Harwan Excavations (For Site Plan see Plate LXXVII) Harwan is the name of a small village situated about 2 miles beyond the Shalimar garden. The only distinction it at present enjoys is derived from its being the site of the head-works of the magnificent water-supply system of Srinagar. Though the name Harwan had been identified by Sir Aurel Stein with Shadar- hadvana (grove of six saints), a locality mentioned in the Raja- tarangini, there were no indications above ground pointing to the existence of important monuments buried under the earth. It is true that over thirty years ago a few moulded brick tiles had been exhumed in the course of construction of the conduit which carries drinking- water to Srinagar; but as these were merely stray fragments no efforts were made to trace their origin. It is only recently that this much-delayed task has been undertaken.

Fortunately, at the very outset, the enquiry was facilitated by a lucky chance. It was on a brilliant afternoon that the site was first surveyed. The hill-side along which the water conduit runs was waving with long-stalked Indian corn. But amid all those fields of luxuriant corn there existed a square flat patch which was covered only with thin turf, and in which there grew a solitary stunted plane tree. This plot of land, by reason of its apparent unproductiveness, immediately attracted attention. On enquiry from the neat-herd who was watering his cattle in the brook near by, it was ascertained that this barren field owned the significant name of Kitur-i-Daj (field of potsherds), because the entire field consisted of thickly packed sherds — ^whence its barrenness. The question that naturally arose was how such an abundance of potsherds could occur so high up the hill-side and so far from the present inhabited areas. The only explanation (which eventually turned out to be correct) was that in ancient times there had been dwellings here — dwellings the nature of which could be ascertained only by excavation.

Within a few days of the commencement of the excavation a number of walls came to light (Plate XV). They were ordinary rubble stone structures, at first sight scarcely distinguishable from the modern mud-and-stone walls of peasants’ dwellings in Kashmir. When the operations had advanced, it was discovered that there was a method in the arrangement of the stones — e.g., a number of large boulders was placed in one row with intervening spaces between each pair of them. These spaces were filled with smaller stones, so that the entire fa-^ade presented a diaper effect. None of these stones was dressed. This style of construction was given the name “diaper rubble ” style (Plate XVI). Among the buildings constructed in this style are (i) the triple base of a medium-sized stupa, and (2) a set of rooms which might have served as chapels, or for residential purposes. The stupa is built in the middle of a rectangular courtyard facing north. While digging under its foundations a copper coin of Toramana, the White Hun ruler, who flourished in about the fifth century a.d., was discovered. From this piece of evidence it was in- ferred that the “ diaper rubble ” stupa could not possibly be earlier than the fifth century A.D., though it might be considerably later in date.

Immediately around the stupa there was a narrow fringe of figured-tile pavement. A close examination of it showed that (i) nearly all the pieces were fragmentary; (2) though nearly all of them bore figures, no group of adjacent pieces completed a motif; and (3) though some were flat and might have formed part of a pave- ment, there were a few which bore mouldings in relief and could only have belonged to walls. The obvious inference was that these tiles were transplanted from a diflFerent structure, probably earlier, when that structure had fallen into desuetude. The question now was to find the structure to which they originally belonged.

In this area, however, the rubble stone structures — e.g., the stupa and the chapels — ^were not the only buildings that were exhumed. Side by side with them were other buildings in quite different styles — for example, two adjacent walls of what might have been the court- yard of some edifice of which no trace came to light. These walls had a core of rubble stones, but their facing consisted of closely packed small pebbles, transported from the bed of the neighbouring torrent. The walls are built entirely in mud, but the pebbles are so carefully packed that after the lapse of nearly two thousand years the portion of the wall that remains standing presents a very neat appearance. But the labour involved in collecting and fixing such small pebbles in an extensive building must have been enormous. This style of construction has, for want of a better name, been termed the “ pebble ” style (Plate XVII). Again, another enclosure wall in a far better state of preservation was found. This is built in a peculiar style, which is evidently a cross between the older pebble style and the later rubble style, and provides a strikingly effective fa 9 ade (Plate XIX). It consists of a series of large, smooth-faced, irregularly shaped boulders placed at intervals of 6" to 1 8 " apart, the interspaces being filled with small round or oval pebbles of i" to i!' in diameter. It appears that the builders’ solicitude for the durability of their buildings in time overcame their desire to acquire religious merit by devoting extra, though unnecessary, labour in the construction of religious buildings.

Among the antiquities that this area yielded, were a large number of broken fingers and toes of terra-cotta figures, terra-cotta curls belonging to images of the Buddha, of which no other remnant was found, and a few clay votive tablets bearing in relief miniature stupas. These last are extremely interesting, inasmuch as they give an idea of the kind of stupas that were built in Kashmir in the early centuries of the Christian era. The stupa depicted on the tablets had a triple base, all the three flights of steps leading up being in line with one another, as is the case with the existing stupa at Harwan. From the uppermost basement sprang a cylindrical dome with a bulging hemispherical top, which was siurmounted by a number of umbrellas, standing one over the other, and diminishing in size until they end in a pointed finial. They are supported by what appears to be a forest of poles radiating outwards. To the finial were attached several long waving streamers. On one side of the stupa, standing in the comtyard, or it may be on the first terrace of the plinth, was a “ lion ” column. Below the representation of the stupa on the plaque, the Buddhist creed. Ye dharma, etc., in Brahmi characters of about the fourth century a.d., is stamped in relief (Plate XVIII).

