AAN Field Correspondent Jelena Bjelica, Jolyon Leslie (afghanistan-analysts.org, Jan. 8, 2020); edited by Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson (eds.), Ellie Askew, Wisdom Quarterly
Topdara Stupa
The principal structure at Topdara is the stone stupa and its upper drum, which measures 23 meters across and stands almost 30 meters high above the surrounding fields. The drum is ornamented with double S-shaped curves, which give it a decorative band of 56 identical niches framed by rounded arches.
...Facing east above this frieze is a tri-lobed arch niche where three figures of the Buddha [the historical "Sage of the Scythians" who grew up in Afghanistan according to maverick Indian historian Dr. Ranajit Pal] are thought to have once been mounted.
According to this 2017 British Museum publication, this assumption is based on the remains of a stucco halo of what is thought to have been "the principal image" of the standing Buddha, with what would probably have been two smaller seated buddhas [or disciples] on each side (Note 1).
The frieze is aligned with a ceremonial staircase that faces the valley where the capital of the Kushan Empire, Kapisa, once was.
The drum stands on a square base, which measures 36 meters on each side, that ACHCO has recently excavated. They discovered that the base is also ornamented with classical style pilasters and has two pairs of stairs, on its east and west points. The base was an integral element of the rituals followed by Buddhist pilgrims, who would have circumambulated around the stupa.
...According to ACHCO, the stupa would have been plastered and painted, with gilded parasols on the apex of its dome, flanked by flags and banners that would have been visible by pilgrims progressing along the slopes below.
In 19th century English sources, stupas were generally referred to by the term tope, which may oderive from the Dari word for hill or mound, tappa. The name of the village and the stupa, Topdara, could then mean "Valley of the Stupa." For example, English Orientalist H.H. Wilson (1786-1860) notes in the first chapter of the book Ariana Antica (1841):
"The edifices [stupas] which have of late years attracted so much attention in the north-west of India and in Afghanistan, have been known by the general appellation of Topes, a word signifying a mound or tumulus, derived from the Sanscrit [sic] appellation Sthupa [sic], having the same import" (pp. 28-29).
According to Masson’s explanation in the second chapter of the same book:
"The term Tope, which is applicable to the more prominent and interesting of the structures under consideration, is that in ordinary use by the people of the regions in which they most abound. A tope is a massive structure comprising two essential parts, the basement and perpendicular body resting thereon. The latter, after a certain elevation, always terminates after the manner of a cupola, sometimes so depressed as to exhibit merely a slight convexity of surface, but more frequently approaching the shape of a cone."
Speaking about the Topdara stupa, one of the three stupas he examined “to the north of Kabul, and in the districts of Koh Daman and the Kohistan,” Masson wrote:
“The next [tope] occurs at Dara [Tope+Dara=Topdara], about twenty-five miles from Kabul, and is perhaps the most complete and beautiful monument of the kind in these countries, as it is one of the largest.”
Little is known about the history of the Topdara stupa regarding who commissioned it, when it was built, and how it was used. Archaeological research in Afghanistan has been episodic and the number of properly excavated sites in country is still tiny, compared to neighboring Iran [formerly Persia] or Pakistan [formerly India].
Serious archaeological explorations in Afghanistan only began with the creation of the Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan (DAFA) in 1922, which had obtained a monopolistic license from the country’s then-ruler Amanullah. Subsequent wars, both World War II and the 40 years of conflict in Afghanistan since 1978, prevented the follow-up of much in-depth archaeological research.
Masson’s written accounts from the 19th century, therefore, still offer an invaluable insight into the distant past of Afghanistan and its region. Charles Masson (1800-1853), was an explorer and collector of coins [who apparently didn't mind breaking into a sacred reliquary in search of treasure]. More
 |
| Topdara (tope in Dara) stupa (Buddhist burial mound), Afghanistan (ACHCO.org.af) |
 |
The history of the Topdara stupa is still unknown. However, given its location near the site of the ancient City of Kapisa (in or around what is now Bagram, a small bazaar town mainly known for its gigantic air base), it may have been commissioned between 200 and 400 CE (ACHCO, 2019).
|
.
The largest standing stupa in Afghanistan: A short history of the Buddhist site at Topdara
 |
| Topdara stupa seen from the back (facing west) |
A dome-shaped ancient Buddhist shrine, the Topdara stupa [sacred reliquary burial mound] to the north of Kabul was described by 19th century British explorer Charles Masson as “perhaps the most complete and beautiful monument of the kind in these countries.”
Since Masson’s visit in 1833, the Topdara stupa saw few visitors and had fallen into neglect until recently, in 2016, when an Afghan cultural heritage organization began its excavation and preservation [restoration] work.
