Pottery studies in Kabul (Afghanistan) and its region from 100 BCE to 1000 CE

Abstract

During the last ten years, intense archaeological activities have taken place both in the city of Kabul (Afghanistan) and on its outskirts. They presently highlight the development of this region from the 1st century CE, and especially the 5th century CE, onwards under the influence of important Buddhist monasteries. This presence was already known from excavations done during the 1930s, but in recent years, excavations on the Bala Hissar and the remains of Tepe Narenj and Qol-e-Tut, located on the slopes of Koh-e-Zanbourak (“the mountain of the small wasp”) south of the Kabul citadel, have revived the question of occupation. The establishment of a chronology based on clear criteria coming from new research on pottery allows us to rethink the first step of the occupation of Kabul and the Islamization of this region.