Butkara I (Swat)

History

The Italian Archaeological Mission of IsMEO began work in Swat in the 1950s under Domenico Faccenna, starting at Butkara itself, and the excavation ran from 1956. Faccenna's team established that the stupa was monumentalised in the second century BCE by the addition of Hellenistic architectural decoration — direct evidence that the Indo-Greek rulers of the north-west were involved in the creation of Greco-Buddhist architecture. Its floors are paved in schist slabs, and a large rectangular water tank stands on the eastern side.

Historical Significance

Butkara is where the Gandharan sequence was first established stratigraphically, and one of the key sites for understanding how Greek architectural language entered Buddhist building. The sculpture recovered from it fills the Swat Museum.

Architecture

A great many sculptures came out of Butkara, and they are now housed in the Swat Museum.

Why Visit

The clearest Buddhist site plan in Swat: one great stupa ringed by hundreds of small ones, with the museum holding its sculpture a short drive away.

Interesting Facts

• 227 minor monuments surround the Great Stupa
• The stupa was rebuilt in four major phases across several centuries
• Hellenistic decoration added in the 2nd century BCE points to Indo-Greek involvement
• Italian archaeologists under Domenico Faccenna have worked here since 1956