| Original Message: Ghandara and the Swat Valley |
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Linda,
For the past 5 years or so, I have seen beads and spindle whorls that supposedly have been "fairly recently" dug up in the Swat Valley, in the area of the ancient kingdom of Ghandara (near present day Peshawar). In one case the items were personally collected by the Pakistani seller. I think it would be safe to consider that beads brought to the US by Pakistani or Afghani sellers, or from people closely associated with that area of the world, are from the areas known in antiquity as Bactria and Ghandara. The Sasanian Empire, (a Persian Empire) controlled the area from 224 - 651 AD - then it fell to Muslim invaders. You may find it interesting to read up on the history of that part of the world - it is complex and fascinating. Dating any of the beads is problematic. If they are being casually dug up with no regards to archeological dating methods, then their true history is lost. It is also likely that beads are collected from different sources and areas and re-strung a number of times into market strands. This is why a mixture of materials can be found on the strands. We should probably just regard such beads as "old and possibly ancient beads from the Middle East". All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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