Topdarra monastery, (near) Tup Darreh, Velayat-e Parvan, AF

Raw data

"208. Topdarra
Parwan Province. 58 kilometers north of Kabul, five kilometers southwest of Charikar.   
Dates: Kushan, 1st-3rd century AD (architectural evidence);
           Hephthalite-Hindu Shahi, 5th-10th century (ceramic).
A partially intact stupa over 20 meters high and 30 meters in diameter, with a decorative frieze of alternating Indo-Corinthian pilasters and blind arches. There is no sign of a platform. Its foundation is attributed to Kanishka. Towards Charikar are the remains of two monasteries with courtyards and small stupas.
[…]
Latitude 34.983333° N Longitude 69.133333° E"
DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#208 Topdarra)

"The word astopa in Hindi is toup and in Sanskrit it is pronounced aastopa. In Khorasan, the word has developed into the form of toop. In the greater 50 km radius of Kabul, this word is heard in many places including Toop Dara which is located close to the city of Charkar." Kohzad (1997)
Stupa at Topdara - http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1500_1599/babur/stupas/stupas.html

Tup Darreh, Afghanistan Page
Other names: Tūp Darreh,Tōpḏaṟa,Topdara
World:Afghanistan:Velayat-e Parvan
Lat 34.9850 Long 69.1275
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AF/00/Tup_Darreh.html
Input by: tmciolek, Aug 17, 2010

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 21 Jul 2014

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 2 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Topdarra monastery, AF.

General location of the Topdarra monastery, AF.
Lat 34.983333 Long 69.133333
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2010.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.983333+69.133333+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Topdarra%20monastery,%20AF)&ll=34.983333,69.133333&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Topdarra monastery - DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#208 Topdarra)

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Afghanistan:Velayat-e Parvan

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names

  • Toop Dara - Kohzad (1997)

4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx., Lat 34.983333 Long 69.133333 - DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#208 Topdarra)

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

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

  • 1st-3rd century CE (architectural evidence) - DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#208 Topdarra)

MBM chrono-tag <=0200 - tmciolek 21 Jul 2014
<=0200 0200-32c 0233-66c 0267-99c 0300-32c 0333-66c 0367-99c 0400-32p 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 0867-99p 0900-32p 0933-66p 0967-99p dated-el


12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • 5th-10th century (ceramic evidence) - DoDLRMP and CEMML (2010:#208 Topdarra)

MBM chrono-tag 0400-32p 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 0867-99p 0900-32p 0933-66p 0967-99p - tmciolek 21 Jul 2014


14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • Archaeological

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]

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