A closer scrutiny of the hill-side brought to light the fact that in the period to which the ruins belong it was arranged in level terraces, on each of which stood several buildings. There was a central flight of steps which connected them, and gave access from one to the other. It is likely that it was continued to the foot of the hill, along which runs a beautiful stream of clear water, although the shrines were not wholly dependent for their drinking water upon the stream. There exist to this day two springs, one above and the other near the ruins, and probably in the old days there was a larger number.

On the highest of these terraces, which, by the way, grew excellent corn at the time of excavation, there was a little mound whose general appearance seemed promising. Nor did the operations, carried out later, belie that promise, for they brought to light the most important of the buildings so far exhumed at this site. It is a large apsidal temple, square in front and circular at the back, built in the very picturesque diaper pebble style of masonry. The temple accom- modation consisted of a spacious rectangular antechamber with a circular sanctum behind. No relic of any kind nor any trace of an image was found, but this deficiency was made up by the wonderful pavement of the courtyard round the temple, consisting of large moulded brick tiles having various shapes and forming different patterns (Plate XIX). The favourite pattern seems to have been a large disc consisting of several concentric circles with a single central piece.

Each circle is composed of a series of arc-shaped tiles, each stamped with a special motif. The principal motifs on the tiles so far dis- covered are (i) designs consisting of frets, wavy lines, fish-bone patterns, conventional flowers, and flower-designs consisting of different combinations of leaves ; (i) leaves of an aquatic plant com- mon in the neighbouring Dal lake; leaves of the lotus plant, some indigenous flowers in full bloom grouped in various ways; (3) geese running or flying in rows with flower petals or leaves in their bills; ducks; cocks or pheasants often placed in the centre of a floral pattern; cocks fighting; (4) rams fighting; cows suckling their young; elephants; deer looking with head turned backwards at the moon; archers on horseback chasing deer and shooting arrows at them; (5) a lady carrying a flower vase; a dancing girl; a female musician beating a drum; a soldier in armour hunting deer with bow and arrow; men and women conversing, seated in a balcony; boys carrying a floral festoon on their shoulders. That these tiles oc- cupied exactly the position they were laid in by ancient workmen is borne out by the fact that each one of them bears a number in Kharoshthi script, the order of the tiles in a series being in strict accordance with their consecutive numeral order. The obvious inference is that the tile-pavement was not laid in a haphazard manner, but followed a set design, probably drawn first by the architect on paper or parchment. The potter who made the tiles and stamped them with decorative figures numbered them before baking, to prevent the comparatively unskilled layer from making mistakes and thereby spoiling the design. Incidentally it shows that in ancient India, over fifteen centuries ago, labourers were expected to know at least the rudiments of writing and reading. The existence of Kharoshthi numerals also aflFords a reliable clue to the date of the tiles, and consequently to that of the monuments. Kharoshthi script ceased to be in vogue in north-western India, where it had principally flourished, about the fifth century a.d. It follows therefore that the tiles belong to a period anterior to that century, possibly a considerable period.

The fact that the Kharoshthi numerals at Harwan were intended for the guidance of common labourers indicates that the script must have been at the highest pitch of popularity at the time the tiles were made. I should accordingly place the date of the tiles, and consequently that of the diaper pebble masonry with which they are associated, at about a.d. 300. This conclusion receives further support from the style of the human hgures and other designs stamped on the tiles. For example, the physiognomy and, to some extent, the dress of the men and women are wholly unlike that of any of the races at present residing in Kashmir, or for the matter of that in India. Their facial characteristics bear close resemblance to those of inhabitants of the regions round about Yarkand and Kashgar, whose heavy features, prominent cheek- bones, narrow, sunk, and slanting eyes, and receding foreheads, are faithfully represented on the tiles. Some of the figures are dressed in trousers and Turkoman caps. The only period when Kashmir had any intimate connection with Central Asia was during the supremacy of the Kushans in the early centuries of the Christian era, when Kashmir formed part of the Kushan empire, which extended from Mathura in India to Yarkand in Central Asia. Indeed, then as now it appears to have occupied a pre-eminent position ; inasmuch as Kanishka (circa a.d. 125), the greatest of Kushan emperors, is said to have convened here his great council of Buddhist divines. It may be that some pious and prosperous Kushan built this shrine at Harwan, where, according to the ancient history of Kashmir, resided the great Buddhist patriarch, Nagarjuna. Further perhaps to increase his religious merit, and to show his humility, the builder had the image of his own face and that of his wife’s stamped on the tiles so that the commonest people might tread on them. Among the other decorative motifs which reveal foreign influence are the figures of mailed horsemen with flying scarves tied to their heads, which are strongly reminiscent of the contemporary Sassanian art of Persia.

The tile decoration was not confined to the pavement only. Though very few moulded tiles belonging to the facade have been found, their fragments prove that, up to a certain height at least, the fafade also was decorated with tile-work. This is further borne out by the discovery of a long platform at the back of the courtyard, which almost throughout its length bears such decoration (Plate XXI).

The peculiar interest of the Harwan monuments lies in the fact that they are the only remains of their kind in India (possibly in the world), and that they supply a life-like representation of the features of those mysterious people, the Kushans.

From the above it is clear that the pebble style of buildings was the earliest in date. It was followed by the diaper pebble style, which dates about a.d. 300. This style was followed by the diaper rubble style, whose date is about a.d. 500 and later.

The dimensions of the tile pavement round the apsidal temple are 160' by 124' 6 ". The tiles, as stated above, are decorated with a variety of motifs, the most prominent of which are reproduced in the accompanying illustrations. It will be noticed that a striking feature of the human figures on the tiles is that the head is invariably shown in profile and the body facing front (Plates XX-XLII).