A photography exhibition puts the spotlight on the oldest Buddhist site in Jammu & Kashmir

Artefacts yielded from an excavation of Ambaran between 1999 and 2000, an archaeological site in Jammu's Akhnoor, form the subject of an ongoing photography exhibition at Delhi’s National Museum.Titled “Ambaran: The Historic Buddhist Citadel of J&K” the show by journalist and photographer Vijay Kranti features images of terracotta heads, pottery, coral jewellery and silver coins.

- GNS News Agency, June 5

Situated on the bank of Chenab, the site is located at the entry point of Akhnoor, about 30 km north of Jammu. Kranti notes that the Buddhist site, most probably a monastery, remained active for about 900 years between the 2nd century BC and 7th century AD, a period belonging to the Pre-Kushan, Kushan and Post-Kushan Gupta periods.One of the photographs show a circular stone and brick base which helped archaeologists conclude the existence of a spoked wheel stupa. “It was the most distinguishing proof,” the exhibition notes, adding,