New exploration in the Chitral Valley, Pakistan: an extension of the Gandharan Grave culture.

New exploration in the Chitral Valley, Pakistan: an extension of the Gandharan Grave culture. Introduction During 1999 the International Hindu Kush Hindu Kush(hĭn`d ksh), a high mountain system, extending c. Expedition, funded by theRoyal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 with the name Geographical Society of London for the advancement of geographical science, under the patronage of King William IV. , conducted fieldwork in the Chitral Valley.The objective of the expedition was to study the impact of mountainrivers on human and natural activity (Meadows pers.comm.). Theexpedition included an archaeological team to examine the potential ofsurveying settlement sites. Given the scarcity of previousarchaeological investigation, this was an important opportunity todefine the location, number and type of sites in the middle ChitralValley. It should be emphasized that this was a preliminary exploration,and in addition to time constraints, the volatile political situationand the nature of the terrain limited the survey. However, even withthese restraints, the number of known Gandharan Grave culture sites inthe valley was doubled. The wealth of archaeology that was recordedjustifies future investment in field seasons and systematic survey. Chitral is one of the most isolated regions in Pakistan. Located inthe extreme northwest of the North West Frontier Province, it has theAfghan provinces of Badakshan to the west and Wakhan to the north, theNorthern Areas of Pakistan to the east, and the Districts of Dir andSwat Swat(swät), district of the Malakand division, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Saidu Sharif is the capital. The largely inaccessible region is reached by air and through mountain passes from the south and east. to the south. There are more than 40 peaks over 6000 m in ChitralDistrict, and these Contrast with valleys that plunge more than 900 mbelow the main settlements (Dichter 1967: 40-42; Haserodt 1996: 3).Extremes of terrain and climate have resulted in water resources playingan important role in shaping social organization, in addition toinfluencing settlement and subsistence patterns (Haserodt 1996: 9;Israrud-Din 1996: 19; Young et al. 2000: 138). This role has led to theclustering of settlement on the fertile Pleistocene fluvio-glacialterraces and alluvial fans, as opposed to the arid and rocky slopes(FIGURE 1; Haserodt 1996: 5; Stacu 11969a: 92). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Due to its position in the Hindu Kush, Chitral is accessible onlyby high passes, of which the most important are the Lowari (3118 m) andthe Shandur (3374 m). These links with Pakistan are closed betweenSeptember and April by snow and rain, although it is possible to divertwestwards into Afghanistan following the line of the Chitral riverbefore crossing back into Pakistan. Despite its modern isolation andextreme terrain, Chitral was less remote in the past and its positionmade it an important transit corridor between south, central and westernAsia. The historical significance of this feature, a section of thefamous Silk Road Silk RoadAncient trade route that linked China with Europe. Originally a caravan route and used from c. 100 BC, the 4,000-mi (6,400-km) road started in Xi'an, China, followed the Great Wall to the northwest, climbed the Pamir Mtns. , is attested by scholars who have identified it as asignificant channel for trade and the movement of ideas and people(Stein 1921). The Gandharan Grave culture The Gandharan Grave culture is the name given by Dani (1992: 395)to the protohistoric cemeteries that were first noted in an areaapproximately corresponding to ancient Gandhara--the easternmost satrapy sa��tra��py?n. pl. sa��tra��pies1. The territory or sphere under the rule of a satrap.2. A nation, state, territory, or area controlled as if by a satrap: or province of the Achaemenid Empire Parameter not given Error...''Template needs its first parameter as beg[in], mid[dle], or end. Parameter not given Error... . Stacul (1987), however, prefers torefer to the sites as protohistoric or pre-Buddhist cemeteries.Excavations in Dir, at Balambat and Timargarha (Dani 1967), and in Swatat Aligrama, Bir-kot-ghundai, Kalakoderay and Loebanr I (Stacul 