Fwd: Ruins of Ai Khanoum in Bactria: Homeland of the Yavanas

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gandhara , Yashwant K <yashwant0k wrote:

 

One of the most significant contributions towards an understanding of Greek

presence in Bactria was made through the Ai Khanoum excavations led by French

archaeologists under Prof. P. Bernard.

The ruins of Ai Khanoum stand on the left bank of the Oxus river at its meeting

point with its tributary, the Kokcha. This triangular area at the confluence of

the Oxus and the Kokcha was a strategic choice the Greeks made. It was a

well-placed military outpost to control the eastern territories of ancient

Bactria. The topography of the site, with a natural acropolis about 60 m higher

than the surrounding areas and protected by the two rivers from the west and the

south, made it an ideal choice for the Greek city planners. The residential

quarters and public buildings - namely the gymnasium, the temple, the

fortifications, the royal palace and the administrative apparatus - were built

in the lower part of the site, which was less exposed to the winds than the

acropolis.

The discoveries made at Ai Khanoum by the French archaeologists demonstrate how

the Greek artists of Ai Khanoum not only remained attached to the Greek

traditions but also in some ways perpetuated a classical style. For example, the

mosaic floor of the palace bathroom displaying dolphins, sea horses and sea

monsters was made by setting a field of dark red pebbles, instead of the

square-cut stones of the later style.

 

KEYSTONE/GAMMA

Some of the finds in Hadda made by the French archaeological team led by

Barthoux in 1929:(Left) Part of the high relief depicting the life of the

Buddha; (Right)The statue of a divinity throwing flowers on the Buddha.

 

This remarkable city, which bore the distinctive imprint of cultural currents

from the days of Greek civilisational glory, does not exist anymore. Prospectors

for treasure seem to have used the metal detectors originally brought into the

country to detect landmines, for quite another purpose. Some photographs taken

by the Japanese Professor Hin Ichi Ono show the lunar-like surface of the city.

The lower city is completely devastated. The place where once the big temple

stood is today a crater. Some of the Corinthian and Doric capitals unearthed by

the French archaeologists were taken away, and they now serve as the base for

the columns in a tcha-khan, or a tea house.

Hundreds of ivory pieces, jewellery, intaglios, plaster medallions and bronze

items from Ai Khanoum have reached Pakistani bazaars and private collections. A

gold bracelet in the form of a snake was found in Ai Khanoum. The treatment of

the head of the snake, probably that of a cobra, is realistic and reflects the

workmanship of a Greek artist. Many ivory items were unearthed in the legal

excavations at Ai Khanoum, especially in the palace treasury, which have been

documented by Paul Bernard and Claude Rapin. To this list, illegal excavations

have probably added the following items: hairpins, votive sculptures and perhaps

part of a sword case.

Pieces of gold and silver jewellery similar to the ones found in the legal

excavations have reached the market. They comprise rings, bracelets, pendants

and earrings. Hundreds of cornelian, agate and cut stones (similar to the ones

already published by Claude Rapin) were seen in the bazaars. All these items add

to the Greek and Graeco-Oriental art already attested in Ai Khanoum. Three items

that can certainly be considered as new evidence for the Greek contribution to

the art and culture of Bactria and India were found in recent years in Ai

Khanoum: a bronze statuette of Heracles, an ivory plaque depicting a seated

Aphrodite and a faience head of a Graeco-Bactrian king.

The bronze statuette of Heracles has a height of 21 centimetres, with the

pedestal. The figure is solid cast, with a fully fashioned back. It represents a

naked, beardless, young Heracles, standing holding in his left hand a lion's

skin, and his right hand resting on a club. He wears a broad-leaved wreath. His

left knee is slightly bent, leaving the weight of the body on the right leg. It

is not at all surprising to find so many images of Heracles in Ai Khanum,

because, as revealed by an inscription found in situ, the gymnasium of this

Greek city was dedicated to this divinity.

The ivory plaque depicting Aphrodite has a diameter of 8.3 cm. It was also

unearthed in Khanoum in 1999. It was found in pieces and was restored in London.

The whole scene is composed of three figures: Aphrodite in the middle, a winged

female figure to the left and Eros to the right. Aphrodite is represented

semi-nude, seated on a pile of rocks, the left hand resting on a rock while the

other hand is on her right thigh. Her body is in three-quarter view, but her

legs are almost in profile. She wears a himation loosely draped around the lower

part of her body, leaving the torso bare. The winged female figure, wearing a

sleeved chiton, stands on a capital, holding what is probably a mirror box. At

the extreme left of the plaque, winged Eros stands on the same pile of rocks on

which Aphrodite is seated. His right arm is raised while the other is making a

gesture as if to unveil the himation of the goddess from the back.

The faience head of the Graeco-Bactrian king was found in June 1998 in

unrecorded circumstances. It certainly belongs to an acrolithic statue. On close

examination, it becomes obvious that the horizontally cut border at the bottom

of the head was meant to fit into a wooden structure. So the rest of the body

would have been of wood. The fragments of the cult statue found in the cellar of

the main temple of Ai Khanoum, and the faience head, are the only examples of

acroliths that have so far been found in Bactria.

These discoveries add much to our knowledge of the political and economic

history of Bactria and India from the conquest of Alexander the Great, until the

end of the Kushan period. The reconstruction of the history of the Greeks and

their nomadic successors in Bactria and India depends mainly on numismatic

evidence. The other sources - ancient texts and inscriptions and various data

obtained in archaeological excavations - are, though important, secondary

compared to the vast and rich information conveyed by coins. Because of the

scarcity of ancient texts and of available archaeological data, numismatic

evidence constitutes the main source for the reconstruction of the history of

the Greeks and their successors in Bactria and India.

 

From Frontline

 

http://www.flonnet.com/fl1906/19060660.htm

 

 

 

 

 

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