When AAN’s Jelena Bjelica visited the stupa in spring 2019, she found its beauty and grandeur largely restored. In this dispatch she pieces together the history of the stupa from various historical and contemporary records (with input from Jolyon Leslie).
Topdara Stupa
 |
| Afghanistan (Scythia) and Pakistan (India until 1947) were once Buddhist Gandhara. |
.
As one approaches Parwan’s provincial capital Charikar on the main highway from Kabul, the Topdara stupa can be seen on the left, set against the Koh-e Safi Mountains. The stupa stands like a crown on an area of high ground above Topdara Village, surrounded by orchards and barley fields.
On an early April morning when AAN visited, staff from the Afghan NGO ACHCO (the Afghanistan Cultural Heritage Consulting Organization) were busy doing excavation and preservation work on the site.
ACHCO’s work on the stupa began in 2016. Three years later when AAN visited, the stupa’s drum had been repaired and preserved, and almost the entire base of the stupa had been excavated. The structure, however, is still under scaffolding as preservation work continues.
The drum – the dome-shaped upper part of the stupa – was damaged by Masson when he opened it up in the 19th century [to recover its sacred contents, ashes of the Buddha and other relics or sharira].
- (See his drawings of the stupa as well as a photo from the late 1950s on p. 83 of this 2017 British Museum publication).
 |
| Topdara stupa covered in scaffolding (AAN) |
...Facing east above this frieze is a tri-lobed arch niche where three figures of the Buddha [the historical "Sage of the Scythians" who grew up in Afghanistan according to maverick Indian historian Dr. Ranajit Pal] are thought to have once been mounted.
According to this 2017 British Museum publication, this assumption is based on the remains of a stucco halo of what is thought to have been "the principal image" of the standing Buddha, with what would probably have been two smaller seated buddhas [or disciples] on each side (Note 1).
The frieze is aligned with a ceremonial staircase that faces the valley where the capital of the Kushan Empire, Kapisa, once was.
The drum stands on a square base, which measures 36 meters on each side, that ACHCO has recently excavated. They discovered that the base is also ornamented with classical style pilasters and has two pairs of stairs, on its east and west points. The base was an integral element of the rituals followed by Buddhist pilgrims, who would have circumambulated around the stupa.
...According to ACHCO, the stupa would have been plastered and painted, with gilded parasols on the apex of its dome, flanked by flags and banners that would have been visible by pilgrims progressing along the slopes below.
In 19th century English sources, stupas were generally referred to by the term tope, which may oderive from the Dari word for hill or mound, tappa. The name of the village and the stupa, Topdara, could then mean "Valley of the Stupa." For example, English Orientalist H.H. Wilson (1786-1860) notes in the first chapter of the book Ariana Antica (1841):
"The edifices [stupas] which have of late years attracted so much attention in the north-west of India and in Afghanistan, have been known by the general appellation of Topes, a word signifying a mound or tumulus, derived from the Sanscrit [sic] appellation Sthupa [sic], having the same import" (pp. 28-29).
According to Masson’s explanation in the second chapter of the same book:
"The term Tope, which is applicable to the more prominent and interesting of the structures under consideration, is that in ordinary use by the people of the regions in which they most abound. A tope is a massive structure comprising two essential parts, the basement and perpendicular body resting thereon. The latter, after a certain elevation, always terminates after the manner of a cupola, sometimes so depressed as to exhibit merely a slight convexity of surface, but more frequently approaching the shape of a cone."
 |
| The stupa restoration continues (AAN). |
“The next [tope] occurs at Dara [Tope+Dara=Topdara], about twenty-five miles from Kabul, and is perhaps the most complete and beautiful monument of the kind in these countries, as it is one of the largest.”
Little is known about the history of the Topdara stupa regarding who commissioned it, when it was built, and how it was used. Archaeological research in Afghanistan has been episodic and the number of properly excavated sites in country is still tiny, compared to neighboring Iran [formerly Persia] or Pakistan [formerly India].
Serious archaeological explorations in Afghanistan only began with the creation of the Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan (DAFA) in 1922, which had obtained a monopolistic license from the country’s then-ruler Amanullah. Subsequent wars, both World War II and the 40 years of conflict in Afghanistan since 1978, prevented the follow-up of much in-depth archaeological research.
Masson’s written accounts from the 19th century, therefore, still offer an invaluable insight into the distant past of Afghanistan and its region. Charles Masson (1800-1853), was an explorer and collector of coins [who apparently didn't mind breaking into a sacred reliquary in search of treasure]. More
No comments:
Post a Comment