Shingardara stupa
The Shingardara stupa is - next to the nearby Amlukdara stupa - one of the two still reasonably well-preserved Buddhist stupas in the Swat district in northern Pakistan .
location
The Shingardara stupa is located at a height of about 815 m above sea level. d. M. near the village of the same name about 3.5 km northeast of the city of Barikot in the Swat Valley. The stupa is only 1 km from the Swat River.
history
The stupa is believed to have been built in the 2nd century AD under the rule of the Kushana ruler Kanishka ; sometimes he is also in the 3rd / 4th Dated century. It was forgotten at the latest after the Islamic invasion in the 10th century. The British discovered it in the 19th century and restored the stone outer skin of the building; since then, however, it has gradually declined.
architecture
The filling mass of the stupa, which is about 17 m in diameter, consists of uncut stones and earth; only the outer skin was designed with precisely hewn stones. These have disappeared along the entire base zone ( medhi ), which was formerly surrounded by a platform. The lower part of the actual stupa, the hemispherical shape ( anda ) of which has largely been preserved, shows a pilaster decor that vaguely resembles a fence ( vedika ). It is unclear whether there was originally a fence or a box ( harmika ) with an umbrella ( chhatra ) as at the Butkara stupa .
Surroundings
At a distance of approx. 1.5 km there are several - partially destroyed - rock reliefs of Buddha . The almost identical Amlukdara stupa is only approx. 10 km (driving distance) away in a south-easterly direction.
literature
- Domenico Faccenna, Piero Spagnesi: Buddhist Architecture in the Swat Valley, Pakistan. Stupas, Viharas, a Dwelling Unit. Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore 2014, ISBN 978-9693526837 .
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 34 ° 41 ′ 29 ″ N , 72 ° 14 ′ 50 ″ E