A group of Pakistani and Italian archaeological experts discovered an ancient temple at a mountain in Northwest Pakistan, Swat District. As per the experts the temple is of Lord Vishnu and believed to be around 1300 years old. The discovery was made during an excavation at Barikot Ghundai. The announcement of the discovery was made on Thursday.
Fazle Khaliq of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Department of Archaeology said that the temple was built during Shahi period. Some traces of cantonment and watchtowers were also found near the temple site by the experts along with a water tank. The experts believe that perhaps the water tank was used by the Hindus for bathing before worshiping in the temple.
The head of the Italian archaeological mission, Dr. Luka informed that this is the first ever temple of Gandhara civilization to be discovered in that area. However, a few more archaeological sites have been found before in the Swat district.
Swat district with its cultural, religious and archaeological sites and scenic beauty is a major tourist attraction in the country. Before the partition of the country into India and Pakistan, a large number of Hindu people resided there. This owes to the large number of temples in the country.
