Second excavation phase at Kashmir Buddhist site starts today
Excavations are set to commence on Saturday for the second phase of the Zehanpora Buddhist site, located in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. Chief Secretary Atal Dullo will officially launch the project. The site recently gained recognition after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted it during his December 28 radio programme, stating that the mounds in Zehanpora, previously thought to be unusual rock formations, were later identified as three Buddha stupas.
These stupas were initially recognized through blurred photographs found in a French museum, which played a crucial role in the discovery. The project's origins trace back to October 2023 when Professor Mohamad Ajmal Shah, a University of Kashmir scholar, encountered 100-year-old photos depicting stupa domes at the Guimet Museum in France.
Shah's subsequent request for funding from the J&K government's archaeology department led to the commencement of excavations in November last year, with the team uncovering an apsidal stupa hall, iron/copper artifacts, and other materials. Shah believes the site may be linked to the Fourth Buddhist Council of the 1st century CE, emphasizing Kashmir's historical significance as a major center of Buddhism.
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