Surkh Kotal — Baghlan Kushan Fire Temple
Kushan (130–230 CE Kanishka)·Kushan (Kanishka)·🇦🇫 Baghlan Province, Afghanistan
About
About Surkh Kotal — Baghlan Kushan Fire Temple
Surkh Kotal — Baghlan Kushan Fire Temple in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan is a Kushan (130–230 CE Kanishka) temple-complex attributed to Kushan (Kanishka). Hilltop fire temple with staircase 20 m and stele of Kanishka and Greek script on Surkh Kotal ridge. Schlumberger Surkh Kotal Kanishka inscription and fire temple with Atashgah.
Why it mattersKey Kushan (Kanishka) stratigraphic tell for Syro-Mesopotamian sequence
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Halaf–Ubaid transition
- 02Neo-Assyrian administration
Theories
- 01Pottery kiln seriation
- 02Trade route monitoring
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 130 CE Kanishka
- Period
- Kushan (130–230 CE Kanishka)
- Culture
- Kushan (Kanishka)
- Purpose
- Hilltop fire temple with staircase 20 m and stele of Kanishka and Greek script on Surkh Kotal ridge
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 130 CE Kanishka
Initial construction
c. 1920 CE
Modern survey
On the ground
Structures & features
36.0500° N · 68.5700° E · 1200 m · 3 mapped features
Surkh Kotal — Baghlan Kushan Fire Temple — Fire Temple Cella
cellaCella with altar
36.0501° N · 68.5701° ESurkh Kotal — Baghlan Kushan Fire Temple — Entrance Pylon
pylonPylon
36.0498° N · 68.5701° ESurkh Kotal — Baghlan Kushan Fire Temple — Stele Base
steleStele
36.0504° N · 68.5698° E