before 20 BCE. Nearby Barikot fortifications are thought to be contemporary.

Many artifacts from Butkara are kept in Turin’s National Museum of Oriental Art and in the City Museum of Ancient Oriental Art (MAO). The oldest core layer (GSt 1) yielded a Chandragupta Maurya coin, dating to Ashokan times. The second layer (GSt 2) produced a coin of Menander I. The third layer (GSt 3) contained a coin of Azes II, dating to the end of the 1st century BCE or the start of the 1st century CE. The fourth layer (GSt 4) held late Azes II coins and coins of Kushan ruler Kujula Kadphises.

The stupa also preserves one of the earliest known seated Buddha statues from northwestern India, dating to the late 1st century BCE to early 1st century CE, or possibly the 1st–2nd century CE. This shows the early development of Buddhist image art in the region.