Dasht-i-Taus

On the right bank of river Yasin, a plateau called Dasht-I-Taus where, archaeological remains were noticed by Sir Aurel Stein. From this place several objects including an ancient jewelry found by illegal diggers, might be attributed to an early period as he assumed, second or third century CE. But the figure of a Buddha on a lotus seat belongs to the group presented by U.V. Schroder (1981:65-98, esp. the pl.7 & 8). In this publication similar pieces are indiscriminately brought together under the localization Swat Valley with dates between the late 6th and the end of 8th century CE. As stated by Prof. Jettmar that local people told him that the objects came indeed from a mound which later was totally destroyed by illicit digging. In 1978 he visited the place; it has become a hollow which is the result of later dug out on the same spot. A great number of rock carvings were found in Yasin, at the Gilgit-Yasin confluence and in the main valley immediately bordering this area on the western side.