1987)suggest a homogeneous culture, represented by similar grave and burialpatterns, pottery assemblages, and other artefacts (Dani 1992:407-8,415; Stacul 1989: 322). This core of Gandharan sites was extended north to Chitral byStacul's (1969a) brief survey and excavation, east to the Indus(Stacul 1987: 64-5; 1966) and south to the Vale of Peshawar (Khan 1973:34). It should also be noted that no comparative research has beencarried out in Afghanistan, but it is now highly likely that sites willbe found on the Afghan side of the border. The cemetery site of SaraiKhola, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, has also been assigned bysome to the culture (Allchin 1995: 125). Further affinities have beenrecorded with prehistoric burial sites in regions as distant as thesouthern Himalayas of Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh(`tär prä`dĭsh), state (2001 provisional pop. 166,052,859), 92,804 sq mi (240,363 sq km), N central India. The capital is Lucknow. (Agrawal et al. 1995: 552). Althoughthe extent of the culture may be expanded to a region far greater thanthe extent of the satrapy of Gandhara, the term Gandharan Grave culturehas been retained here for ease of reference. The similarity in grave construction, burial patterns and potteryassemblages, combined with stratigraphic stra��tig��ra��phy?n.The study of rock strata, especially the distribution, deposition, and age of sedimentary rocks.strat excavation, has allowed theconstruction of both internal phasing at each site, and a relativechronology. Despite the different dating schemes used by differentprojects (Dani 1967; Stacul 1987; 1969b), the correlation between siteshas allowed the development of a chronology based, in part, on revisedradiocarbon dates (TABLE 1). Interpretations of the Gandharan Grave culture Previous interpretations have suggested that the culture wasintroduced into the region by incoming groups, possibly Indo-Aryanspeaking peoples (Allchin & Allchin 1982: 349; Dani 1978: 52-3;Stacu 11969b: 86-7). These interpretations use a combination of modernlinguistic patterns, hypothetical language families, the Rigveda and theconcept of a post-Harappan dark age (Mallory 1989; Dani 1992; Parpola1994), all of which are open to question. An alternative, that ofindigenous development, is supported by evidence from recent excavationand exploration, and the re-interpretation of existing material(Coningham 1995; Shaffer 1993). In parallel, Stacul has recentlyidentified a continuum within the Swat valley from c. 1700-400 BC, andnow supports the concept of an indigenous development for the culture.He suggests that the distinctive funerary fu��ner��ar��y?adj.Of or suitable for a funeral or burial.[Latin fner monuments may have beendeveloped in response to increasing agricultural intensification andpopulation pressure (Stacul 1987: 68-9, 121). Archaeological survey in Chitral Due to the limitations identified above, little research has beenpreviously carried out within Chitral, with the exception ofStacul's single season in 1968 when he discovered a number ofprotohistoric cemeteries close to Chitral town (Stacul 1969a: 93-5). Henoted the contrast between the fertile terraces and fans and the `veryarid and stony nature of the valley' and the frequency of thecemeteries within the former (Stacul 1969a: 92). Comparisons of the newgraves' construction methods and associated artefacts led Stacul tosuggest that they belonged to the `Gandharan Grave culture'. Thisconclusion was strengthened by Allchin's study of Iron Age ceramicvessels from the modern town of Ayun (Allchin 1970). Our own preliminary survey in 1999 was restricted to the middleChitral valley between Ayun and Chitral Town (FIGURE 2), building onStacul's earlier work, augmented by a brief survey in the Rambourvalley. During two weeks of survey, 18 sites were identified and it isclear that most may be assigned to the Gandharan Grave culture (TABLE2). This attribution is based upon similarities between artefacts fromillicit excavations at a number of surveyed sites in Chitral, as well asstructural details exposed at those sites, and published material fromSwat (Stacul 1987) and Dir (Dani 1967). For example, the circular pits,marked by circular rings of boulders, containing rectangular cists atKolo Kolo (meaning "wheel" in some Slavic languages) may