Introduction
Rock Carvings and Inscriptions in Chilas along the Karakoram Highway
The northern region of Pakistan has intriguing archaeological heritage, including rock carvings and inscriptions of great historical interest, spread over a forty-mile area around Chilas along the Indus River. In some places, the inscriptions are in small clusters, while in others they are found in isolated scenes.
Chilas in context of the Silk Road and Sea Routes in Ancient Timesقدیم زمانے میں شاہراہ ریشم اور سمندری راستوں کے تناظر میں چلاس
Heritage Interpretations
What do locals know? مقامی لوگوں کا خیال
Carvings and Inscription Details
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Sanctuary
Stupas
Kushan
Person Sitting in Chair
Male with Extended arms
Sundail
"Many travelers came from different regions to study in the monastery in Darel (valley near Chilas town). They used to take this route which is why there are many carvings in this area."
Historic Significance
Cultural Continuity ثقافتی تسلسل
Scholars believe that many inscriptions and carvings represent the apprehensions of pilgrims passing dangerous areas. Some of the visitors offered their literary or artistic skills for hire by local notables.
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Stupa Carving
Inscription
Thalpan Stupas
Thalpan Bridge
Heritage Processes
Chilas in Global Context چلاس عالمی تناظر میں
...125 travelers have immortalized themselves on one single rock by scratching their names...
The Future
The Future
With the construction of the Diamer Bhasha Dam, expected to be completed by 2030, most of these inscriptions will be submerged underwater, and this set-in-stone historiography of the region and the people who lived here will disappear.
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"A museum should be established to relocate rocks which are moveable. They are an asset to our region. A museum will bring in more tourists and it will generate an economy for locals. People travel to far-off places to visit museums. Locals as well as people who associate with them religiously, both will benefit from it."
"The area of Diamer Bhasha dam should be reduced to save these inscriptions and carvings. It is very important to do this, and it is possible."
"it did not happen in the past but it will be beneficial for us if school kids are educated about them. These are our heritage and assets. We should educate our children so that in turn they can educate the future generations so that they can find ways to benefit from them."
Indus River Panorama
Thalpan Panorama
Thalpan Bridge Panorama
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"A museum should be established to relocate rocks which are moveable. They are an asset to our region. A museum will bring in more tourists and it will generate an economy for locals. People travel to far-off places to visit museums. Locals as well as people who associate with them religiously, both will benefit from it."
"The area of Diamer Bhasha dam should be reduced to save these inscriptions and carvings. It is very important to do this, and it is possible."
"it did not happen in the past but it will be beneficial for us if school kids are educated about them. These are our heritage and assets. We should educate our children so that in turn they can educate the future generations so that they can find ways to benefit from them."
Indus River Panorama
Thalpan Panorama
Thalpan Bridge Panorama
"People of Chilas have made a sacrifice for the dam. We have sacrificed our ancestral lands and homes for the development of our country."
"I remember when we were younger we tried to carve our names on these rocks, trying to copy the inscriptions. Because at that time we did not know about their historic importance and their meaning."
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"People of Chilas have made a sacrifice for the dam. We have sacrificed our ancestral lands and homes for the development of our country."
"I remember when we were younger we tried to carve our names on these rocks, trying to copy the inscriptions. Because at that time we did not know about their historic importance and their meaning."
Credits
Designed by Maryam Shah; MA Thesis Project Cultural Heritage Management and Policy- Central European University
With special thanks to
Central European University's Mirabaud Media Lab
Lahore University of Management Sciences
The Upper Indus Petroglyphs and Inscriptions in Northern Pakistan- a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Central European University's Mirabaud Media Lab
Lahore University of Management Sciences
The Upper Indus Petroglyphs and Inscriptions in Northern Pakistan- a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
References
Ghulam Muhammad. Gilgit Folklore, n.d.
Jettmar, Karl, ed. Between Gandhāra and the Silk Roads: Rock-Carvings along the Karakorum Highway ; Discoveries by German-Pakistani Expeditions, 1979 - 1984.
Jettmar, Karl, Cultural Heritage of Northern Regions of Pakistan down to the Islam. An Introduction. Heidelberg University Library, 2013.
