'Frontier Archaeology': Sir Aurel Stein, Swat, and the Indian Aornos

The British Museum online research publications

Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, 2018

Sir Aurel Stein's archaeological explorations are numerous enough and are characterized by the great socio-political considerations of the time. The present paper deals with one of his thoroughly explored areas namely Balochistan province, Pakistan. It establishes the chronological framework and general historical outline of Stein's various expeditions to the area. Furthermore, some attention has been paid to some of his theories resulting from his investigations. But a more focused analysis has been made of that aspect of Stein's work which reflects his socio-political ideology and interests.

A Survey of Ancient Sites along the "Lost" Sarasvati River Aurel Stein The Geographical Journal Vol. 99, No. 4 (Apr., 1942), pp. 173-182 Published by: geographicalj http://www.jstor.org/stable/1788862 https://tinyurl.com/ydggljo2 (Full text pdf document) https://www.scribd.com/document/360909260/Ancient-Sites-Along-Lost-Sarasvati-River-Aurel-Stein-1942 (Embedded) Cave 16 of the Kailasanatha Temple, viewed from the top of the rock This splendour of Ancient Akhaṇḍa Bhāratam can be captured by aerial photography supported by satellite imagery. The challenge to ASI is to document the ancient civilization sites of Akhaṇḍa Bhāratam with such pictorial evidence.. In the narration of the itihāsa of civilization studies, two names are outstanding: Mary-Helen Warden Schmidt and Aurel Stein. Mary-Helen Warden Schmidt did an aerial documentation of certain Ancient Cities of Iran. Aurel Stein did a field exploration of Central Asia and Sarasvati Civilization sites. The contributions made by these two savants is extraordinary, they blazed new trail in exploratory studies of civilizations. Their works will endure the test of time. Eric Schmidt has documented the aerial flights of Mary Helen Warden in his 1940 publication as detailed below. Susan Whitfield, Victoria and Albert Museum celebrate the contributions of Aurel Stein as detailed below. Such studies should be done for all ancient cities of Eurasia with particular reference to the thousands of ancient cities of Ancient Bhāratam. Thest studies should extend from Ancient Far East (Mekong delta) to Ancient Near East (Fertile Crescent). New tools are available such as Google Earth which can provide very detailed maps of Ancient Cities and Ancient Settlements as guide posts for future excavation and archaeological studies. Is Archaeological Survey of India ready to take up this task of documentation using tools for aerial documentation of Ancient Greater India -- Akhaṇḍa Bhāratam? This is a challenge to ASI. S. Kalyanaraman Sarasvati Research Centre Eric Schmidt, 1940, Flights over Ancient Cities of Iran, Oriental Institute, Univ. of Chicago Sir Aurel Stein Standing portrait of Sir Aurel Stein and his dog Dash. © The British Library Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) was born in Budapest in 1862. He studied Sanskrit, Old Persian, Indology and philology at the universities of Vienna, Leipzig and Tübingen, and map-making as part of his military service in Budapest, before setting out for a career in India. His formal positions from 1888 onwards were as registrar of Punjab University and principal of the Oriental College, Lahore and principal of the Calcutta Madrasah. But his real passion was the exploration of Central Asia, China, India and the Middle East. Stein carried out three expeditions (the fourth was aborted) to the western regions of China between 1900 and 1916, where he not only conducted archaeological excavations, but also geographical and ethnographical surveys and photographing. Today, he is especially famous for 'discovering' the library cave at the Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang. Stein adopted British nationality in 1904 and he was knighted for his contribution to Central Asian studies. In 1943, when he was in his 80s, Stein embarked on his long-awaiting expedition to Afghanistan, but died in Kabul a week after his arrival in the country.

East and West, 2006

2016

Archeologia Medievale, XLI, 2014, 55-64

A typology and preliminary archaeological discussion of the peripheral, often ephemeral sites of the settlement networks of the middel Swat valley and their change in time from the Bronze age to present.

Sir Aurel Stein in The Times, 2002

Author/Compiler: Helen Wang. Commissioning editor/general editor: Sajid Rizvi. ISBN 9781872843292, Saffron Books, London. Sir Aurel Stein (1862-1943), renowned for his breath-taking archaeological exploration in Chinese Central Asia, India, Iran, Iraq and Jordan, and for his pioneering work on the early civilizations on the Silk Road, is the subject of this compilation of more than 100 articles and news items relating to Stein and his expeditions, as printed in The Times newspaper between 1901-1943. The compilation is preceded by an Introduction by Helen Wang. Part of an ongoing occasional series on Central and Inner Asia.

2006

Pubblicazione/Catalogo per la Mostra sul cinquantesimo anniversario della Missione Archeologica Italiana in Pakistan (allora IsIAO, oggi ISMEO) (1955-1956/2005-2006)

Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia, 2003

As you pass the town of Mingora, a busy trading centre in the district of Swat, the Jambil valley opens before you, traversed by the river of the same name. At the mouth of the valley, between the hills forming its south side and the left bank of the river, lies the site of Butkara I, which takes its name from the surrounding area and was brought to light between 1956 and 1962 by Italian archaeologists of the Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East (IsMEO, now IsIAO, Italian Institute for Africa and the East). 1 The site contains Swat's major Buddhist sacred area, which is also one of the largest and longest-lived in the entire region of Gandhara: through successive phases of reconstruction and extension it covered the period from the 3rd century BC to the 10th century AD, although it began its slow decline from the beginning of the last reconstruction carried out between the late 7th and early 8th century. When the excavation began no ruins emerged from the soil, only a barrow of earth and stone remaining visible. It was probably this barrow that Sir Aurel Stein referred to in his report on the survey in Swat and the surrounding areas 2 as ¤ This article is an enlarged English version of contributions which were printed in the catalogue of an exhibition organized in 2002 in Rome, Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale, focussing on the fragments of the frieze of the Main Stupa of Saidu Sharif I here conserved (Callieri, Filigenzi, ed., 2002). The author of each passage is indicated in the end of this passage. The editorial board of the Journal has considered the utility of presenting an overview of the fundamental Italian researches in the Swat valley, throwing new light on the origins of the art of Gandhara, particularly in view of the fact the the main recent publication (Faccenna 2001) is in Italian. The editorial board thanks the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale and its director Dr. Donatella Mazzeo for agreeing on the utilization of the material of the catalogue. When not otherwise stated, photographs and drawings are property of the IsIAO, kept in the Archive of the IsIAO Centro Scavi e Ricerche Archeologiche, in the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale. 1 For the site of Butkara I, see Faccenna 1980-81, in part brie y summarised with the present contribution; for a concise overview of the excavation data see Faccenna 1974. 2 Stein 1930, 42.

This is a review of the book titled as Sir Aurel Stein and 'Lords of the Marches': New Archival Materials (published by Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore, 2015) by Luca Maria Olivieir.