Rain takes its toll on Buddhist heritage site in Taxila
TAXILA: The recent rains have played havoc with the ancient Buddhist heritage site in Taxila as the double-headed eagle Stupa located at Sirkap is crumbling fast.
Sirkap, the second city of ancient Taxila, has its own significance and importance in the archaeological history of Pakistan as it is among three of the 18 Buddhist sites of the Taxila valley with intact sculptures. Classified as World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), the site consists of several parts which belong to the Achaemenid, Greek and Kushan periods.
“Sirkap was founded by the Bactarian King Demetrius, who conquered the region in the 180s BCE, and was the second city of Taxila and this city was expanded by Gondophares who also built the famous double-headed eagle Stupa and the Temple of the Sun,” said Abdul Nasir Khan, the curator of Taxila Museum.
“The double-headed eagle Stupa is in Kanjur stone originally plastered with lime,”said Irshad Hussain, the deputy director of the archaeology department.
He added that there two theories the Scythian tribe especially used it on their flags: the one head was watching incoming devotees and the other going ones.
The recent torrential rains caused severe damages to scores of priceless stucco sculptures of the Buddhist period (2–5th century AD) in the Taxila valley but the worst affected is the double-headed eagle images that could have been saved had the archaeology department taken necessary steps to protect them.