Peshawar: For a group of schoolchildren visiting the Peshawar Museum ahead of opening of schools, Gandhara was no longer a distant civilization described in textbooks and archeology movies.
It was suddenly visible in stone in the serene face of a Buddha, the folds of ancient robes and narrative scenes carved centuries ago in this part of the region.
The students moved slowly through the museum’s Gandhara galleries, stopping before sculptures and antiquities panels that once formed part of the artistic and religious landscape of ancient northwestern South Asia.
‘I felt as if I had stepped into the history of a civilization carved in stone,’ said Ibrahim Khan, a third-grade student, while recording a video beside a Buddha sculpture.
The visit was made possible by a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government initiative offering free entry to provincial museums and archaeological sites for students, researchers and cultural enthusiasts.
For archaeologists and heritage specialists, however, the significance of such visits extends beyond increasing museum footfall. They offer an opportunity to connect a younger generation with one of the most important archaeological landscapes in South Asia.
At the heart of that landscape is the Peshawar Museum, internationally known for its extensive collection of Gandharan art.
Its Gandhara galleries contain Buddhist sculptures, antiques and other archaeological material dating broadly from the second century BC to the sixth century AD. The collection illustrates the development of Buddhist imagery and narrative art over several centuries.
Scenes associated with the life of Buddha including his birth, renunciation, enlightenment and teaching are represented through sculptures and narrative reliefs.
The importance of Gandharan art, however, lies not simply in its antiquity rather reflects a complex cultural interaction in which Buddhist subjects were expressed through artistic traditions shaped by contacts with the wider Hellenistic and Roman worlds.
The influence can be seen in the treatment of human figures, facial features, hairstyles, drapery, architectural elements and narrative composition.
For young visitors, those details provide a visual introduction to an archaeological period that can otherwise seem abstract.
‘Seeing the rare artefacts and statues of Lord Buddha made me feel like I was part of those ancient times,’ Ibrahim said.
The museum’s archaeological significance is also closely linked to sites across the province. A number of sculptures associated with Takht-i-Bahi and the ancient settlement of Sahr-i-Bahlol are housed in the Peshawar Museum, allowing visitors to see objects recovered from archaeological contexts alongside information about the wider Gandharan tradition.
Bakhtzada Khan, Director, Peshawar Museum informed students that Gandhara was never confined to a single settlement of peshawar alone rather its archaeological footprint extends across present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, encompassing Buddhist monasteries, stupas, settlements, workshops and trade routes spread across areas including Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Charsadda and Buner.
Among the best-known monuments is Takht-i-Bahi, a major Buddhist monastic complex near Mardan. The UNESCO world heritage site was founded in the early first century AD and remained in use until the seventh century. Its remains include a main stupa court, votive stupas, monastic cells and meditation areas.
Other important archaeological locations include Jamal Garhi, Shahbaz Garhi, Butkara-I, the Saidu Sharif Stupa and Ranigat, while the Ashoka Rock Edicts at Mansehra provide evidence of an even earlier phase of the region’s Buddhist and imperial history.
Together, these sites demonstrated that Gandhara was a connected cultural zone rather than a single archaeological centre as the provincial museum network reinforces that vital connection. Besides the Peshawar museum, the free-entry initiative covers the Sethi House museum, Pushkalavati museum in Charsadda, Mardan museum, Dir museum, Chakdara Archaeological museum, Saidu Sharif Museum in Swat, Kalasha Dur museum in Chitral and Bannu museum, attracting visitors in droves.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology and Museums continues archaeological investigations and excavations across the province, adding new evidence to the understanding of ancient settlement patterns, religious practices and artistic production.
Recent work at Bahu Dheri in Swabi, for example, uncovered a large stupa surrounded by votive stupas and chapels, along with Gandharan sculptural and decorative material.
Such excavations are important because archaeology is not simply about recovering attractive objects. The location of an artefact, its relationship with buildings and other objects, and the layers in which it is found can provide evidence about how ancient communities lived, worshipped and interacted.
