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

Ali, Ihsan ; Batt, Cathy ; Coningham, Robin 等

Introduction

During 1999 the International Hindu Kush Expedition, funded by the Royal Geographical Society, conducted fieldwork in the Chitral Valley. The objective of the expedition was to study the impact of mountain rivers on human and natural activity (Meadows pers.comm.). The expedition included an archaeological team to examine the potential of surveying settlement sites. Given the scarcity of previous archaeological investigation, this was an important opportunity to define the location, number and type of sites in the middle Chitral Valley. It should be emphasized that this was a preliminary exploration, and in addition to time constraints, the volatile political situation and the nature of the terrain limited the survey. However, even with these restraints, the number of known Gandharan Grave culture sites in the valley was doubled. The wealth of archaeology that was recorded justifies future investment in field seasons and systematic survey.

Chitral is one of the most isolated regions in Pakistan. Located in the extreme northwest of the North West Frontier Province, it has the Afghan provinces of Badakshan to the west and Wakhan to the north, the Northern Areas of Pakistan to the east, and the Districts of Dir and Swat to the south. There are more than 40 peaks over 6000 m in Chitral District, and these Contrast with valleys that plunge more than 900 m below the main settlements (Dichter 1967: 40-42; Haserodt 1996: 3). Extremes of terrain and climate have resulted in water resources playing an important role in shaping social organization, in addition to influencing settlement and subsistence patterns (Haserodt 1996: 9; Israrud-Din 1996: 19; Young et al. 2000: 138). This role has led to the clustering of settlement on the fertile Pleistocene fluvio-glacial terraces 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 only by high passes, of which the most important are the Lowari (3118 m) and the Shandur (3374 m). These links with Pakistan are closed between September and April by snow and rain, although it is possible to divert westwards into Afghanistan following the line of the Chitral river before crossing back into Pakistan. Despite its modern isolation and extreme terrain, Chitral was less remote in the past and its position made it an important transit corridor between south, central and western Asia. The historical significance of this feature, a section of the famous Silk Road, is attested by scholars who have identified it as a significant 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 area approximately corresponding to ancient Gandhara--the easternmost satrapy or province of the Achaemenid Empire. Stacul (1987), however, prefers to refer to the sites as protohistoric or pre-Buddhist cemeteries. Excavations in Dir, at Balambat and Timargarha (Dani 1967), and in Swat at Aligrama, Bir-kot-ghundai, Kalakoderay and Loebanr I (Stacul 1987) suggest a homogeneous culture, represented by similar grave and burial patterns, pottery assemblages, and other artefacts (Dani 1992: 407-8,415; Stacul 1989: 322).

This core of Gandharan sites was extended north to Chitral by Stacul'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 been carried out in Afghanistan, but it is now highly likely that sites will be found on the Afghan side of the border. The cemetery site of Sarai Khola, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, has also been assigned by some to the culture (Allchin 1995: 125). Further affinities have been recorded with prehistoric burial sites in regions as distant as the southern Himalayas of Uttar Pradesh (Agrawal et al. 1995: 552). Although the extent of the culture may be expanded to a region far greater than the extent of the satrapy of Gandhara, the term Gandharan Grave culture has been retained here for ease of reference.

The similarity in grave construction, burial patterns and pottery assemblages, combined with stratigraphic excavation, has allowed the construction of both internal phasing at each site, and a relative chronology. Despite the different dating schemes used by different projects (Dani 1967; Stacul 1987; 1969b), the correlation between sites has allowed the development of a chronology based, in part, on revised radiocarbon dates (TABLE 1).

Interpretations of the Gandharan Grave culture

Previous interpretations have suggested that the culture was introduced into the region by incoming groups, possibly Indo-Aryan speaking peoples (Allchin & Allchin 1982: 349; Dani 1978: 52-3; Stacu 11969b: 86-7). These interpretations use a combination of modern linguistic patterns, hypothetical language families, the Rigveda and the concept of a post-Harappan dark age (Mallory 1989; Dani 1992; Parpola 1994), all of which are open to question. An alternative, that of indigenous development, is supported by evidence from recent excavation and exploration, and the re-interpretation of existing material (Coningham 1995; Shaffer 1993). In parallel, Stacul has recently identified a continuum within the Swat valley from c. 1700-400 BC, and now supports the concept of an indigenous development for the culture. He suggests that the distinctive funerary monuments may have been developed in response to increasing agricultural intensification and population pressure (Stacul 1987: 68-9, 121).

