Tope or Stupa (Mankiyala)

History

The stupa is generally attributed to the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, between 128 and 151 CE; an alternative tradition counts it among the eighty-four stupas said to have been raised by Ashoka to house the Buddha's ashes. In 1830 General Ventura, a French officer in Ranjit Singh's army, sank a shaft more than 22 metres deep into its centre. Three metres down he found an iron box holding a smaller gold box; deeper still, between 13.7 and 19.5 metres, a second deposit of gold and copper objects with Sassanian and Kushan coins.

Historical Significance

One of the earliest scientifically recorded excavations in the subcontinent, and a key find for dating Kushan Buddhism. The relics were removed during the British period and are now in the British Museum.

Architecture

It belongs to the first to fifth centuries CE, when Buddhist foundations spread across the Potohar plateau between Taxila and the Salt Range.

Why Visit

A story of self-sacrifice from the Jataka tales, marked by a stupa you can see from the motorway, whose contents are now in London.

Interesting Facts

• It marks where the Buddha, in a previous life, is said to have fed himself to a starving tigress and her cubs
• General Ventura, a Frenchman in Ranjit Singh's army, dug 22 metres into it in 1830
• He found an iron box containing a gold box, with coins of Kushan and Sassanian rulers
• The relics he recovered are now held by the British Museum