Bakhtzada Khan while describing the Peshawar museum as home to Ghandhara art said this museum is not just a building but a window into our Gandhara civilization,’ he said, adding that restoration had helped turn it into a more vibrant destination for visitors.
Although Gandharan art dominates the museum’s international reputation, its collections extend well beyond Buddhist archaeology.
Visitors can also see coins, weapons, traditional clothing, tribal costumes, household implements and material associated with different periods of the region’s history.
This allows the museum to present archaeology as a continuum rather than a collection of isolated objects.
A visitor can move from the world of Buddhist monasteries and sculptors to the material culture of later communities within the same building.
Originally known as Victoria Hall, the early 20th-century building was constructed in memory of Queen Victoria before becoming the Peshawar Museum and its architecture combines British-era and South Asian influences.
Over the years, expansion, conservation and restoration have enabled the building to accommodate growing collections and a broader educational role.
Today, it functions not merely as a repository for antiquities but as a public institution where archaeology, history and material culture can be interpreted for new audiences.
“Its time to take these Ghandhara treasures to digital world,” said teacher of the students.
The growing interest among young visitors also raises a question for heritage managers questioning how can Gandhara reach people who may never travel to Peshawar, Swat or Mardan?
For Bilawal Sheraz, another student visitor, the answer lies partly in digital technology.
‘We should showcase these treasures abroad through digital media,’ he suggested. ‘It will attract more tourists and help people around the world learn about our rich history.’
Bakhtzada said the KP Directorate of Archaeology and Museums has established a digital heritage center focusing on digital documentation, 3D visualization, geospatial technologies, digital reconstruction and open-access heritage resources.
Digital documentation can serve purposes far beyond tourism. High-resolution photography, three-dimensional scanning and digital cataloguing can create detailed records of sculptures and monuments, support comparative research and provide additional documentation for conservation.
Virtual reconstructions can also help students and researchers understand archaeological sites whose original structures have been damaged or altered over time.
‘Digital storytelling can connect us with international communities and bring in heritage lovers who may never physically visit,’ Bakhtzada Khan said.
He said yet technology cannot entirely replace the archaeological object itself.
A digital model can reproduce the shape of a Gandharan sculpture, but standing before the original reveals its scale, stone surface, workmanship and physical presence in ways that a screen cannot fully convey.
The concentration of Gandharan archaeological remains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also presents an opportunity to develop a connected heritage-tourism circuit.
Takht-i-Bahi’s world heritage status, the Peshawar museum’s collections, Buddhist monuments of Swat and archaeological sites in Mardan, Charsadda, Buner and Mansehra could be presented as parts of a larger historical landscape.
Such a circuit could connect museums and monuments with universities, trained heritage guides, local artisans, hotels and transport services.
It could also create employment opportunities for young people in archaeology, conservation, heritage interpretation, tourism and digital documentation.
For archaeologists, the objective should ultimately be broader than attracting visitors. Increased tourism must go hand in hand with conservation, research, responsible site management and protection of archaeological contexts.
As evening falls, the illuminated fa§ade of the Peshawar Museum stands against the movement of the modern city.
Outside, traffic passes along one of Peshawar’s busy road andi inside, visitors stand before objects produced many centuries ago.
That contrast captures the continuing relevance of archaeology. For a child, a textbook may define Gandhara as an ancient civilization and a sculpture can make that civilization tangible.
The free-entry initiative is linked to Independence Day celebrations, but its impact could extend well beyond August if the temporary surge in visitors is followed by sustained educational programmes, regular school visits, improved interpretation, multilingual information, digital archives and stronger international cultural partnerships.
Every student who asks a question about an artefact or photographs a sculpture is engaging with heritage in a new way.
For Ibrahim, the museum visit began as an outing but ended as a personal encounter with the past.
The Buddha sculpture remained exactly where it had stood for generations but through the camera of a schoolchild, its image began another journey into the digital world and potentially towards audiences far beyond the walls of the Peshawar museum.
For Gandhara, the challenge now is not only to preserve the stones, but to ensure that their stories continue to travel beyond borders.
