Tepe Maranjan monastery, (in) Kabul, Velayat-e Kabol, AF

Raw data

"Two Buddhist monasteries have been discovered at Tepe Maranjan (Kabul), in one of which a hoard of 326 silver Sasanian coins and 12 gold Kushano-Sasanian coins was found." Dani and Litvinsky (1999:114)

"204. Tepe Maranjan
Alternate spelling: Tappeh-ye Maranjan
Kabul Province. On Maranjan Hill, four kilometers east of the Kabul Bala Hisar, just to the north of the road to Butkhak.
Dates: Kushano-Sassanian period, 3rd-4th century AD
           (numismatic, stylistic evidence);
           Hephthalite-Turki Shahi, 5th-9th century (ceramic)
A Buddhist monastery complex, of which almost nothing remains today. Finds include sculpture, frescos, refined pottery and a hoard of 368 Sassanian silver drachmas, dating from 383 to 388 AD. In 1981 a second monastic complex was discovered by chance, which includes a diaper masonry stupa, and a thick ash layer that may mark the Hephthalite invasion. At the foot of the hill at the south side are twelve artificial caves with low parallel openings. Immediately to the east of these caves are many mounds.
Lat 34.5177777777 Long 69.2086111111 "
- DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#204 Tepe Maranjan)
Input by: tmciolek, Jul 6, 2010

Tepe Maranjan (Kabul province)
The Buddhist remains in the immediate vicinity of Kabul are few in number but are of great interest to students of Afghan archaeology. Since these ancient sites are situated in the vicinity of Kabul, it is worth looking at them anew.
In a suburb of Kabul, east of the tomb of King Nadir Shah and south of the road to Jalalabad and Peshawar, the monastery of Tepe Maranjan was excavated by Jean Carl in 1933. The site was surveyed again by Gérard Fussman in 1976 and more recently by Zemarialaē Tarzi and the members of the Afghan Institute of Archaeology.
Currently there are plans to investigate further these ruined buildings and a large stupa, 24 m high. They perhaps date from the sixth to the eighth century ad.
Note: as early as 1933, a hoard of ancient coins was found in monastery I and deposited in the Kabul Museum (see MDAFA, XIV, 1953, pp. 103ff ).
Bibliography:
G. Fussman and M. Le Berre, 1976, MDAFA, XXII. J. Hackin et al., 1959, MDAFA, VIII, pp. 7–12.
Z. Tarzi, 2001 (unpublished).
Src: Tissot (2006)
Input by: tmciolek, Aug 01, 2014

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 01 Aug 2014

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Tepe Maranjan monastery, AF.

General location of the Tepe Maranjan monastery, AF.
Lat 34.5177 Long 69.2086
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2010.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.5177+69.2086+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Tepe%20Maranjan%20monastery,%20AF)&ll=34.5177,69.2086&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en

Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Tepe Maranjan monastery - DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#204 Tepe Maranjan)

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Afghanistan:Velayat-e Kabol

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names

4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx, Lat 34.5177777777 Long 69.2086111111 - DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#204 Tepe Maranjan)

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village

7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

8. The settlement's coordinates

9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • [missing data]

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • Kushano-Sassanian period, 3rd-4th century AD - DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#204 Tepe Maranjan)

MBM chrono-tag 0233-66p 0267-99p 0300-32p 0333-66p - tmciolek 19 Jul 2014 
0233-66p 0267-99p 0300-32p 0333-66p 0367-99c 0400-32c 0433-66p 0467-99p 0500-32p 0533-66p 0567-99p 0600-32p 0633-66p 0667-99p 0700-32p 0733-66p 0767-99p 0800-32p 0833-66p dated-el

12. Date-intermediate

  • 4th to 5th centuries AD - Maeda (n.d.)

13. Date-late

  • Hephthalite-Turki Shahi, 5th-9th century AD - DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#204 Tepe Maranjan)

MBM chrono-tag 0433-66p 0467-99p 0500-32p 0533-66p 0567-99p 0600-32p 0633-66p 0667-99p 0700-32p 0733-66p 0767-99p 0800-32p 0833-66p - tmciolek 19 Jul 2014 

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • Archaeological, numismatic, ceramic, stylistic evidence

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)….

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

end of page

0233-66p0267-99p0300-32p0333-66p0367-99c0400-32c0433-66p0467-99p0500-32p0533-66p0567-99p0600-32p0633-66p0667-99p0700-32p0733-66p0767-99p0800-32p0833-66p200mafghanistancavecentral-asiadated-elmuralsplacesouth-asiastupattradition(?)
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