Field guides / Khyber Pakhtunkhwa / Peshawar / Shah-ji-ki-Dheri (Kanishka Stupa), Peshawar
Field guide · Heritage
Peshawar
Peshawar District · Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Shah-ji-ki-Dheri (Kanishka Stupa), Peshawar
Shah-ji-ki-Dheri is an archaeological site located around 6 kilometers from Peshawar, Pakistan.
Shah-ji-ki-Dheri is renowned for the Kanishka stupa, a structure dating to the 2nd century CE, associated with the Kushan Empire. The site was first noted by French archaeologist Alfred Foucher in the late 19th century, and excavations by David Brainard Spooner in 1908-09 confirmed the stupa's identification. During these excavations, the Kanishka casket was uncovered, and numerous Buddha statues were found, many with haloes resembling those seen on Kanishka I coins, suggesting a 2nd-century date for these sculptures. The stupa's remains, along with these relics, offer significant insights into Buddhist art and architecture of the period.
Why go
- ✦Site of the Kanishka stupa of the 2nd century CE
- ✦Where the Kanishka casket was found in 1908–09
- ✦Just outside Peshawar's old walled city
Visiting today
The Shah Ji Ki Dheri stupa complex is a protected archaeological site under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Antiquities Act, managed by the Provincial Directorate of Archaeology & Museums.
Planning tip
Best Time to Visit, October to March. The mound of the Kanishka stupa is just outside the old walled city of Peshawar, partly accessible; its famous relic casket is in the Peshawar Museum.
Getting there, Just outside Peshawar's old walled city, about 3 km from the Peshawar Museum; partly accessible.
What to Do
Nearby
Straight-line distance from Shah-ji-ki-Dheri (Kanishka Stupa), Peshawar, within 5 km.
