DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36956#0026
The mam support was given by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, hut
donations by several international agencies had to be arranged in addi-
tion. The constructional features were therefore studied by a team with
Richard Hughes and Didier Lefort as mam consultants, headed by Stefa-
no Bianca. The results of their work created the basis for a series of res-
torations. Otherwise, the 'palace' would have collapsed within a rela-
tively short space of time. More than 70 phases of previous enlarge-
ments were identified.
According to Carbon 14 tests, the earliest part of the buildings is more
than 700 years old. Originally, single-storey houses had been erected;
one had a defence tower. Animal pens were added to them. In the 19th
century the influence of British colonial buildings is evident. The private
rooms of the ruler, where receptions of foreign visitors took place, were
adapted to a 'modem' standard (Bianca 1996).
For the period ending with the inclusion of Gilgit into the Tibetan realm
in the 8th century A.D., the historical developments are attested by a
great number of petroglyphs m the Indus Valley, especially m the area
between Chilas and Shatial. Most of them are combined with inscrip-
tions which were made by Buddhists, who used the Kharosthi script in
the period m which the regional dynasties had organised, under the do-
minance of Kushan overlords, the trade between Gandhara and the
southern route of the Silk Roads in the Tarim basin. The images dis-
covered in this context were made partly by visitors who had joined the
caravans and partly by local disciples. Important personalities among the
locals 'funded' such illustrations of their pious feelings and added their
names.
More than 500 names of Sogdian merchants are attested at the site of
Shatial, where they - after crossing the Indus - met Buddhist counter-
parts, who had arrived from the south under the protection of Hunnic
tribes. I had wondered how the Sogdians could establish a sanctuary so
near to the place called Ta-li-lo by Chinese visitors, which was a Bud-
10
donations by several international agencies had to be arranged in addi-
tion. The constructional features were therefore studied by a team with
Richard Hughes and Didier Lefort as mam consultants, headed by Stefa-
no Bianca. The results of their work created the basis for a series of res-
torations. Otherwise, the 'palace' would have collapsed within a rela-
tively short space of time. More than 70 phases of previous enlarge-
ments were identified.
According to Carbon 14 tests, the earliest part of the buildings is more
than 700 years old. Originally, single-storey houses had been erected;
one had a defence tower. Animal pens were added to them. In the 19th
century the influence of British colonial buildings is evident. The private
rooms of the ruler, where receptions of foreign visitors took place, were
adapted to a 'modem' standard (Bianca 1996).
For the period ending with the inclusion of Gilgit into the Tibetan realm
in the 8th century A.D., the historical developments are attested by a
great number of petroglyphs m the Indus Valley, especially m the area
between Chilas and Shatial. Most of them are combined with inscrip-
tions which were made by Buddhists, who used the Kharosthi script in
the period m which the regional dynasties had organised, under the do-
minance of Kushan overlords, the trade between Gandhara and the
southern route of the Silk Roads in the Tarim basin. The images dis-
covered in this context were made partly by visitors who had joined the
caravans and partly by local disciples. Important personalities among the
locals 'funded' such illustrations of their pious feelings and added their
names.
More than 500 names of Sogdian merchants are attested at the site of
Shatial, where they - after crossing the Indus - met Buddhist counter-
parts, who had arrived from the south under the protection of Hunnic
tribes. I had wondered how the Sogdians could establish a sanctuary so
near to the place called Ta-li-lo by Chinese visitors, which was a Bud-
10