This world is an astonishing place, a hidden treasure whose findings you can never claim about. By digging deeper, one can have an estimate of what this world is concealing from the naked eye. A few days back, while carrying out an excavation at Barikot Gundhai, the archeological experts found some traces of the temple that used to be a part of the world in around 1000 C.E. The Hindu Temple, believed to have been constructed some 1,300 years ago, has been discovered by Pakistani and Italian archeological experts at a mountain in northwest Pakistan’s Swat district.
In a statement passed by Fazle Kahlique of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Department of Archeology, the discovered temple is of Lord Vishnu. This temple is believed to be constructed some 1,300 years ago during the Hindu Shahi period.
Jogging back to the history tells us that the Hindu Shahis or Kabul Shahis (850- 1026 C.E) was a Hindu dynasty that ruled the Kabul Valley (eastern Afghanistan), Ghandhara (modern-day Pakistan), and present-day northwestern India.
The excavation also led to the discovery of cantonments and watchtowers near the temple site. The experts also found a water tank near the temple site which is said to be the possession of Hindus living at that time and used for bathing before worship. According to Khalique, the Swat district is home to thousand-year-old archeological sites and the traces of the Hindu Shahi period have been discovered for the very first time in the area.
The head of the Italian archeological mission, Dr. Luka, said that this was the first temple of the Gandhara civilization to be discovered in the Swat district.
Swat, for tourism, is not a new name for tourists across the globe. It is one of the top 20 sites in Pakistan and is known for its natural beauty, calm atmosphere, religious and cultural tourism, and archeological sites.
Along with that, several places of worship of Buddhism are also situated in the Swat district.
