Shaji-ki-Dheri

1899 engraving showing the remnants of the Kanishka stupa in Shaji-ki-Dheri.

Shaji-ki-Dheri is the site of an ancient Kanishka stupa about 6 kilometers from Peshawar, Pakistan.^[1]

American archaeologist David Brainard Spooner conducted excavations there in 1908-09 for the Archaeological Survey of India leading to the identification of the Kanishka stupa dated to the 2nd century CE, and the discovery of the Kanishka casket.^[2] Spooner published a paper following the excavations: "Excavation at Shaji-ki-dheri: Annual Reports of the Archaeological Survey of India 1908–09".^[3]

Statue of the Buddha, probably Shaji-ki-Dheri.
Excavations in 1910.
Remains of the stupa.
Kanishka casket found in the ruins, British Museum.
Statue of Kubera and Hariti.
Jataka of the Bow contest.
Ground plan of the stupa.

References[]

^ The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys, Rafi U. Samad, Algora Publishing, 2011, p.146 [1]
^ The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys, Rafi U. Samad, Algora Publishing, 2011, p.146 [2]
^ The Cambridge World History: Volume 3, Early Cities in Comparative Perspective, 4000 BCE–1200 CE, Norman Yoffee, Cambridge University Press, 2015 [3]

Further reading[]

Fenet, Annick (2020): « "In other words, authentic relics of the Buddha himself !" La fouille du stūpa de Kanishka à Shāh-jī-kī-Dherī (février-mars 1909) », in S. Alaura (ed.), Digging in the archives. From the history of oriental studies to the history of ideas, Roma (Documenta Asiana XI), 2020, p. 63-90

[1] The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys, Rafi U. Samad, Algora Publishing, 2011, p.146 [1]

[2] The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys, Rafi U. Samad, Algora Publishing, 2011, p.146 [2]

[3] The Cambridge World History: Volume 3, Early Cities in Comparative Perspective, 4000 BCE–1200 CE, Norman Yoffee, Cambridge University Press, 2015 [3]

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