{"id":17639,"date":"2026-08-28T19:46:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=17639"},"modified":"2026-08-28T19:46:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:46:42","slug":"second-excavation-phase-at-kashmir-buddhist-starts-today-india-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=17639","title":{"rendered":"Second excavation phase at Kashmir Buddhist starts today | India News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133599320,imgsize-143788,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg\" alt=\"Second excavation phase at Kashmir Buddhist starts today\" title=\"Excavations for the second phase of the 2,000-year-old Buddhist site at Zehanpora in Baramulla to begin on Saturday\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Excavations for the second phase of the 2,000-year-old Buddhist site at Zehanpora in Baramulla to begin on Saturday\">Excavations for the second phase of the 2,000-year-old Buddhist site at Zehanpora in Baramulla to begin on Saturday<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>ZEHANPORA (BARAMULLA): Excavations will begin Saturday on the second phase of Zehanpora, a Buddhist site in north Kashmir\u2019s Baramulla. J&amp;K chief secretary Atal Dullo will inaugurate the project.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>The presence of a 2,000-year-old Buddhist civilisation at the site was discovered last year by Mohamad Ajmal Shah, a professor at University of Kashmir. It gained prominence after PM Narendra Modi mentioned it during his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat on Dec 28 last year.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>The Prime Minister recalled that people had noticed tall mounds in Zehanpora for years without knowing about their significance. What were first believed to be unusual rock formations were later found to resemble three Buddha stupas seen in photos in a French museum.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>According to Modi, the blurred photos, thousands of kilometres away, proved crucial as it showed three Buddhist stupas, helping archaeologists connect the dots and reconstruct Kashmir\u2019s ancient past. The discovery reaffirms J&amp;K\u2019s rich cultural legacy.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>It all began in Oct 2023 when Shah was on a fellowship in France and came across the 100-odd old photos at Guimet Museum showing stupa domes in Baramulla. \u201cI immediately realised I had visited the site. What struck me was the domes in the photos looked much larger than what we see now,\u201d said Shah, attached to the varsity\u2019s department of Central Asian Studies.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>Later, Shah requested J&amp;K govt\u2019s department of archaeology to fund the project and it agreed. Shah and his team started digging in Nov last year, initially discovering a hall identified as an apsidal (semi-circular) stupa.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>Shah and his team also found iron\/copper artefacts, needles, decorated objects and other materials. <!-- -->\u201cWe identified wall alignments through drone images and excavated precisely at those points. There is a strong possibility that many structures and artefacts still lie preserved beneath the ground,\u201d Shah said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Shah highlighted the possibility that the site was linked to the Fourth Buddhist Council (1st century CE). \u201cKashmir was a major centre of Buddhism in ancient times. It was here that Hinayana Buddhism evolved into Mahayana Buddhism, giving the religion a new philosophical and cultural form,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div data-type=\"in_view\" class=\"  \">\n<div class=\"LEzX4\">\n<div class=\"PmOGb\">\n<p class=\"PSf84\">Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Insightful<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Agree<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Disagree<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Skeptical<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Concerning<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Promising<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Worth Reading<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Big Development<\/button><\/p>\n<p><textarea class=\"T9MbS\" rows=\"1\" placeholder=\"Add your Thoughts...\"\/><button type=\"button\" class=\"ZW6JD \" disabled=\"\">Post Comment<\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"swnca\">Be respectful \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatimes.com\/termsandcondition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"gkv0P\">TOI community guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>Shah pointed out that the Chinese explorer Hiuen Tsang had mentioned Baramulla in his travel accounts. According to Shah, Tsang spent a night at Uskur, a Buddhist site near Baramulla town and visited several monasteries in the area. \u201cThis suggests Tsang must have visited the monastery at Zehanpora as well,\u201d Shah said.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/second-excavation-phase-at-kashmir-buddhist-starts-today\/articleshow\/133599051.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Excavations for the second phase of the 2,000-year-old Buddhist site at Zehanpora in Baramulla to begin on Saturday ZEHANPORA (BARAMULLA): Excavations will begin Saturday on the second phase of Zehanpora, a Buddhist site in north Kashmir\u2019s Baramulla. J&amp;K chief secretary Atal Dullo will inaugurate the project.The presence of a 2,000-year-old Buddhist civilisation at the site [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Excavations for the second phase of the 2,000-year-old Buddhist site at Zehanpora in Baramulla to begin on Saturday ZEHANPORA (BARAMULLA): Excavations will begin Saturday on the second phase of Zehanpora, a Buddhist site in north Kashmir\u2019s Baramulla. J&amp;K chief secretary Atal Dullo will inaugurate the project.The presence of a 2,000-year-old Buddhist civilisation at the site [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":3,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/excavators-from-the-jampk-department-of-archives.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}