The Pursuit of Gandhāran Sculptures: A Record of Amateur Excavations in the Former Khyber Agency

Abstract

This article explores the history of clandestine activities concerning Buddhist antiquities in the former Khyber Agency of the British Indian Empire. To this end, the archives kept at the Directorate of Archives and Libraries at Peshawar prove that Gandhāran sculptures recovered during these clandestine excavations were transported to England in violation of the law in force. In addition, some sculptures belonging to senior officers have disappeared and are to this day unknown. This article envisions and considers some of these facts and therefore focuses particularly on the discovery, hasty excavation, and devastation of Buddhist ruins near the great stupa called Shpola which was part of the Khyber Agency under the British Kingdom.