Archaeological Sites in Afghanistan
Ahin Posh Tape
A Kushan-era Buddhist stupa and monastery near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, first excavated by William Simpson in 1879. The central relic deposit contained a golden Gandharan amulet with garnets, coins of…
Alexandria Arachosia - Old Kandahar
Alexandria Arachosia was a fortress-city founded by Alexander the Great around 330-329 BC on the site of an earlier Achaemenid fortress [1][2]. It was one of over twenty cities established during…
Alexandria in the Caucasus
Founded by Alexander the Great in 329 BC near modern Begram, 65 km north of Kabul, Alexandria in the Caucasus served as a strategic base for crossing the Hindu Kush. The garrison was settled with…
Alexandria Oxiana-Ai-Khanoum
Ai-Khanoum is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. Founded between 300 and 285 BC, it served as a major military and economic centre of the Greco-Bactrian…
Bimaran
Bimaran is a locality 11 km west of Jalalabad in Afghanistan, known for five ancient stupas dating to the 1st century BC-1st century AD. British archaeologist Charles Masson excavated the famous…
Chakhil-i-Ghoundi Stupa
The Chakhil-i-Ghoundi Stupa (Stupa C1) is a small limestone Buddhist monument from the 2nd-3rd century CE at the archaeological site of Hadda in eastern Afghanistan [1]. Excavated in 1928 by French…
Daschly
Daschly (Dashly) is an oasis in northern Afghanistan's Jowzjan Province containing 41 Bronze Age archaeological sites excavated by Viktor Sarianidi from 1969-1979. Dashly 1 features a mud-brick…
Dilberjin Tepe
Dilberjin Tepe is an ancient fortified town in northern Afghanistan, probably founded in the 5th century BC during the Achaemenid period and flourishing until the 6th century AD. The quadrangular…
Farah Citadel
A massive fortress on the edge of Farah City, Afghanistan, with walls reaching 15 meters high and a perimeter extending one kilometer. Known as the Citadel of Alexander, its origins are debated --…
Guldarra Stupa
Located near the village of Guldara in Kabul Province, Afghanistan, the Guldara stupa sits atop a high hill at the end of the Valley of Guldara [1]. The monument was established in the late 2nd…
Hadda
A major Greco-Buddhist archaeological site 10 km south of Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, dating primarily to the 3rd-4th century CE. Excavated by DAFA under Jules Barthoux (1926-27)…
Kutlug-Tepe
Kutlug-Tepe is an Achaemenid-period fortification in northern Afghanistan, in ancient Bactria. The site comprises a hill measuring 40 x 40 metres and 4 metres high, about a kilometer from an…
Mes Aynak
Mes Aynak is a major Buddhist settlement located 40 km southeast of Kabul in Logar Province, Afghanistan.[1] The site features a vast complex of Buddhist monasteries, homes, over 400 Buddha statues,…
Minar-i Chakri
Minar-i Chakri was a 28.5-m-tall pillar of carved stone, situated at 2,500 m elevation, 16 km southeast of Kabul, Afghanistan[1]. Erected in the 1st century AD, it was one of the Buddhist monuments…
Mundigak
Mundigak is a prehistoric archaeological site in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, representing a major center of the Helmand culture during the Bronze Age [1]. Located approximately 55 km (34 mi)…
Nagara (Ancient city)
Nagara, also known as Dionysopolis, was an ancient Greco-Indian city in what is now eastern Afghanistan, associated with the site of Nagara Ghundi about 4 km west of Jalalabad near the junction of…
Rag-i-Bibi
Rag-i-Bibi is a Sasanian rock relief in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan, measuring 4.9 m high and 6.5 m wide. The relief depicts a kingly figure, possibly Shapur I, riding a galloping horse in pursuit…
Said Qala Tepe
Said Qala Tepe is a prehistoric archaeological tell near Kandahar, Afghanistan, standing about 8 metres high and covering 200 by 200 metres. The site shows intensive settlement during the 4th and 3rd…
Shewaki Stupa
(1st–5th c. AD) Shewaki is a village in Bagrami District, Kabul Province, Afghanistan, near Koh e Hindaki and Munar e Chakari mountains [1]. The site contains Shahbahar (King's Vihara), a religious…
Surkh Kotal
Surkh Kotal is a monumental Kushan-era archaeological site in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan, about 18 km north of Pul-i Khumri. Dating primarily to the 2nd through 4th centuries CE, the hilltop…
Takht-e Rostam
Takht-e Rostam is a Buddhist stupa and monastery complex carved from bedrock around the 3rd-4th century AD in northern Afghanistan [1]. Located 2 km south of Haibak, the site features five chambers,…
Tapa Shotor
Taormina is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Messina on Sicily's east coast [1]. Its history dates back to before Ancient Greece established its first colony on Sicily in 734 BC [1]. The…
Tepe Sardar
Tepe Sardar is an ancient Buddhist monastery complex in central Afghanistan, situated on a hill overlooking the Dasht-i Manara plain near Ghazni[1]. The site reveals two distinct artistic phases: an…
Tillya Tepe
Tillya Tepe is a necropolis in northern Afghanistan's Jowzjan Province near Sheberghan, consisting of six burial mounds dating to the 1st century BC–1st century AD [1]. Excavated in 1978 by a…
Yemshi Tepe
An ancient circular fortified city covering approximately 20 hectares, located 5 km northeast of Sheberghan in northern Afghanistan. Built during the Kushan Empire period (1st-3rd century AD) on…