Archaeological survey in Chitral

Due to the limitations identified above, little research has been previously carried out within Chitral, with the exception of Stacul's single season in 1968 when he discovered a number of protohistoric cemeteries close to Chitral town (Stacul 1969a: 93-5). He noted the contrast between the fertile terraces and fans and the `very arid and stony nature of the valley' and the frequency of the cemeteries within the former (Stacul 1969a: 92). Comparisons of the new graves' construction methods and associated artefacts led Stacul to suggest that they belonged to the `Gandharan Grave culture'. This conclusion was strengthened by Allchin's study of Iron Age ceramic vessels from the modern town of Ayun (Allchin 1970).

Our own preliminary survey in 1999 was restricted to the middle Chitral valley between Ayun and Chitral Town (FIGURE 2), building on Stacul's earlier work, augmented by a brief survey in the Rambour valley. During two weeks of survey, 18 sites were identified and it is clear that most may be assigned to the Gandharan Grave culture (TABLE 2). This attribution is based upon similarities between artefacts from illicit excavations at a number of surveyed sites in Chitral, as well as structural details exposed at those sites, and published material from Swat (Stacul 1987) and Dir (Dani 1967). For example, the circular pits, marked by circular rings of boulders, containing rectangular cists at Kolo Gree (Site 9) (FIGURE 3) have parallels with Timagarha (Dani 1967) and Zarif Karuna (Khan 1973). Further analogies may be made between two fiddle-shaped terracotta human figurines and a `burnished red ware' bowl on stand from Lashtotak (Site 4), and specimens recovered from Timargarha and the basal levels of the Early Historic city, the Bala Hisar of Charsadda (Wheeler 1962; Ali et al. 1998).

[FIGURES 2-3 OMITTED]

The discovery of 15 new sites, affiliated with the Gandharan Grave culture, is significant as it doubles the number of the sites in the region. It is also interesting to note that although most were located within the fans and terraces of the valley bottoms, as observed by Stacul (1969a: 92), the remaining five were recorded on the arid and rocky slopes above. Indeed, it is more likely that sites will be disturbed within the fans and terraces as these are intensively cultivated today. The presence of two sites within the extremely narrow and inaccessible Rambour valley extends the distribution of Gandharan Grave sites to the very borders of Afghanistan.

In comparison with our knowledge of the archaeology of Dir and Swat, the sequence in Chitral is still uncertain and models have placed these valleys as marginal in terms of contact and development when compared with regions to the north and south (Dani 1992: 415,419; Tusa 1979: 690-91). However, evidence from Dir (Dani 1967) and Swat (Stacul 1997: 344; 1989: 322) suggests that these valleys were engaging in long-distance trade of both goods and ideas in prehistoric times, had sophisticated subsistence strategies and were in regular contact with adjacent regions (Ali et al. 1998).

The confirmation of a concentration of Gandharan graves in Chitral has important implications, not only for the prehistory of Chitral, but also for the northwest of the subcontinent. Not only is this the most northerly discovery of these sites, but it is evident that they are present in significant numbers and concentration. This suggests that the Gandharan Grave culture was well established here, reinforcing the idea that the entire valley system was central to this cultural development, rather than remote or marginal; a development which resulted in the emergence of early urban forms such as Hathial and the Bala Hisar of Charsadda on the plains in the beginning of the 1st millennium BC (Ali et al. 1998).

