MARDAN, Oct 13: In the series of illegal excavations continuing at various sites in Mardan district, an extremely worthy site including a 2,000-year-old graveyard near Sangao village, was levelled by the locals to find antiquities, particularly Greek coins.

An eyewitness from Sangao village, who has two coins of Mannered, a Greek king of Gandhara, told Dawn that these coins were found in his fields in a terracotta urn full of ash.

When an expert and an archaeologist, Zainul Wahab, was contacted he confirmed that the site and the graveyard of the Greek times have been destroyed.

He disclosed that the coins belong to the times of Manander, a Greek king, who ruled this area some 100 BC. Mr Wahab further said that there were large numbers of Greek sites, and Sangao was a recent addition.

From the earlier sites like Rurya, Talo Palo Dheri, Mian Khan-Sangao, Malandarey (Mardan) and Lakaro at Mehmand Agency were excavated from which thousands of Greek coins and antiquities were recovered, Wahab claimed.

He further disclosed that the name Eelum peak, Buner district, was derived from the Greek word Elos, which means respectable and merciful place. He said that Buner was the only district where Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs lived peacefully for centuries.

He also said that Pir Sar peak which an English scholar Stein had mentioned that it was located in Thah Kot (Bisham), but was now learnt that it was located at Buner district near Pir Baba. He added that a local of the area Abdul Rashid, who visited the remote peak found coins from there.

Mr Wahab said that from the Sangao village site, which was originally explored by the professor A.H. Dani in the sixties, were recovered 4,000-year-old stone tools. Similar discoveries were made from caves at Mehmand agency.