Type: Archaeological Site - Stupa & Monastery
Province: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District: Lower Dir
Period: Historic
Relative Chronology: 1st - 5th Century CE
Description: This important Buddhist site falls about 7 km north of Chakdara on right hand while, traveling from Chakdara to Dir and a little more than 1 km south of Ochh Village and opposite the modern village of Gulabad. The site roughly measures 106.6m by 38.1m. An original monastery was much bigger in size, with the monastic cells excavated on southern side. Later, in the second period it was reduced and limited only to its western half. The eastern portion was reserved for the votive stupas of two different varieties: (a) those which have off-set projection and (b) those which have no off-set projections but were obviously built later. The building remains are described in three parts: (a) the main stupa, (b) the votive stupas, and (c) the monastic area on the south. The square base of the high main stupa with square plinth and with some remains of its domical superstructure makes an elegant effect. From the top of this main stupa, a general view of the plain surrounded by the hills. To the west, immediately at the foot, votive stupas are observed, bounded by a wall on the east and another wall on the west. Beyond the western wall lie the remains of the monastic cells of the last period just behind the two standing men. On the left can be seen two walls of the earliest monastic complex just by the side of the votive stupas. The staircase of the main stupa is from the west of which 16 steps have survived. The main stupa stands on a square plinth, measuring 36.5 m each side with an off-set projection 10 m long by 5.2 m wide for steps on the west. The projection is in two stages, the first stage is 3.9 m long and 7.8 m wide and the next stage is 6 m long and 5.2 m wide. A later platform, covered the projection of the first stage. This projection was originally faced with ashlar stones just the main stupa was, and the plinth mouldings of the stupa was also carried around it. But the steps with their stone flagging have now totally disappeared, leaving behind a gradual slope with stones jutting here and there. The steps actually lead to a higher platform, 10feet wide, provided circumambulatory passage around the circular dome of the stupa. The stupa base, in the last two periods, was a perfect square rising to a height of 5.9 m from the first floor level. The first floor level had a paved floor 1.3 m wide all round the base, enabling the pilgrims to circumambulate the stupa on this ground level. Above the paved floor the stupa base wall was faced with ashlar stones and plastered with lime 1.2 cm thick. At a height of 0.75 m of the plinth half-round mouldings start, and then there is a gap. The second series of mouldings can be seen above this gap. On the south-western side, the facing ashlar stones are standing to the greatest height, 3 m high. A number of holes for iron dowels to hold the sculptures can be seen at the south-western corner. At the corners of the plinth, schist pillars with brackets once strengthened the points and there were possibly more in between for fixing panels but they are all now gone. At a later period, this whole plinth area was filled up with rammed earth to a height of 1 m with diaper stone facing for providing a circumambulatory passage on a higher level. The second circumambulatory passage is 5.3 m wide and the dome has a diameter of 17 m. In all, there are 14 votive stupas. Two of them, are removed from the others and are placed at the north-west corner of the main stupa, not in consonance with the usual alignment. These are the remains of the earliest votive stupas. Both are square in shape. Only three stone courses of the plinth are preserved. Each of them have a stone footing and are faced with ashlar stones. The remaining 12 votive stupas lie in an irregular enclosure and occupy the eastern part of the original monastic area, thus reducing the monastic space in the second period. These stupas are of two varieties (a) those which have off-set projection for the steps and (b) those which are just squares without any projection. According to Prof. Ahmad Hasan Dani, the principal excavator of this site, the earliest monastic area was a rectangular 58.5 by 29.5 m with thick boundary walls on the north and west, measuring 1.14 m wide, built of diaper stone masonry. The boundary wall has been traced in a few places but the earliest monastic cells have all vanished except a few remnants on the southern line. This monastic area was reduced in the second period by almost half the size by a zigzag wall that separates the space from the votive stupas. In this period a buttress was added to its northwest corner. It is in the north-western side of the monastic areas that excavation was mainly concentrated. Here, there was a covered verandah 8.8 m long by 3.6 m wide, with one pillar base still preserved. On two sides there are rooms. The masonry is rather poor. At a later stage, probably in the third period, the pillar base was incorporated in a wall that closed the verandah and gave an additional room. In this period on the topmost part behind the northern wall, a few more walls were erected probably to give shelter to a reduce number of monks.
Latitude: 34.872222222
Longitude: 71.876666667
Ownership: Private
Legal Status: Not Protected
Title of Publication: A Survey of Lower Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (former North West Frontier Province), Pakistan (2005)
Published In: Pakistan Heritage, Vol 2, 2010, Hazara University
Year of Publication: 2010
Bibliography/Reference: Ali, Ihsan, etal