Within Chitral, the occupation of three valleys by the non-Muslim Kalasha is also very important and the contrast between the Kalasha and their neighbours has been described as a `remarkable example of cultural resistance at the end of this twentieth century' (Loude 1996: 329). One of the intriguing questions of social identity in Chitral is the origin of the Kalasha. While most research has focussed on linguistic reconstruction (e.g. Cacopardo 1996; Dani 1992; Parkes 1996), little work has been carried out in terms of archaeological research. our identification of the presence of Gandharan Grave sites within the Kalasha valleys has interesting implications for the prehistory of this area.

Conclusion

The results of our single season in Chitral are significant and the density of archaeological remains indicates that further research should be undertaken. This should take two forms, firstly the systematic location and mapping of sites in order to test our initial suggestions concerning cultural affinity, site location; and secondly, the excavation of selected sites. The latter would allow formal comparisons with published Gandharan Grave sites, and contribute to the development of a new model of social organization and change in the northwest region of south Asia during the late Iron Age. Indeed, the early 1st millennium BC radiocarbon dates from excavations at the Bala Hisar of Charsadda, in combination with `burnished red ware' and rippled rim vessels from its sequence, now provides clear continuity between the Gandharan Grave culture and the development of the Early Historic cities (Ali et al. 1998). Predating Persian contact by several centuries, this evidence refutes Wheeler's hyper-diffusionistic models (Wheeler 1962) and further strengthens the case for the indigenous development of South Asia's second urbanization (Coningham 1995). Another interesting speculation, though one that cannot be pursued at present, is the presence of Gandharan Grave sites in Afghanistan. Although none have been published, given the location and density of sites to the east of the border it is likely that this pattern extends over a considerable part of northwest Afghanistan. Such a pattern would allow us to test whether Chitral, a peripheral area today, was the centre of this cultural development in antiquity; however, such a hypothesis can only be tested once the volatile political and military environment of the region abates.

TABLE 1. Summary chronology of Swat & Dir Protohistoric sites.

period
(Swat [sup.14]C date interpreta-
chro- site (cal BC) source tion
nology)

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
 necropolis

V Aligrama 1540-655 Possehl 1994 protohistoric
 Timargarha 8th-9th
 century Dani 1967 Achaemenid
 1000-800 Possehl 1994 protohistoric
 necropolis

N.B. only sites with radiocarbon dates have been included
TABLE 2. Chitral Archaeological Survey: summary of sites

no. 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/circle
10 Noghorzum buildings/wall
11 Lawar (Larsar) buildings/wall
12 Koghuzi/Zukhshain cists? X
13 Chewdhok cists X
14 Jashagha Goal cists X
15 Basnak cists? X
16 Balanguru, Rambour cist
17 Chakguru, Rambour cist?
18 Bala Hisar cists X

no. 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 Culture
10 Noghorzum X Historic Fort?
11 Lawar (Larsar) X Historic Fort?
12 Koghuzi/Zukhshain Gandharan Grave Culture
13 Chewdhok Gandharan Grave Culture
14 Jashagha Goal Gandharan Grave Culture
15 Basnak Gandharan Grave Culture
16 Balanguru, Rambour X Gandharan Grave Culture
17 Chakguru, Rambour X Gandharan Grave Culture
18 Bala Hisar Gandharan Grave Culture

Acknowledgements. The authors would like to thank Drs Peter and Azra Meadow, organiszers of the International Hindu Kush Expedition; Gul Rahim Khan, Mohammad Naeem and Q. Naeem Khan, archaeological team members, University of Peshawar, Pakistan; Professor F.A. Durrani and Dr F. Swati, University of Peshawar, Pakistan; Sir David Dain; and Steve Cheshire, Oxford Archaeological Unit, for the map.

We would also like to acknowledge the following for their financial support: The Royal Geographical Society; The Arts and Humanities Research Board; The Society for South Asian Studies (The British Academy); The University of Bradford; The University of Peshawar; and UNESCO.

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IHSAN ALI, CATHY BATT, ROBUN CONINGHAM & RUTH YOUNG *

* Ali, Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan. Batt & Coningham, Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, England. Young, School of Archaeological Studies, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, England.

Received 2 July 2001, accepted 9 January 2002, revised 7 March 2002