Butkara Stupa - Historical Place in Mingora Swat

Abdullah Khan

The Butkara Stupa is an important Buddhist stupa in the area of Swat, Pakistan. It may have been built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, but it is generally dated slightly later to the 2nd century BCE.The stupa was enlarged on five occasions during the following centuries, every time by building over, and encapsulating, the previous structure.ExcavationThe stupa was excavated by an Italian mission, led by archaeologist Domenico Faccenna from 1956, to clarify the various steps of the construction and enlargements. The mission established that the stupa was "monumentalized" by the addition of Hellenistic architectural decorations during the 2nd century BCE, suggesting a direct involvement of the Indo-Greeks, rulers of northwestern India during that period, in the development of Greco-Buddhist architecture.An Indo-Corinthian capital representing a Buddhist devotee within foliage has been found which had a reliquary and a coins of Azes II buried at its base, securely dating the sculpture to earlier than 20 BCE.The nearby Hellenistic fortifications of Barikot are also thought to be contemporary.A large quantity of the artefacts are preserved in the National Museum of Oriental Art and the City Museum of Ancient Art in Turin's Turin City Museum of Ancient Art.

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Butkara Stupa - Historical Place in Mingora Swat