pics musium with great exposure

Sir John Marshal was the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1902 to 1928. He was responsible for the excavation that lead to the discovery of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, two of the main cities that comprise the Indus Valley Civilization. He was educated at Cambridge. In 1902 he was appointed Director-General of Archaeology within the British Indian administration, and modernised the approach to archaeology on that continent, introducing a programme of cataloguing and conservation of ancient monuments and artefacts.

It was thanks to Marshal that native Indians were allowed for the first time to participate in excavations in their own country. In 1913, he began the excavations at Taxila, which lasted for twenty years. He laid the foundation stone for the Taxila museum in 1918. The museum hosts many artifacts and also hosts one of Marshal's very few portraits.

Taxila Museum is one of the best and most well-maintained museums of Pakistan. Timings of the museum are 8:30 am to 5:30 pm in summer, and 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in winter. There is a resthouse near the museum, run by the Archaeological Department, a Tourist Information Centre and a PTDC motel as well.PTDC has a Tourist Information Centre and a Motel with 7 rooms and restaurant facility, just opposite the Museum. There is a Youth Hostel nearby, offering accommodation for members of International Youth Hostels Federation (IYHF).

The Taxila Museum is a grand old structure. It is built from the same stones as are still found in Taxila today and from which the locals make the mortar and pestle for the kitchens .The museum charges only 10 Rupees and one is not allowed to take pictures . Inside, there is a vast display of the elements of the daily items of Gandharan everyday life - pots pans, spoons, clay objects , pots , and of course terra cotta figures of Buddha and exquisite Buddha and Boddhisattva statues in stone and terra cotta .The coin collection of gold , silver and stone is truly a coin collectors? dream. The roof of the museum is made from teak. It is said that the palaces of the Persian kings once used wood grown in the area of Taxila. Shisham trees and cypresses surround the museum. The museum lawns are well tended and marigold flowers are in bloom
the other excavations around Taxila r Sirkup , Bhir mound, Sarai Khola, Hatial , Sirsukh, Dharma Rajika Stupa, Mohra Moradu and Jaulian.

Brief History & Background:

6th century B.C.

Birth of Buddha 563 B.C. Achaemenid or Persian Empire , under King Darius, and later Xerxes .[518 B.C] included Sindh and East Punjab. The language was Aramic and these inscriptions of mid ?third century B.C. were found in Sirkup near Taxila.

5th Century B.C.

Buddha dies in 483 B.C.

3rd Century B.C.

Alexander the great came to Punjab in 326 B.C. At this time Raja Ambi [ Orphis ] was king of Taxila and was at war with the Paurava king Porus whose kingdom was beyond the Jhelum river . Raja Ambi allied himself with Alexander and joined hands with Ora in Swat [ the Udaygram ruins ] and Puskalavati [ today Charsadda near Peshawar]

After Alexander?s death in 323 B.C. Gandhara came under the Mauryan Emperors of India .

2nd Century B.C.

By 262 B.C. the Mauryan ruler Ashoka the Great, after committing horrific carnage in war, converted to Buddhism. Buddhist Art appears in Taxila and remains up to 800 A.D.

Ashoka founded the Dharma Dharmarajika Stupa near Taxila and the Chinese pilgrim Huein Tsang mentions about 1000 monasteries in Gandhara alone.

Around 250B.C. Greeks under Menander appear in the Gandhara area.

100 B.C.

Central Asian People and tribes called the Scythians and the Parthians in 103 B.C. in Persia and Gandhara ruled the areas at Takht Bai [ near Mardan city today. Kushanas were the main dynasty and their king Kanishka printed coins with Buddha?s image.

AD 100

Vasudeva was the last Kanishka ruler. The Chinese pilgrim Huein Tsang mentions Purushpura (Peshawar) , and the Ashoka Stupa in Taxila . About 100 images of Buddha were found at Taxila / Gandhara area. In addition Pari- Nirvana stories of the Buddha?s after-death were engraved in stone in Taxila and the coffin, and disposal of his ashes are also recorded.

A.D. 300-500

The White Huns, a tribe from Central Asian invade and trample Taxila . Sung Yun a Chinese pilgrim mentions Taxila in AD 520 .

A.D. 700

Petty nobles fight for power. The area of Taxila and Gandhara is still Buddhist and priests still follow the " Greater Vehicle" of Buddha?s teachings

AD 1100 ? 1200

Ghazni kings invade this area. Conversion to Islam begins. Defacing of many sculptures. Invasions into Delhi, India. Babur, the first Mughal also enters the area with his armies