Sirkap

---

title: "Sirkap" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bactrian-and-indian-hellenistic-colonies", "ancient-greek-archaeological-sites-in-pakistan", "archaeological-sites-in-punjab,-pakistan", "buddhist-sites-in-pakistan", "former-populated-places-in-pakistan", "taxila-tehsil", "1st-century-bc-jain-temples"] description: "Archaeological site near Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirkap" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Archaeological site near Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox ancient site"]

Field	Value
name	Sirkap
image	Double-Headed Eagle Stupa at Sirkap 06.jpg
caption	Double-Headed Eagle Stupa at Sirkap
{{OSM Location map
coord
float	center
zoom	13
width	320
height	260
caption
mark-coord1
mark1	Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg
mark-size1	20
label1	Hathial
label-size1	10
label-color1	red
label-pos1	right
mark-title1	Hathial
mark-description1	Taxila, 1000–400 BCE
mark-coord2
mark2	Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg
mark-size2	20
label2	Bhir Mound
label-size2	10
label-color2	red
label-pos2	left
mark-title2	Bhir Mound
mark-description2	Taxila, 400–0 BCE
mark-coord3
mark3	Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg
mark-size3	20
label3	Sirkap
label-size3	10
label-color3	red
label-pos3	right
mark-title3	Sirkap
mark-description3	Taxila, 180 BCE–
mark-coord4
mark4	Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg
mark-size4	20
label4	Sirsukh
label-size4	10
label-color4	red
label-pos4	left
mark-title4	Sirsukh
mark-description4	Taxila, 80 CE–
map_type	Pakistan#Gandhara
relief	yes
coordinates
type	Settlement
epochs
cultures	Gandhara, Indo-Greek
archaeologists	Sir John Marshall
website
designation1	WHS
designation1_offname	Taxila
designation1_criteria	iii, iv
designation1_date	1980
designation1_number	139
::

| name = Sirkap | native_name = | alternate_name = | image = Double-Headed Eagle Stupa at Sirkap 06.jpg | alt = | caption = Double-Headed Eagle Stupa at Sirkap {{OSM Location map | coord =
| float = center | zoom = 13 | width = 320 | height = 260 | caption = | mark-coord1 = | mark1 = Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg | mark-size1 = 20 | label1 = Hathial | label-size1 = 10 | label-color1 = red | label-pos1 = right | mark-title1 = Hathial | mark-image1 = | mark-description1 = Taxila, 1000–400 BCE | mark-coord2 = | mark2 = Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg | mark-size2 = 20 | label2 = Bhir Mound | label-size2 = 10 | label-color2 = red | label-pos2 = left | mark-title2 = Bhir Mound | mark-image2 = | mark-description2 = Taxila, 400–0 BCE | mark-coord3 = | mark3 = Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg | mark-size3 = 20 | label3 = Sirkap | label-size3 = 10 | label-color3 = red | label-pos3 = right | mark-title3 = Sirkap | mark-image3 = | mark-description3 = Taxila, 180 BCE– | mark-coord4 = | mark4 = Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg | mark-size4 = 20 | label4 = Sirsukh | label-size4 = 10 | label-color4 = red | label-pos4 = left | mark-title4 = Sirsukh | mark-image4 = | mark-description4 = Taxila, 80 CE– | map_type = Pakistan#Gandhara | map_alt = | map_size = | relief = yes | coordinates = | location = | region = | type = Settlement | part_of = | length = | width = | area = | height = | builder = | material = | built = | abandoned = | epochs = | cultures = Gandhara, Indo-Greek | dependency_of = | occupants = | event = | excavations = | archaeologists = Sir John Marshall | condition = | ownership = | management = | public_access = | website = | notes = | designation1 = WHS | designation1_offname = Taxila | designation1_type = | designation1_criteria = iii, iv | designation1_date = 1980 | delisted1_date = | designation1_number =139 | designation1_free1name = | designation1_free1value = Sirkap (Urdu and ) is the name of an archaeological site on the bank opposite to the city of Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan.

The city of Sirkap was built by the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius after he invaded modern-day Pakistan around 180 BC. Demetrius founded an Indo-Greek kingdom that was to last until around 10 BC. Sirkap is also said to have been rebuilt by king Menander I.

Archaeological excavations

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Map_of_Sirkap_excavations_1918.jpg" caption="Map of Sirkap excavations."] ::

The excavation of the old city was carried out under the supervision of Sir John Marshall by Hergrew from 1912–1930. In 1944 and 1945 further parts were excavated by Mortimer Wheeler and his colleagues. Most of the discoveries at Sirkap related to the Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian periods (1st-2nd century CE). Overall excavations to the Greek levels have been very limited, and probably much remains hidden underground: in Sirkap, only about one eighth of the excavations were made down to the Indo-Greek and early Indo-Scythian levels, and this only in an area far removed from the center of the ancient city, where few discoveries could be expected.

Greek city

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Demetrius_I_of_Bactria.jpg" caption="Demetrius]] (r.c. 200–180 BC), founder of Sirkap."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/IndoGreekArtifactsDrawings.JPG" caption="Main archaeological artifacts from the Indo-Greek strata at [[Taxila]]. From top, left:"] ::

• Fluted vase with bead and reel design (Bhir Mound, stratum 1)
• Cup with rosace and decorative scroll (Bhir Mound, stratum 1)
• Stone palette with individual on a couch being crowned by standing woman, and served (Sirkap, stratum 5)
• Handle with double depiction of a philosopher (Sirkap, stratum 5/4)
• Woman with smile (Sirkap, stratum 5)
• Man with moustache (Sirkap, stratum 5) (Source: John Marshall "Taxila, Archaeological excavations").]] The site of Sirkap was built according to the "Hippodamian" grid-plan characteristic of Greek cities. It is organized around one main avenue and fifteen perpendicular streets, covering a surface of around 1200 x, with a surrounding wall 5 - wide and 4.8 km long. The ruins are Greek in character, similar to those of Olynthus in Macedonia.

