I am glad to announce the publication of the following book
which
demonstrates, through incontrovertible archaeological evidence,
that
Buddhism and Buddhist artistic creation were flourishing at Kabul up
to
the 10th c. A.D., i.e. several decades after the first Muslim
inroads.
Gérard Fussman
Professor (rtd.) at the Collège de
France.
Zafar PAIMAN, Tepe Narenj à Caboul, ou l’art
bouddhique à Caboul au
temps des incursions musulmanes / The Tepe Narenj
Buddhist Monastery at
Kabul. Buddhist Art During the First Muslim Raids
Against the Town, avec
une contribution de Michael ALRAM pour les monnaies,
I, Chronologie,
bâtiments, céramiques et monnaies. Publications de l’Institut
de
Civilisation Indienne du Collège de France, fasc. 82, in-4°, 154
pages
dont 16 planches en couleurs et 17 en noir et blanc.
ISBN
978-2-86803-082-5. 71 €.
In French (buildings and chronology) and
English (coins), with English,
Persian and Pashto summaries.
Available
from De Boccard, 11 rue de Médicis, 75006 Paris.
www.deboccard.com
This is the Final Report of
the Afghan excavations at Tepe Narenj
(2004-2012), started and entirely
directed by the author of the book.
Tepe Narenj is the name given to a rocky
spur located in the Southern
part of today Kabul. It was entirely covered
with Islamic graves when
the dig begun. The ancient remains hidden under
these graves are now
entirely cleared and preserved. Two nearby places could
also be
excavated, smaller than the main dig, but yielding impressive
results.
All the excavated buildings belong to the latest period of a
huge
mahasanghika monastery dating back to the 2nd or 3rd c. A.D.,
now
entirely covered by multiple layers of graves belonging to one of
the
most important and revered Islamic cemeteries in Kabul, where it is
now
impossible to conduct archaelogical excavations. They were filled
with
colossal clay statues. The stratigraphic analysis and the
coins
demonstrate that most of these buildings and statues were made after
870
A.D., i.e. at after the first Arab raids against Kabul. This
volume
contains the description and the fullest possible illustration of
the
finds (buildings, sculptures, ceramics, coins). Volume II will
contain
the historical and art comments.
