Type: Archaeological Site - Stupa & Monastery
Province: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District: Haripur
Period: Historic
Relative Chronology: 1st - 5th Century CE
Description: The important Buddhist is located near Bhamala Village on the bank of Khanpur Dam in Tehsil Khanpur off Taxila-Haripur Road not far from Khanpur town about 25 km from Taxila Museum. The huge Buddhist complex of Bhamala is surrounded on all sides by Bhamala hills and the only opening is towards northeast i.e. Khanpur Dam. It comprises Main stupa Complex, the Monastic Complex and other religious and secular buildings. of Bhamala is unique, having crossed plan of a giant square base for dome, the projections of which can be seen from all four sides. The stupa has a characteristic cruciform plan, with flights of stairs in the four cardinal directions, which is one of the last steps of the evolution of the Gandhara stupa. The main stupa is of cruciform shape and it is considered to be the biggest surviving example of this shape in the entire Gandhara region including Taxila. The excavators have described this stupa as cross shaped resembling an Aztec Pyramid. Standing in the big courtyard, this main stupa is surrounded by nineteen votive stupas and image chapels on the southeast and southwest. This unique stupa with a cruciform plan consists of a tall square base for the dome above which offset projections for the steps can be seen on all four sides. The Corinthian pilasters divide the plinth into bays. It is here on the north-northwest of the main stupa that the world’s largest ‘Maha Pari Nirvana’ statue carved in Kanjur stone measuring 14 meters in length was found on a 15 meter long platform inside a long rectangular chamber to the west of the main Stupa facing towards east, making it the largest ever statue of its kind found in the archaeological history of the greater Gandhara region. The head of this sculpture was probably removed by illegal diggers long ago and it was found headless. Its left leg and arms were also found in a damaged condition. Unfortunately, the precious and unique statue has been very badly damaged and broken into pieces due to mishandling during excavations and now its pieces are dumped at the site and reportedly some unknown expert has been hired for its restoration. The chamber that inhabited the huge Mahaparinirvana image can be accessed through three openings in the eastern wall at regular intervals. The chamber is made of stone in semi ashlars masonry. The monastery proper is located on south of the main stupa complex with a big courtyard or open space between the main stupa court and the monastery with monk cells. There is another stupa court on the extreme north with a big ruined stupa and chapels on north, south and east.
Latitude: 33.832813889
Longitude: 72.975880556
Ownership: Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Legal Status: Protected by The Antiquity Act 1975 (As amended in 1992)
Title of Publication: Archaeological Survey in Hazara Division, District Haripur (Campaign 2007-08)
Published In: Frontier Archaeology, Vol VI
Year of Publication: 2016
Bibliography/Reference: Khan, Saleh Muhammad et.al
