Type: Archaeological Site - Stupa & Monastery
Province: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District: Haripur
Period: Historic
Relative Chronology: 1st - 5th Century CE
Description: The complex of Jaulian comprise a monastery of modrate dimensions and by its side two stupa courts on different levels i.e. the upper to the south and the lower court to the north, while there is a third and a smaller court adjacent to them on the west. The main stupa stands in the upper court, with a number of smaller stupas closely arrayed on its four sides and with lines of chapels for cult-images ranged against the four walls of the court facing towards the stupa. Other stupas and chapels, similarly disposed, stand in the lower and smaller court. The monastery contains an open quadrangle surrounded by cells, besides an ordination hall, refectory and other chambers.
Access to this complex of building was provided by three entrances: one near the north-west corner of the lower court, a second at the south-east corner of the upper court, and a third on the eastern side of the monastery. In the construction of the buildings two chief varieties of masonry are readily distinguishable. One of these is a large coarse diaper which marks the transitional stage between diaper and semi-ashlar and is characterized by the use of relatively large stones, sometimes roughly squared, to fill the interstices between the bigger boulders. Mud served as a binding material in place of lime-mortar, and the surfaces of the walls were protected by a coating of plaster made either of mud or of lime and river gravel. In the semi-ashlar work of the stupas, Kanjur stone, let in between the limestone blocks, is used for the mouldings and pilasters, and in some of these monuments, where the decoration is more than ordinarily elaborate, Kanjur along is used for the facing. In many parts of the buildings the foundations of the walls rest on the natural rock.
Modern roofs have been put over the stupas and some of the chapels in order to protect the sculptures. According to Marshall, though of small dimensions, the main stupa at Jaulian must have been very similar in appearance to that at Mohra Moradu. Much of the superstructure including the dome and all but the lowest course of the drum has now disappeared, but the lofty plinth is still standing almost to its full height and some portions of its stucco decoration have been preserved. The decorations around the stupa have greatly damaged and mainly reconstructed in relatively low quality. The figural decoration on the south, east and west sides of the plinth consists of a seated colossal Buddha in the dhynamudra occupying the bay between each pair of pilasters. All these figures, large and small have defaced to a large extent and have been restored in low quality.
Of the small subsidiary stupas there are twentyone set in close array n the upper court, five in the lower and one in the western court. These stupas are built in combination of limestone and kanjur. Their domes have perished. The scheme of decoration of the plinths of these stupas are richer and more intricate than that on the main structure. In one instance it consists only of a series of figures of Buddha in the dhyanamudra applied to perfectly plain background. In two other cases the Buddha figures were separated one from the other by Corinthian pilasters. These figures survive in very bad state of preservation. Another feature of interest presented by these stupas is the presence of inscriptions in the Kharoshthi script on the plinths of two stupas. The images and the inscriptions are badly damaged condition and in some case not even recognizable.
All the chapels are erected long the main stupa in the upper court constructed in semi-ashlar masonry. The total number of chapels in the three courts appears to have been fifty-nine, namely, thirtyone in the lower and western courts and twenty-eight in the upper, in addition to two at the entracne to the monastery and one inside it, but the number in the upper stupa court is not quite certain, since all except one on the south side had collapsed down the hill side, and owing to the variation in the size of the others it is not possible to compute their number with precision.
The monastery quadrangle court with monks’ cells is nearly 30 m internally from north to south by little more than 32 m from east to west. Cells are fronted by a broad veranda on evey side. The main entrance into the qudrangle is on the west, where it communicates with the lower stupa court. On the eastern side is another doorway leading through a chamber to the assembly hall and the other common rooms. There is a stairway on the northern side giving access to the upper story. Twentysix chambers on the ground-floor served as cells for the monks, and there must be a corresponding number of cells on the upper floor, thereby mean that this monastery accommodated some fifty-two monks provided one cell was allowed for each inmate. The cells vary in their dimensions and are somewhat irregular, the smaller ones measuring between 2.44 m to 2.74 m square, and the larger ones at the four corners the same in width by twice as much in length. The height was about 4.72 m. With the exception of one cell, all the remaining cells are provided with one or two wall niches placed at a height of 1.22 m or 1.52 m above the floor level and closed with a pointed arches.
With the exception of four cells, all have windows on the north side, while the four cells have windows on the west side towards its northern end, all placed at a height of from 1.82 m to 3 m above the floor level and from the outside appear merely as narrow slits in the walls. The walls of the cells were plastered with mud from both inside and outside. The photographs reproduced here give very realistic position of the present state of preservation of this Monastery.
Latitude: 33.767216667
Longitude: 72.873966667
Ownership: Federal Government
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
