Shatial Rock Carving

It is situated 60 kilometers west of Chilas, beside the Indus River. Historically, Shatial served as a significant transit point connecting several regions, including Swat Valley, Gilgit, Chilas, and Chitral. The site is renowned for its numerous inscriptions and petroglyphs, which were left by traders, Buddhist missionaries, and travelers passing through the area. More than 1,000 inscriptions and 700 petroglyphs are found at Shatial, with many dating back to the third to seventh centuries. These include inscriptions in the Sogdian language, Bactrian, Middle Persian, and Parthian, as well as in ancient Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts, indicating that the site was a Buddhist shrine. Among the inscriptions is a detailed message by Nanai- vandak, an Iranian merchant, providing insight into the cultural and religious practices of the time. The presence of Buddhist imagery, including a large triptych of a stupa and the Sibi Jataka, further underscores Shatial’s significance as a historical and religious crossroads on the Silk Road.

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