Type: Archaeological Site - Settlement
Province: Punjab
District: Chiniot
Period: Historic
Relative Chronology: 6th Century BCE - 11th Century CE
Description: There are two Historical Sites (Rocks) one at Alif Mohallah and the other at Chungi No.1, Tehsil Chiniot. According to Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro Rock art is found in many regions of Pakistan, but Punjab has only few reported rock art sites which are mainly located in Sargodha, Chiniot and Attock districts. The rock art sites of Chiniot are located about 8 km west of Chiniot town at Chenab Nagar, formerly called Chak Dighain in Lalian tehsil. Chenab Nagar is famous for the scenic beauty of the Chiniot or Chenab Nagar hills that surround the town. But unfortunately the hills are almost gone due to excessive quarrying in the area. This quarrying has also damaged the cultural heritage of Chenab Nagar. The hills, which are part of Kiryana Hill complex, are located on the right bank of the Chenab River. These hills are host to a number of archaeological sites, of which the most prominent are the rock art sites which lie in west and the east of the hills. The eastern rock art site is locally called Gorakh Nath Astan, and the western rock art site is locally known as Kot Amir Shah, have almost been destroyed by stone-crushers and quarrying. There exists a rock shelter over the top of the hill at the Gorakh Nath Astan which contains many engravings belonging to different periods. On way to a rock shelter of Gorakh Nath Astan, one finds another rock art site where there are a numerous petroglyphs of horse riders. The most interesting petroglyph is that of the Sun deity which is engraved close to the petroglyphs of horse riders. At this rock art site at Kot Amir Shah, the riders are shown standing on horseback, a style which was very peculiar to the White Huns (Hepthalites). In fact, a recurrent theme in the rock art of Chenab Nagar is the horse rider. The riders are not in a seated position but are shown standing on their horses. The horses have decoration on their bodies, which suggests Iranian influence on these rock carvings. Decoration on the horse was main feature in Achaemenids and Sassanian Art. Similar petroglyphs can be seen in the Hodur and Chilas rock art sites in Gilgit-Baltistan and in Khirthar in Sindh. One finds a lion image with decorations on its shoulder at Hodur and a horse with marking on the body at Chilas II. Similar decoration can be seen on most of the horses at both the rock art sites of Gorakh Nath Astan and Kot Amir Shah in the Chiniot hills. Apart from horsemen, there are many combat-related images at both sites. One can also notice Zoroastrian symbols, notably the rings of Ahura Mazda, on the rock shelter at Gorakh Nath Astan. There are at least four images of tower-like stupas at the Gorakh Nath Astan. One of the stupas has a streamer. A few remains of stupas in Chenab Nagar show that this area was also once inhabited by the Buddhist community. Some coins of Kushan period have also been found from Chenab Nagar. Some petroglyphs of giant human figures are also engraved at the Kot Amir Shah rock art site. These giant figures belong to prehistoric period and signify deities, demons or shamans. Another theme in rock art of Chiniot is shoe-prints. Shoe print petroglyphs are only found at the Gorakh Nath Astan. One also finds hand prints at this site. There are also engravings of flowers and discs at both the rock art sites of Gorakh Nath Astan and Kot Amir Shah.
Latitude: 31.754872250
Longitude: 72.951743106
Ownership: Government of Punjab
Legal Status: Protected by The Punjab Special Premises (Preservation), Ordinance, 1985
Title of Publication: List of Protected Sites and Monuments in Punjab under Antiquties Act 1975 & Special Premises Ordinance 1985
Published In: https://www.thefridaytimes.com/rock-art-of-chiniot/ - Accessed on 20.10.2021)
Year of Publication: 2021 (Retrieved)
Bibliography/Reference: Anonymous
