Opinion | Zehanpora Uncovers the Kashmir of Two Thousand Years Ago

A nearly two-thousand-year-old Buddhist site in Baramulla is rewriting a forgotten chapter of Kashmir’s history

For generations, the people of Zehanpora village in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district lived beside mysterious earthen mounds, never imagining that these silent formations concealed an extraordinary chapter of history. What once appeared to be an ordinary part of the landscape is now revealing traces of an ancient civilisation beneath the soil. Recent archaeological excavations have transformed Zehanpora into one of Jammu and Kashmir’s most fascinating historical discoveries. Researchers have uncovered remains of a major Buddhist establishment connected to the Kushan period, including stupa structures and other architectural features. These discoveries offer a remarkable glimpse into Kashmir’s forgotten Buddhist heritage and its role in the wider ancient world. The site may help historians understand how Kashmir was connected with Gandhara, Central Asia and distant cultural centres through vibrant networks of trade, travel and ideas. Zehanpora is no longer just a quiet village. It is becoming a gateway to Kashmir’s remarkable and largely unexplored ancient past.

A discovery hidden in plain sight

For decades, the mysterious mounds stood quietly in the landscape, attracting little more than occasional curiosity. Their true significance remained hidden until systematic archaeological investigation began to uncover an extraordinary story beneath the earth. A major breakthrough came in 2023 when Dr Mohammad Ajmal Shah, an archaeologist at the University of Kashmir, discovered a historic photograph in a French museum archive. The remarkable image showed three stupas in the Baramulla region, offering researchers a vital clue and linking the surviving Zehanpora mounds to a broader Buddhist archaeological landscape. Further investigations transformed curiosity into compelling evidence. Drone imagery, detailed mapping and remote sensing revealed that the formations were not natural hills but carefully constructed ancient remains. This discovery opened an exciting new chapter in Kashmir’s archaeological history. In 2025, full scale excavations began through a joint effort by the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums and the University of Kashmir, promising to reveal more secrets.

“Sometimes history does not disappear. It simply waits beneath the soil for someone to listen.”

A window into Buddhist Kashmir

Zehanpora is far more than an isolated archaeological discovery. It forms part of a wider historical landscape that reveals Kashmir’s deep connection with the Buddhist world. Research by Dr Shah has already highlighted the importance of the Baramulla region, drawing attention to significant sites such as Ushkur and Kanispur along the historic Jhelum basin. Together, these places suggest that the region once played an important role in the movement of people, ideas and religious traditions.

The Jhelum was not merely a river flowing through Kashmir. It served as a vital corridor linking communities across the valley and beyond. Traders, pilgrims, scholars and travellers likely used routes along its banks, carrying goods, knowledge and cultural influences. Kashmir’s unique geographical position between the Indian subcontinent, Gandhara and Central Asia transformed it into a vibrant meeting ground where diverse civilizations interacted, exchanged ideas and left lasting impressions on its cultural and spiritual history.

The Kushan connection

Researchers date the principal remains at Zehanpora to the Kushan period, spanning roughly the first to third centuries of the Common Era, a remarkable age of cultural exchange and intellectual growth across South and Central Asia. The powerful Kushan Empire connected vast regions stretching across present day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, creating vibrant routes for trade, ideas, art and religion. Buddhism flourished under Kushan patronage, inspiring the construction of monasteries, stupas and centres of learning. The Gandharan region, located in present day northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, emerged as a celebrated centre of Buddhist scholarship and artistic innovation. Its distinctive art blended Indian spiritual traditions with influences from Greece and Central Asia. Kashmir, linked geographically and culturally through the Jhelum corridor, was ideally positioned within this dynamic world. Zehanpora therefore offers compelling evidence that ancient Kashmir was not an isolated mountain valley, but an active participant in a wider network of Buddhist culture, commerce and civilisation.

Where science meets the spade

Modern archaeology is no longer limited to digging through ancient soil. At Zehanpora, every discovery is carefully documented with its exact depth, location and surrounding context, allowing researchers to reconstruct the story hidden beneath the earth. Advanced technology, including drone surveys and detailed digital mapping, provides a broader view of the archaeological landscape. Scientific techniques such as radiocarbon dating can help determine the age of organic remains like charcoal. Yet archaeology is not simply about numbers and dates. Researchers must connect scientific results with soil layers, architecture and physical evidence to create a reliable and fascinating picture of Zehanpora’s past.

What still lies beneath

Much about Zehanpora still lies hidden beneath the layers of time, making it an exciting puzzle for researchers and historians. Archaeologists are yet to discover the true size of the settlement, the different periods of its occupation and the nature of everyday life. How did people live, work and interact? Did monks follow peaceful routines while traders and farmers supported the local economy? Every discovery may offer an important clue. A broken piece of pottery, an ancient coin or even a tiny plant remain can reveal valuable details about food, trade, culture and society, gradually bringing the forgotten story of Zehanpora back to life.

The second phase begins

The importance of the site has grown immensely with the beginning of the second phase of excavation on 29 August 2026. Expected to continue for nearly one hundred days, this season will be significantly longer and more detailed than the previous excavation. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo has indicated that uncovering the entire site may require as long as five years. This reveals the extraordinary patience and precision behind archaeological research. Archaeology is not simply about digging into the earth. Every layer represents a chapter of history and must be carefully recorded before it is removed. Each artefact discovered is documented, studied, preserved and connected to a larger historical story. Experts in pottery, architecture, metallurgy and soil science work together to interpret these discoveries. With every careful excavation, the site may reveal new evidence about forgotten communities, ancient traditions and the remarkable journey of human civilisation.

A new cultural asset for Baramulla

Beyond its scholarly value, Zehanpora carries potential for Baramulla’s cultural tourism. A properly conserved site could eventually support a museum, interpretation centre and guided visitor programmes, drawing students, researchers and heritage travellers. But officials caution that conservation must precede tourism, since fragile ancient structures could be damaged by unregulated development or visitor pressure.Local communities are expected to play a central role in this future, both as beneficiaries of heritage related employment and as stakeholders whose land and grazing concerns must be addressed alongside excavation.

A forgotten chapter, rewritten

Zehanpora adds to a growing body of evidence, alongside sites like Ushkur and Kanispur, that Kashmir’s history reaches deep into antiquity and was shaped by wider South and Central Asian networks. Much remains preliminary, and firmer conclusions will emerge only as excavation and scientific analysis continue.For now, the mounds that once stood unremarked beside village life have become the starting point for a much larger inquiry into how ancient Kashmir lived, traded and believed, a reminder that civilisations can vanish from memory without ever leaving the earth.

sheikhnazirmehdi@gmail.com