PESHAWAR
The free access to treasures of the Ghandhara Civilization on arrival of independence day celebrations on Monday attracted new generations to ancient heritage of Khyber Pakthunkhwa.For 10-year-old Anaya Bibi, a visit to the Peshawar Museum was more than an outing on occasion of arrival of Independence Day rather it was her first close encounter with a Ghandhara civilization she had previously known only through books and classroom lessons.
As she walked through the Gandhara galleries, her eyes moved from one ancient sculpture to another. Towering images of the Buddha, delicately carved narrative panels and centuries-old relics appeared to her like fragments of a distant world suddenly brought back to life.
“I felt as if I had stepped into history of a civilization curved in stone,” Anaya said, standing beside one of the Buddha sculptures while recording a video on her mobile phone.
Her visit was made possible by an initiative of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government under which entry to provincial museums and archaeological sites has been waived from August 1 to 14 as part of Independence Day celebrations.
The initiative has opened the province’s archaeological treasures to families, students, tourists, researchers and cultural enthusiasts without an entry fee, giving thousands of people an opportunity to explore a past that stretches across centuries.
Among the museums participating in the initiative are the Peshawar Museum, 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.
Visitors can also explore major archaeological sites, including Takht-i-Bahi, Jamal Garhi, Shahbaz Garhi, Butkara-I, Saidu Sharif Stupa, the Ashoka Rock Edicts in Mansehra and Ranigat in Buner, free of charge during the campaign.
Together, these museums and sites present a remarkable historical continuum from Gandharan Buddhism and ancient urban settlements to the region’s later Islamic, tribal and colonial heritage.
At the centre of this heritage landscape stands the Peshawar Museum, internationally recognized for its extensive collection of Gandharan art.
The museum’s Gandharan galleries contain Buddhist sculptures and narrative reliefs dating broadly from the Gandhara period, with the museum’s own historical account describing its collection as spanning roughly the second century BC to the sixth century AD.
Its displays include sculptures and stone panels depicting episodes from the life of the Buddha, while accompanying descriptions help visitors understand the stories represented in the carvings.
The significance of the collection goes beyond the number of objec ts. Gandharan art represents an extraordinary cultural encounter in which Buddhist themes were expressed through artistic traditions influenced by the wider Hellenistic and Roman worlds.
For visitors, that fusion is visible in the treatment of faces, drapery, hairstyles, architectural motifs and narrative scenes.
The museum’s Buddha galleries are particularly popular because they allow visitors to follow the story of the Buddha through a sequence of sculptures and reliefs—from his birth and early life to renunciation, enlightenment and teaching.
For a archealogy lover Anaya, however, the experience is less about academic chronology and more about discovery.
“Seeing the rare artifacts and statues of Lord Buddha made me feel like I was part of those ancient times,” she said.
The museum building itself is part of Peshawar’s historical landscape.
Originally known as Victoria Hall, the building was constructed in the early 20th century in memory of Queen Victoria and subsequently became the Peshawar Museum. Its architecture reflects a combination of British-era and South Asian architectural influences. The museum has undergone expansion and conservation over the years as its collections and public role have grown.
Today, the building serves not merely as a storehouse for antiquities but as an educational and cultural institution where archaeology is presented to the public.
Bakhtzada Khan, Assistant Director at the Department of Archaeology and Museums, described the museum as a gateway to the Gandharan past.
“This museum is not just a building; it’s a window into our Gandhara civilization,” he said. “Its restoration has transformed it into a vibrant destination where history comes alive.”
The museum’s holdings extend beyond Buddhist art. Visitors can also encounter traditional clothing, including tribal costumes, weapons, coins, household implements and objects associated with different periods of the region’s history.
That diversity gives the museum an unusual character as the visitor can move from the world of Buddhist monasteries to the material culture of the region’s later communities within the same building.
The museum experience also provides an entry point to the archaeological landscape outside Peshawar
Takht-i-Bahi, one of the most important Buddhist monastic complexes in the Gandhara region, is particularly significant. UNESCO describes the site as one of the most imposing Buddhist remains in the Gandhara region and says the monastery 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, meditation areas and other structures.
Many sculptures from Takht-i-Bahi and the neighbouring ancient settlement of Sahr-i-Bahlol were housed in the Peshawar Museum, creating a direct link between the archaeological site and the museum gallery.