Numerous Hellenistic artifacts have been found, in particular coins of Greco-Bactrian kings and stone palettes representing Greek mythological scenes. Some of them are purely Hellenistic, others indicate an evolution of the Greco-Bactrian styles found at Ai-Khanoum towards more indianized styles. For example, accessories such as Indian ankle bracelets can be found on some representations of Greek mythological figures such as Artemis.

Following its construction by the Greeks, the city was further rebuilt during the incursions of the Indo-Scythians, and later by the Indo-Parthians after an earthquake in 30 AD. Gondophares, the first king of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, built parts of the city including the double headed eagle stupa and the temple of the sun god. The city was overtaken by the Kushan kings who abandoned it and built a new city at Sirsukh, about 1.5 km to the north-east.

File:NereidAndKetos.JPG|A Nereid riding a Ketos sea-monster, stone palette, Sirkap, 2nd century BC. File:Sirkap Harpocrates Late Hellenistic.jpg|Harpocrates, Late Hellenistic, Sirkap. File:Head of Dyonisus Sirkap.jpg|Head of Dionysus, Sirkap File:Frontal Dionysus Sirkap.jpg|Dionysus, Sirkap. File:Couple from Taxila IV.jpg|Statue of a Hellenistic couple, Sirkap.

Religious buildings

Buddhist stupas with strong Hellenistic decorative elements can be found throughout the Sirkap site (Stupa of the two eagles https://web.archive.org/web/20061021053629/http://www.web.virginia.edu/asianarc/public/taxila/eagle02.jpg indicating a close interaction of religious cultures. A Greek religious temple of the Ionic order is also visible at the nearby site of Jandial (650 m from Sirkap), but there is a possibility that it may have been dedicated to a Zoroastrian cult. A temple of Buddhist goddess Hariti with hellenistic decoration was also found.

The site of Sirkap bears witness to the city-building activity of the Indo-Greeks during their occupation of the Indian territory for close to two centuries, as well as their integration of other faiths, especially Buddhism.

Round stupa

One round Stupa is present at Sirkap. It is one of the oldest Stupas in the Indian-Subcontinent. It is assumed that this Stupa was uprooted and thrown to its present location by a strong earthquake in the 1st century AD. When the new city was built later, the Stupa was kept by building a protecting wall around it. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/SirkapRoundStupa.JPG" caption="The round Stupa at Sirkap."] ::

Apsidal Temple

The building that is known as the Apsidal Temple is the largest sanctuary of Sirkap, measuring about 70 by (by contrast: the Parthenon in Athens is 70 by). The Apsidal Temple consists of a square nave with several rooms, used by the Buddhist monks, and a circular room, which gives the building its apsidal shape. After the earthquake that destroyed the city in c. 30 AD, the Buddhist shrine was built in a spacious courtyard. The round part was probably in use for a small stupa, but no traces of it remain. Some carvings were probably done by an artist from Greece. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Round_room_of_Apsidal_Temple.jpg" caption="The round room of the Apsidal Temple."] ::

Double-Headed Eagle Stupa

A special Stupa at Sirkap is the so-called 'Double-Headed Eagle Stupa'. The pilasters here are of a Greek design, "Corinthian columns". In the middle arch, a Greek temple is shown; in the outer, a shrine of a Hindu design can be seen. On top of these sanctuaries, a Double-headed eagle is seated from which the name of the Stupa has been derived. This motif is rather odd, to say the least, as it is originally Babylonian. It seems to have spread to Scythia, and introduced in the Punjab by the Saka rulers.

Dharmarajika Stupa

The nearby Dharmarajika Stupa, is a large stupa that dates from the 2nd century CE. The stupa was built to house relics of the Buddha, while several monastic buildings were built around the stupa.

Visit by Apollonius of Tyana

The Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana is related to have visited ancient India, and specifically the city of Taxila in the 1st century AD. He describes constructions of the Greek type, probably referring to Sirkap:

:"Taxila, they tell us, is about as big as Nineveh, and was fortified fairly well after the manner of Greek cities".

:"I have already described the way in which the city is walled, but they say that it was divided up into narrow streets in the same irregular manner as in Athens, and that the houses were built in such a way that if you look at them from outside they had only one story, while if you went into one of them, you at once found subterranean chambers extending as far below the level of the earth as did the chambers above."

Gallery

File:SirkapWell.JPG|A well at Sirkap. File:SirkapJainTemple.JPG|A Jain Temple at Sirkap. File:Jain Stupa - Sirkap.JPG|A possible Jain Stupa. File:SirkapApsidalTemple.JPG|The Apsidal Temple at Sirkap. File:SirkapCity.JPG|Streets of the Sirkap City. File:SirkapFirstCenturyBCStupa.JPG|A Stupa from the 1st century BC.

References

References

1. (2013). "The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences". BRILL.
2. (1 September 2016). "Dharmarajika: The Great Stupa of Taxila". UNESCO.
3. (2013). "Appropriating the Past: Philosophical Perspectives on the Practice of Archaeology". Cambridge University Press.
4. "(Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 20)".
5. "(Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 23)".
6. (2016). "How the Brahmins Won: From Alexander to the Guptas". BRILL.

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