TAXILA: Sri Lanka’s Deputy Sports Minister Sugath Thilakaratne visited the Taxila Museum and the ancient Dharmarajika Stupa on Monday.

The delegation was received by Assistant Commissioner Taxila Maria Javed and other officials. Later, curator of the Taxila Museum Humera Naz briefed the minister about various artifacts put on display at the museum. She said there were 4,000 objects, including stucco, terracotta, silver, gold, iron and semiprecious stones, displayed in the museum. She also briefed the visitors about the history of Gandhara civilisation, various stupas, statues and other artifacts in the museum.

The minister took round of the main hall which exhibits more than 70 stories of the life of Buddha i.e. from the time of his birth till death.

He also visited the Bodhisattva and Buddha galleries. The minister was informed that hundreds of monasteries and stupas were built together with Greek and Kushan towns such as Sirkap and Sirsukh, both in Taxila. “Mainly the display consists of objects from 600 BC to 500 AD,” the AC said.

She said that Gandhara is the second holy land of Buddhism and it is the place from where the religion flourished across the globe.

She added that historians believe that the first statue of Buddha was created in Taxila while several archaeological sites located in different parts of Pakistan, including Taxila, Peshawar, Mardan, and Swat are holy places in the eyes of Buddhists and have potential to attract international tourists from Sri Lanka and other countries.

During their visit, the minister witnessed some of the oldest archaeological artifacts displayed in the museum.

The guest showed keen interest in holy tooth relic of Lord Buddha which was also put on display at various stupas across Sri Lanka during two different religious tours.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2025