Buddhist sculptures, Kushan-era coins found at Pakistan site

PESHAWAR: Archaeologists have discovered Buddhist sculptures and coins dating back to the 2nd to 5th centuries during ongoing excavation at the site of an ancient Buddhist Stupa in northwest Pakistan.

Director of Archaeology and Museums, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Abdul Samad said that sculptures and heads dating from 2nd to 5th centuries have been discovered during excavation, initiated at the Bhamala Buddhist complex.

During excavation, precious coins of Kushan period were also unearthed around the Stupa.

Bhamala archaeological site has ruins of the Buddhist Stupa, declared as a National and World Heritage Site, located near Khanpur dam in Haripur. The ruins date back to the 4th century CE.

Samad said that during the excavation, mostly terracotta sculptures have been discovered. He said archaeologists, conservators, diggers, and treasury hunters took part the in excavation at Bhamala.