refer to one of the following: Kolo (dance), a Serbian/Croatian circle dance Koło County, a county in Poland Koło, a Polish town and seat of Koło County KOLO-TV, in Reno, Nevada Gree (Site 9) (FIGURE 3) have parallels with Timagarha (Dani 1967)and Zarif Karuna (Khan 1973). Further analogies may be made between twofiddle-shaped terracotta human figurines and a `burnished bur��nish?tr.v. bur��nished, bur��nish��ing, bur��nish��es1. To make smooth or glossy by or as if by rubbing; polish.2. To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish.n. red ware'bowl on stand from Lashtotak (Site 4), and specimens recovered fromTimargarha and the basal levels of the Early Historic city, the BalaHisar of Charsadda (Wheeler 1962; Ali et al. 1998). [FIGURES 2-3 OMITTED] The discovery of 15 new sites, affiliated with the Gandharan Graveculture, is significant as it doubles the number of the sites in theregion. It is also interesting to note that although most were locatedwithin the fans and terraces of the valley bottoms, as observed byStacul (1969a: 92), the remaining five were recorded on the arid androcky slopes above. Indeed, it is more likely that sites will bedisturbed within the fans and terraces as these are intensivelycultivated today. The presence of two sites within the extremely narrowand inaccessible Rambour valley extends the distribution of GandharanGrave sites to the very borders of Afghanistan. In comparison with our knowledge of the archaeology of Dir andSwat, the sequence in Chitral is still uncertain and models have placedthese valleys as marginal in terms of contact and development whencompared with regions to the north and south (Dani 1992: 415,419; Tusa1979: 690-91). However, evidence from Dir (Dani 1967) and Swat (Stacul1997: 344; 1989: 322) suggests that these valleys were engaging inlong-distance trade of both goods and ideas in prehistoric times, hadsophisticated subsistence strategies and were in regular contact withadjacent regions (Ali et al. 1998). The confirmation of a concentration of Gandharan graves in Chitralhas important implications, not only for the prehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to of Chitral, butalso for the northwest of the subcontinent. Not only is this the mostnortherly discovery of these sites, but it is evident that they arepresent in significant numbers and concentration. This suggests that theGandharan Grave culture was well established here, reinforcing the ideathat the entire valley system was central to this cultural development,rather than remote or marginal; a development which resulted in theemergence of early urban forms such as Hathial and the Bala Hisar ofCharsadda on the plains in the beginning of the 1st millennium BC (Aliet al. 1998). Within Chitral, the occupation of three valleys by the non-MuslimKalasha is also very important and the contrast between the Kalasha andtheir neighbours has been described as a `remarkable example of culturalresistance at the end of this twentieth century' (Loude 1996: 329).One of the intriguing questions of social identity in Chitral is theorigin of the Kalasha. While most research has focussed on linguisticreconstruction Linguistic reconstruction is the practice of establishing the features of the unattested ancestor (proto-language) of one or more given languages. There are two kinds of reconstruction. (e.g. Cacopardo 1996; Dani 1992; Parkes 1996), littlework has been carried out in terms of archaeological research. ouridentification of the presence of Gandharan Grave sites within theKalasha valleys has interesting implications for the prehistory of thisarea. Conclusion The results of our single season in Chitral are significant and thedensity of archaeological remains indicates that further research shouldbe undertaken. This should take two forms, firstly the systematiclocation and mapping of sites in order to test our initial suggestionsconcerning cultural affinity, site location; and secondly, theexcavation of selected sites. The latter would allow formal comparisonswith published Gandharan Grave sites, and contribute to the developmentof a new model of social organization and change in the northwest region This article is about the region in Pennsylvania. For the area of the United States of America, see Pacific Northwest.The Northwest Region of south Asia during the late