Lauren Morris

Revised PhD dissertation. Large file size, so download the full text here: https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/28897/.

The Begram hoard constitutes hundreds of objects produced across ancient Afro-Eurasia that were deposited largely within two sealed rooms of the Site II structure at Begram (the ancient city of Kapisi) in Afghanistan. In scholarship, the hoard is usually linked to the period of the Kushan Empire (ca. 50–350 CE), but the published archaeological data pertaining to this unique find – discovered on the eve of World War II by archaeologists of the Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan – are highly problematic and difficult to interpret. Accordingly, as I explain in Chapter 1, not only the date of the hoard, but also its nature (merchant’s cache or palatial treasure?) and wider historical significance remain the subjects of unresolved scholarly debate. Thus, in this dissertation, I seek to break this impasse by re-examining the contents and context of the hoard, employing also documentary and photographic archival materials preserved in the Musée Guimet towards this objective. ... (summary continues in text)

Note: Please now see amendments to these arguments made in light of additional material in my revised doctoral dissertation, "The Begram Hoard and its Context" (2021).

This paper offers two major revisions to the chronology of the archaeological site of Begram (Afghanistan). The first revision pertains to when the Begram hoard was deposited (i.e. not when the objects were produced). Based on the new identification of three coins from room 10 as belonging to the post-Vasudeva Oesho with bull series, as well as an analysis of the distribution of the hoard objects and the degradation of the surrounding structure, a terminus post quem for this event is fixed at c. 260 AD. The second revision relates to the occupation of Site II and other areas of the New Royal City. Drawing on architectural, ceramic, and numismatic evidence, it is argued that both Ghirshman’s attribution of the Site II structure to Niveau II only, and his attribution of the Qala to Niveau III, are incorrect. Rather, it seems that the Site II structure was renovated and continued to be occupied through Niveau III, and was occupied at the same time as the upper occupation layers at Site B, Site I, and the city entrance. The hoard was likely deposited with the abandonment of the New Royal City at the end of Niveau III.

Some work in progress, for eventual publication.

Abstract (old): Despite the extreme flexibility of boundaries in various contemporary definitions of Central Asia as a region, many working on Central Asia in antiquity draw its southern limit across the Hindu Kush. Frequently in scholarship, the vast mountain range is conventionally used to delineate between Bactria and India, or, as it is also commonly framed, North and South of the Hindu Kush. Basic variations in landscape, climate, material culture and language between the two areas are obvious, but this perspective can be nuanced.

The Paropamisus – a toponym indicating the Hindu Kush or “Caucasus” as well as the region inhabited by the Paropamisadae, the latter association emphasised here – rarely figures in current research beyond references to Alexander’s itinerary and the Alexandria he founded there, and is certainly grouped with India, “South” regions, or Arachosia. This paper attempts to show that examining geographies of the Paropamisus – physical and human – can help to illuminate the nature of the Hindu Kush as a frontier from the Achaemenid to the Kushan period.

Gathering textual references to the Paropamisus, the location of its limits, features, and places are discussed. Then considered are its mythical associations in Greek eyes, conflations with the Caucasus proper, and Quintus Curtius’ unflattering view of its environment and its inhabitants. Insights from Achaemenid studies are then brought to the fore, regarding the integration of this into the imperial administrative landscape, and highlighting relationships between the satrapies of Gandhara and Bactria, seen also in Alexander’s time. Then, we see what scant archaeological and numismatic evidence from the region can tell us about its cultural and political history, especially in the Hellenistic period. Finally, examples are raised to demonstrate the porosity of the Hindu Kush, and argue for its status as a quasi-boundary with its permeability set by factors beyond the physical environment.

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