Similarly, Swat’s Buddhist sites, the ancient remains around Mardan and Charsadda, and the archaeological landscapes of Buner and Mansehra demonstrate that Gandhara was not confined to a single city.
It was a broad cultural region connected through settlements, monasteries, trade routes, artistic workshops and religious networks.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology and Museums continues to conduct archaeological research and excavations in different parts of the province. Recent excavations at Bahu Dheri in Swabi, for example, revealed a large stupa surrounded by votive stupas and chapels, along with Gandharan artefacts including sculptural and decorative material.
The growing interest in Gandhara heritage is also raising a larger question is how can these treasures reach audiences who may never be able to travel to Peshawar, Swat or Mardan?
For Anaya, the answer is simple by putting them online.
“We should showcase these treasures abroad through digital media,” she suggested. “It will attract more tourists and help people around the world learn about our rich history.”
Her idea reflects a wider transformation already taking place in heritage management.
The KP Directorate of Archaeology and Museums has established a Digital Heritage Center that works on digital documentation, 3D visualization, geospatial technologies, digital reconstruction and open-access heritage resources. Such technologies can support preservation, research, education and public access, including virtual-reality models.
For archaeologists, digitization offers benefits beyond tourism. High-resolution photography, three-dimensional scanning and digital cataloguing can create detailed records of sculptures and monuments, assist researchers in comparing objects, and provide additional documentation in case physical artefacts are damaged.
“Digital storytelling can connect us with international communities and bring in heritage lovers who may never physically visit,” said Bakhtzada Khan.
The challenge, however, is to ensure that technology complements not replaces the physical heritage.
A virtual tour can show the shape of a Gandharan sculpture, but standing before the original allows visitors to appreciate its scale, material, texture and craftsmanship in ways a screen cannot completely reproduce.
The renewed attention to Gandhara also carries implications for cultural tourism.
Pakistan’s northwestern region possesses a concentration of Buddhist archaeological remains that is significant not only for historians and archaeologists but also for Buddhist communities and pilgrims from countries across Asia.
Takht-i-Bahi’s UNESCO World Heritage status, combined with the Peshawar Museum’s collections and the Buddhist sites of Swat and other districts, gives KP the potential to develop a connected heritage-tourism circuit rather than treating individual museums and monuments as isolated attractions.
Such a strategy could bring together museums, archaeological sites, trained guides, universities, local artisans, hotels and transport services.
It could also create opportunities for young people by turning archaeology and heritage interpretation into fields of employment rather than viewing museums simply as repositories of old objects.
The provincial archaeology directorate itself describes its museums as centres of learning, research and cultural enrichment, while emphasizing preservation, excavation and restoration across the province.
A brighter night for an old landmark
As evening approaches, the Peshawar Museum assumes another identity.
Its illuminated façade draws photographers and families, while the galleries continue to offer a quieter experience for those interested in the details of ancient sculpture.
The contrast is striking: outside, a modern city moves around one of its busiest roads; inside, visitors stand before objects created many centuries ago.
For young visitors, that encounter can change the way history is understood.
A chapter in a textbook may describe Gandhara as an ancient civilization. A sculpture, by contrast, gives that history a human face.
That may be one of the most important outcomes of opening museums to the public—particularly children who might otherwise regard archaeology as something distant.
The free-entry initiative is officially tied to Independence Day celebrations, but its significance could extend well beyond August.
Every new visitor represents a potential future advocate for heritage preservation. Every student who photographs an artefact, asks a question or shares a museum experience online becomes part of a new form of cultural engagement.
The challenge now is to sustain that interest after the celebrations end.
Regular educational programmes, school visits, improved interpretation, multilingual information, digital archives, virtual tours and stronger international cultural partnerships could help transform temporary visitor enthusiasm into a lasting public connection with heritage.
For Anaya, the lesson from her museum visit is already clear.
She arrived expecting to see old statues.
She left with a story to tell.
And as she raised her phone to capture the image of the Buddha, the centuries-old sculpture became part of a very modern form of preservation—one in which a child in Peshawar can help introduce Gandhara to an audience far beyond the walls of a museum.
For now, the ancient stones remain where they have stood for generations.
But through museums, education and digital technology, their stories may travel much farther.
