PESHAWAR, Jan 4: The Department of Archaeology and Museums, NWFP, is going to open the City Museum at Gor Khuttree on Pakistan Day this year. The project will be completed at a cost of Rs32 million. Talking to journalists, Director, Archaeology, Prof Ihsan Ali said that the museum would be established at Gor Khuttree and it would consist of artefacts from the Mughal, Sikh, British and post-independence periods.
<> He said: “The City Museum is, perhaps, the greatest gift to the citizens of Peshawar by the provincial government, and added the work is in progress; the construction of showcases is in full swing and shall be completed within the current month.
He said: “The City Museum is the first of its kind in Pakistan and will consist of three galleries to exhibit objects from the Gor Khuttree Excavations, 2,600 years of cultural profile of Peshawar,” he said, adding that arts and crafts of Peshawar City, its ethnological heritage and reserve collections would give a complete picture of the city’s history to visitors and tourists from Pakistan and abroad. The directorate plans to open the City Museum for the general public on March 23 this year.
He said that Sir Alexander Cunningham had identified Gor Khuttree with Kanishka Vihara (the Great Stupa of King Kanishka) while Professor Dr Ahmad Hassan Dani identified it with the place where the famous tower of the Buddha bowl once stood.
S.M. Jaffar identified it with the place of Hindu pilgrimage where they performed the Sardah ritual (shaving off heads).
The celebrated Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsang, who visited Gandhara in the early 7th Century AD, had paid glowing tribute to the city and the Great Stupa of Kanishka in his memoirs.
Mughal Emperor Babar, who recorded its importance in his autobiography, visited the place. Jehan Ara Begum, the daughter of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, converted Gor Khuttree into a caravanserai and named it Sarai Jahanabad. She also constructed a Jama Masjid, a sauna bath and two wells inside Sarai Jahanabad for the convenience of travellers.
The Sikhs converted the site into the residence and official headquarters of their leader who was governor of Peshawar from 1838-1842. They constructed a temple for Shiva there.
Gor Khuttree is a typical Mughal Sarai and is located on one of the highest points of Peshawar City. It is a fortified compound consisting of an area of 160 x 160 sq meters. It has two prominent gateways: one in the east and one in the west. The Gorakhnath Temple is situated in the centre, a network of cells and buildings in the southern and western side of the complex and a fire brigade building, which was built in 1912.
Dr. Farzand Ali Durrani initiated the first vertical excavations at Gor Khuttree in 1992-93 but his excavation work could not be completed due to lack of funds. However, he confirmed the city foundation went back to at least the 3rd Century BC.