Bala Hisar Mound

A huge mound in Charsadda has been identified with the ancient city of Pushkalavati or the Lotus city and a one time capital of Gandhara. This city with a long and chequered history begins its historical period in the 6th century B.C. when the Archaemenians held their sway over the Gandhara region. This ancient capital city was called Pushkalavati, which came into prominence when in 327 B.C. Alexander the Great proceeded against Gandhara and it put up a formidable resistance for about a month. The Greek Chronicler Arrian records it to be a very large and populous city situated not far from the river Indus. Ptolemy, however, exactly locates it when he says that it is situated on the eastern bank of the river Swat. Exact location of the city has also been mentioned by the celebrated Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tasng who visited this area between CE 629 to 645. It is evident from the numerous coin-finds that this historic city remained under the successive rule of the Bactrian Greeks, Scythians, Parthians and the Kushan in the early centuries of the present era. The prosperity of the city however, dwindled to a great extent when Kanishka transferred the seat of his government from Pushkalavati to Peshawar. Before the excavation in 1958, by the Department of Archaeology, Pakistan, some small-scale excavations were carried out at Charsadda by Sir John Marshall and others. But the excavation by the Department of Archaeology in 1958 have helped to a large extent in filling up certain gaps in the cultural history of this part of Pakistan and a complete chronological sequence was available for the first time. Excavations at the high mound of Bala Hisar at Charsadda revealed fifty-two cultural layers which yielded numerous fragmentary structural remains ranging in date from the 6th century B.C. to the Muslim period occupation of 16th century C.E. Its early history thus runs parallel to that of Bhir mound at Taxila.