Iron Age. Indeed, the early 1st millenniumBC radiocarbon dates from excavations at the Bala Hisar of Charsadda, incombination with `burnished red ware' and rippled rim vessels fromits sequence, now provides clear continuity between the Gandharan Graveculture and the development of the Early Historic cities (Ali et al.1998). Predating Persian contact by several centuries, this evidencerefutes Wheeler's hyper-diffusionistic models (Wheeler 1962) andfurther strengthens the case for the indigenous development of SouthAsia's second urbanization (Coningham 1995). Another interestingspeculation, though one that cannot be pursued at present, is thepresence of Gandharan Grave sites in Afghanistan. Although none havebeen published, given the location and density of sites to the east ofthe border it is likely that this pattern extends over a considerablepart of northwest Afghanistan. Such a pattern would allow us to testwhether Chitral, a peripheral area today, was the centre of thiscultural development in antiquity; however, such a hypothesis can onlybe tested once the volatile political and military environment of theregion abates.TABLE 1. Summary chronology of Swat & Dir Protohistoric sites.period(Swat [sup.14]C date interpreta-chro- site (cal BC) source tionnology)IV Aligrama 1360-1300 Stacul 1987 1710-1690 Stacul 1987 1210-1090 Possehl 1994 Chalcolithic Loebanr III 1730-1600 Stacul 1987 1560-1225 Possehl 1994 Chalcolithic Timargarha 15th-14th century Dani 1967 1590-1470 Possehl 1994 prehistoric necropolisV Aligrama 1540-655 Possehl 1994 protohistoric Timargarha 8th-9th century Dani 1967 Achaemenid 1000-800 Possehl 1994 protohistoric necropolisN.B. only sites with radiocarbon dates have been includedTABLE 2. Chitral Archaeological Survey: summary of sitesno. name structures fan/terrace 1 Broz Tamunyak cists? X 2 Thuryandeh, Ayun cists X 3 Sangoor cists X 4 Lashtotak, Ayun cists X 5 Saham Junah, Ayun cists? X 6 Noghoor Gree buildings/wall 7 Sangoor, Chakasht cists 8 Gahirat cists 9 Kolo Gree cists/circle10 Noghorzum buildings/wall11 Lawar (Larsar) buildings/wall12 Koghuzi/Zukhshain cists? X13 Chewdhok cists X14 Jashagha Goal cists X15 Basnak cists? X16 Balanguru, Rambour cist17 Chakguru, Rambour cist?18 Bala Hisar cists Xno. name slope period 1 Broz Tamunyak Gandharan Grave Culture? 2 Thuryandeh, Ayun Gandharan Grave Culture 3 Sangoor Gandharan Grave Culture 4 Lashtotak, Ayun Gandharan Grave Culture 5 Saham Junah, Ayun Gandharan Grave Culture 6 Noghoor Gree X Historic Fort? 7 Sangoor, Chakasht X Gandharan Grave Culture 8 Gahirat X Gandharan Grave Culture 9 Kolo Gree X Gandharan Grave Culture10 Noghorzum X Historic Fort?11 Lawar (Larsar) X Historic Fort?12 Koghuzi/Zukhshain Gandharan Grave Culture13 Chewdhok Gandharan Grave Culture14 Jashagha Goal Gandharan Grave Culture15 Basnak Gandharan Grave Culture16 Balanguru, Rambour X Gandharan Grave Culture17 Chakguru, Rambour X Gandharan Grave Culture18 Bala Hisar Gandharan Grave Culture Acknowledgements. The authors would like to thank Drs Peter andAzra Meadow, organiszers of the International Hindu Kush Expedition; Gul gul?n.A stylized octagonal motif in Oriental rugs.[Persian, rose; see julep.] Rahim Khan, Mohammad Naeem and Q. Naeem Khan, archaeological teammembers, University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar (UOP) was established in October 1950 by the first Prime Minister of Pakistan.The University of Peshawar is a unique institution where educational facilities exist from nursery to Ph.D. , Pakistan; Professor F.A. Durrani and DrF. Swati, University of Peshawar, Pakistan; Sir David Dain; and SteveCheshire, Oxford Archaeological Unit, for the map. We would also like to acknowledge the following for their financialsupport: The Royal Geographical Society; The Arts and HumanitiesResearch Board; The Society for South Asian Studies (The BritishAcademy); The University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a university in Bradford, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. 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The site for the University was donated by a local textile manufacturer, Thomas Fielding Johnson, in order to create a living memorial for those who lost their lives in World War I. , Leicester LE1 7RH,England. Received 2 July 2001, accepted 9 January 2002, revised 7 March 2002