Jettmar, Karl, Ditte Bandini, Volker Thewalt, Gérard Fussman, and Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, eds. Antiquities of Northern Pakistan: Reports and Studies
Dani, Ahmad Hasan. History of the Northern Areas of Pakistan
Jettmar, Karl, ed. Between Gandhāra and the Silk Roads: Rock-Carvings along the Karakorum Highway ; Discoveries by German-Pakistani Expeditions, 1979 - 1984.
Jettmar, Karl, Cultural Heritage of Northern Regions of Pakistan down to the Islam. An Introduction. Heidelberg University Library, 2013.
Jettmar, Karl, Ditte Bandini, Volker Thewalt, Gérard Fussman, and Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, eds. Antiquities of Northern Pakistan: Reports and Studies
Dani, Ahmad Hasan. History of the Northern Areas of Pakistan
Audio Visual Material Credits
Images and video by the author
Excerpts from referenced literature
Map by author, drawn with Datawrapper
Narrated audio by author
Recorded audio used from field research material
External links- Heritage360 and LUMS
Excerpts from referenced literature
Map by author, drawn with Datawrapper
Narrated audio by author
Recorded audio used from field research material
External links- Heritage360 and LUMS
Around the fourth century AD the state of Bolor was established, which is today known as the Gilgit-Baltistan region. It sought to protect the international route connecting Gandhara with the Tarim Basin. This route was a vein of Central and East Asian Buddhism's expansion. The trail was travelled by Buddhist and Chinese pilgrims whose records have been an unrivaled source of information.
Trade along the route spanned centuries. People from different tribes travelled it, some simple-minded, others brilliant artisans, reflected in the varied artistic range of the scenes and scripts on the same boulders. Much of the historical heritage was lost over the centuries to devastating floods afflicting the valleys.
Stupas
Stupas
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The main theme in these Buddhist inscriptions is the veneration of stupas. The archaic forms depict a big dome (anda) over a low cylinder or bell-like mehdi. Many of the stupas are hollow chapels accessible by a ladder or staircase.
Kushan Drawings
Kushan Drawings
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Realistic drawings of elephants, goats and other animals are also present. The design of the stupas and the warriors’ clothing indicate a pre-Kushan or Kushan date from the first century A.D. when a number of independent Saka and Parthian states used to exist. A few later inscriptions are in Brahmi.
Male with Extended Arms
Male with Extended Arms
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A male figure with extended arms is found in some of the Chilas inscriptions along the Indus. His hands are exaggerated with wide-spread fingers. He is sometimes seen seated on a horse or holding a battle-axe in the right hand. Axes of this shape were common among the Kafir tribes in the Western Hindukush, but they were also locally used for ceremonial purposes. Animal figures and circular designs with a complicated filling belong to the same complex.
Sun Figures
Sun Figures
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The sun temple of Multan was the main sanctuary of the plains and the sun cult was flourishing at Kashmir from the same time period these inscriptions were made. Hence connections can be made between Chilas with Multan and Kashmir. Often a wheel is turned into a human being by the addition of a head and limbs. Influences from the north could also be possible where, during the Manichaean period of the Uighurs, the ruler was identified with the sun.
The intermediate period between the Golden Age of Buddhism and Islam was marked by Hindu influences. It is possible that the complex of rock carvings with battle-axes originated in this time. The Hindu Sahis of Hund were the last to resist lslam.
Thalpan Stupas
Thalpan Stupas
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In this particular artistic tradition the stupas are rendered in bold lines, with umbrellas molded into a casket-roof and the base of the stupa intersected by niches. Similar stupas are also found in Central Asia. There are also inscriptions in Brahmi and proto-Sarada. The complex construction of these stupas is described in the religious texts of the Bonpos. They seem to have inherited traditions from remote areas of Central Asia.
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Rock Carvings and Inscriptions in Chilas along the Karakoram Highway
Summary
قدیم زمانے میں شاہراہ ریشم اور سمندری راستوں کے تناظر میں چلاس
مقامی لوگوں کا خیال
Along the Indus River banks
ثقافتی تسلسل
External Links
Zooming in
چلاس عالمی تناظر میں
The Future
Preservation Efforts
Community Voices
Map background
Sanctuary
Stupas
Kushan Drawings
Male with Extended Arms
Sun Figures
Stupa below
Scholars
Thalpan Stupas
