Sirkap
Site notes | |
---|---|
Archaeologists | Sir John Marshall |
Official name | Taxila |
Criteria | iii, iv |
Designated | 1980 |
Reference no. | 139 |
Sirkap (
The city of Sirkap was built by the
Archaeological excavations
The excavation of the old city was carried out under the supervision of
Greek city
The site of Sirkap was built according to the "
Numerous Hellenistic artifacts have been found, in particular coins of Greco-Bactrian kings and stone palettes representing Greek mythological scenes. Some of them are purely Hellenistic, others indicate an evolution of the
Following its construction by the Greeks, the city was further rebuilt during the incursions of the
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AKetossea-monster, stone palette, Sirkap, 2nd century BC.
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Harpocrates, Late Hellenistic, Sirkap.
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Head of Dionysus, Sirkap
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Dionysus, Sirkap.
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Statue of aHellenisticcouple, Sirkap.
Religious buildings
The site of Sirkap bears witness to the city-building activity of the
Round stupa
One round Stupa is present at Sirkap. It is one of the oldest Stupas in the Indian-Subcontinent. It is assumed that this Stupa was uprooted and thrown to its present location by a strong earthquake in the 1st century AD. When the new city was built later, the Stupa was kept by building a protecting wall around it.
Apsidal Temple
The building that is known as the Apsidal Temple is the largest sanctuary of Sirkap, measuring about 70 by 40 meters (230 by 130 ft) (by contrast: the Parthenon in Athens is 70 by 31 meters (230 by 102 ft)). The Apsidal Temple consists of a square nave with several rooms, used by the Buddhist monks, and a circular room, which gives the building its apsidal shape. After the earthquake that destroyed the city in c. 30 AD, the Buddhist shrine was built in a spacious courtyard. The round part was probably in use for a small stupa, but no traces of it remain. Some carvings were probably done by an artist from Greece.
Double-Headed Eagle Stupa
A special Stupa at Sirkap is the so-called 'Double-Headed Eagle Stupa'. The pilasters here are of a Greek design, "Corinthian columns". In the middle arch, a Greek temple is shown; in the outer, a shrine of a Hindu design can be seen. On top of these sanctuaries, a Double-headed eagle is seated from which the name of the Stupa has been derived. This motif is rather odd, to say the least, as it is originally Babylonian. It seems to have spread to Scythia, and introduced in the Punjab by the Saka rulers.
Dharmarajika Stupa
The nearby
Visit by Apollonius of Tyana
The Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana is related to have visited ancient India, and specifically the city of Taxila in the 1st century AD. He describes constructions of the Greek type, probably referring to Sirkap:
- "Taxila, they tell us, is about as big as Nineveh, and was fortified fairly well after the manner of Greek cities".[5]
- "I have already described the way in which the city is walled, but they say that it was divided up into narrow streets in the same irregular manner as in Athens, and that the houses were built in such a way that if you look at them from outside they had only one story, while if you went into one of them, you at once found subterranean chambers extending as far below the level of the earth as did the chambers above."[6]
Gallery
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A well at Sirkap.
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AJain Templeat Sirkap.
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A possible Jain Stupa.[7]
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The Apsidal Temple at Sirkap.
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Streets of the Sirkap City.
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A Stupa from the 1st century BC.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-90-04-24832-8.
- ^ Samad 2011, p. 71.
- ^ "Dharmarajika: The Great Stupa of Taxila". GoUNESCO. UNESCO. 1 September 2016. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ISBN 9780521196062. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ "(Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 20)". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "(Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 23)". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ISBN 9789004315518.
- Samad, Rafi U. (2011), The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys, Algora Publishing, ISBN 9780875868592