Site 6: Takht-i-Bahi and Butkara I

Site 6a: Takht-i-Bahi

Takht-i-Bahi (c. 1st-5th centuries AD) is a complex Buddhist monastic site located in the Mardan district. The site, which is exceptionally well-preserved, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980 along with the fortified city of Sahr-i-Bahlol, located about 5 km from the monastic complex. The complex stretches along the crest of a low mountain range, covering an area of approximately 33 hectares, and includes a large monastery, courtyards with stupas and chapels, meditation cells, individual dwellings, and other structures. Numerous Buddhist sculptures and reliefs have been recovered from the site; most are now housed in the Peshawar Museum. Following an initial cleanup of the site in 1874, the first excavations were conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) between 1907 and 1912. Between 2002 and 2005 and in 2012, excavation campaigns were carried out by the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan. Recently, the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa designated the entire mountainous area of the site (445 hectares) as an “Archaeological Reserve,” thereby protecting it from the area’s rapid urbanization.
Beginning in the 1920s, various conservation and restoration efforts were carried out at the site, first by the ASI and later by the federal and provincial DGOAM.
Today, Takht-i Bahi is the most visited archaeological site in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Site 6b: Butkara I

Butkara I (second half of the 3rd century B.C.-10th century A.D.) is the oldest and most important peri-urban sanctuary of the ancient capital of Swat, Massaga/Mengjeli, now known as Mingora. The city, besieged and conquered by Alexander the Great in 327 B.C., as recounted by Arrian and Curtius Rufus, maintained a role of primary importance in the region in the centuries that followed. During the Mauryan period, in the second half of the 3rd century BCE, a Buddhist complex centered on an Indian-style stupa — referred to (in two inscriptions) as dharmarajika — was founded on the southeastern outskirts of the settlement; it is known today as Butkara I. In the centuries that followed, the sanctuary underwent gradual development, expanding and being enriched with architectural structures and a significant collection of sculptures, eventually becoming one of the region’s principal centers of Buddhist pilgrimage.
The sanctuary’s significance is also documented by the accounts of Chinese and Tibetan pilgrims who visited the Swat Valley between the 5th and 13th centuries CE. The hundreds of sculptures unearthed during the excavations conducted by the Italian Mission between 1956 and 1962 — now preserved and on display at the Swat Museum — constitute some of the most significant and celebrated examples of Gandharan art.
Given the exceptional historical, archaeological, and religious significance of Butkara I, its established role in the current religious and tourist itineraries of the Swat Valley, and its topographical alignment with the Khyber PATH route, the site (temporarily designated Site 6B) was included in the project during its first year of operations.
This inclusion addresses the urgent need to intervene on a heritage site that is particularly vulnerable to the effects of the elements and, in particular, to the increasingly frequent floods and episodes of heavy rainfall affecting the region.