Hello, and welcome to 360 on History, where we uncover the hidden stories of our past, revealing the lesser-known wonders of history. I'm your host, Saima Baig, and today we’re exploring petroglyphs. These ancient rock carvings, etched into stone, have been part of our landscape for millennia. I guess humans have always had a desire to leave their mark on Earth, and petroglyphs are one of the most striking ways they’ve done so. One particularly fascinating location where we can still see these marks is Shaital, in northern Pakistan.
Shaital is a key point along the Karakoram Highway, which stretches through northern Pakistan. Historically, this area was a bustling transit station, connecting regions like Swat Valley, Gilgit, Chilas, and Chitral, and serving as a vital link in the Silk Road from China to Europe. Because of its importance, many travellers—Buddhist missionaries, Sogdian merchants, and pilgrims—passed through Shaital over the centuries, leaving behind inscriptions and graffiti on its rocky terrain.
In fact, more than 100 inscriptions and 700 petroglyphs have been found at just the Shaital bridge along the Indus River. These rock art sites are strategically located along pathways and riverbeds, making them visible to travellers for generations. They served as markers, possibly as part of trade routes, or as places of cultural and religious significance.
Now, let’s talk about what these carvings actually look like. The petroglyphs depict a variety of themes—hunting scenes, animals, triangular human figures, and even Buddhist imagery. They’re like a snapshot of the region’s rich history, offering us a visual storybook of a time long gone. These images have been left behind by different groups, showcasing the diversity of influences on this area over the centuries.
You might wonder, what languages are these inscriptions written in? Well, the answer is as diverse as the peoples who passed through. Ancient scripts like Kharosthi, Brahmi, Sogdian, Chinese, Tibetan, Proto-Sharada, and even Hebrew have been found. Brahmi is the most common, and it's clear that this region was a melting pot of different cultures, languages, and religions.
Some of these inscriptions are short—just the names of travellers and their families, and perhaps the date of their arrival. But they also provide important insights into the region’s history. Iranian merchants, for instance, left behind more than 550 inscriptions in the Sogdian language between the third and seventh centuries. We even find inscriptions in the now-extinct Bactrian language, as well as Middle Persian and Parthian.
These inscriptions give us a glimpse into the lives of people who passed through the region, as well as their beliefs. Many of the Iranian inscriptions reveal cultural insights into the Sogdian people and their Zoroastrian gods. Though we don’t have exact dates, most of these inscriptions likely belong to the Sasanian period, between 224 and 651 AD.
But the story doesn’t end there. As we move through time, we find that the region also became a center of Buddhist reverence. Inscriptions in Brahmi and Kharosthi reveal that Shaital was a place visited by Buddhist travellers. Among the carvings, you’ll find a large triptych depicting a stupa and scenes from the Sibi Jataka—a Buddhist tale about the past lives of the Buddha. There are also depictions of Buddha himself, surrounded by other figures, and carvings of stupas, all reflecting the spread of Buddhism through the area.
The rock carvings and inscriptions are a dream for those interested in ancient rock art. They reflect the influences of various cultures, including Buddhism, and offer us a glimpse into the past lives of the people who lived in this region. As early as the late Stone Age, in the ninth millennium BCE, the petroglyphs began to appear, with the oldest layers likely serving as markers for hunting stations.
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