MINGORA: Archaeologists in fresh excavations have unearthed the traces of two huge earthquakes that eventually destroyed the ancient city of Bazira at the end of 3rd century.

Barikot Ghwandai, which was mentioned by the historians of Alexander the Great as the ancient city of Bazira, was conquered by him in 327 BC. The city is mentioned as Vajirasthana in a 9th century CE Sarada inscription acquired in Barikot which is now in the Lahore Museum.

The Italian Archaeological Mission has been excavating Bazira since 1984 and the study was expanded in 2011 to an area of approximately 10,000 square metres.

The excavation has been undertaken to study the birth and death of Bazira: the beginning and end of the city.

“We found the levels of the defensive wall belonging to Indo-Greek period 2nd century BC and the traces of two huge earthquakes that eventually led the city to its end at the end of the 3rd century. The inhabitants of Bazira never recovered from the massive collapses unearthed recently,” said Dr Luca Maria Olivieri, head of the Italian Archeological Mission who is supervising the excavation carried out under the Archaeology Community Tourism (ACT) project, while talking to Dawn.

A deep pit-well was also dug during the fresh excavations. The pit-well was provided with defensive structures.

Italian Archaeological Mission has been excavating the site since 1984

Syed Niaz Ali Shah, an archaeology department representative with the ACT project, said that the fresh excavations at two different sites showed that huge collapses were witnessed by the people of Bazira. Apart from the earthquake collapses other stuff was also uncovered.

“In one site a small pit-well was uncovered which belonged to the Saka-Parthian period, probably 2000 years old,” he said.

In another excavation, a layer was found with traces of ashes, charcoal and glass pieces showing unfinished materials. “It seems that glass was being melted to manufacture either decoration items or some other stuff,” he said. He said that Bazira was the second largest excavation field after Taxila.

“Luckily, the present government has released funds for its protection and is also acquiring the land permanently which will serve as research field for archaeologist and historians and an amazing site for tourists,” he added.

Bazira is one of the few archaeological sites in Swat regularly visited by tourists. Fazal Azeem, a guard and guide at the site, claimed that tourists from Punjab and Sindh had also been visiting the site. “After return of peace and normalcy an average of 20 tourists from different parts of Pakistan visit here and the number of tourists is on the rise,” he told Dawn.

Cultural activists say that Bazira has an immense importance as an archaeological and historical treasure of Swat and the government should speed up the process of its land acquisition.

Published in Dawn, October 14th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play