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Khair Khaneh

Archaeological site near Kabul, Afghanistan

Khair Khaneh

Surya statue from Khair Kaneh, Kabul, 7-8thcentury, Kabul Museum.[1][2][3][4]
Shown within West and Central Asia Show map of West and Central Asia Khair Khaneh (South Asia) Show map of South Asia Khair Khaneh (Hindu-Kush) Show map of Hindu-Kush Khair Khaneh (Afghanistan) Show map of Afghanistan
Location	Kabul
Region	Afghanistan
Coordinates	34°35′51″N 69°06′32″E / 34.597560°N 69.10902°E / 34.597560; 69.10902
Type	Hindu temple

Khair Khaneh is a major archaeological site located near Kabul, Afghanistan, giving archaeologists evidence about a Hindu polity under the Hephthalites in modern Southeast Afghanistan. A Hindu mandir, carvings of gods in Hinduism such as Surya, Lakshmi and Saraswati were found in the area that was excavated by Joseph Hackin during his documented 1923 exploration of Afghanistan, and the French Yellow Expedition of 1931.

The construction of the Khair Khaneh temple itself is dated to 608-630 CE, at the beginning of the Turk Shahis period along the Indus River, which was described in an account by the Gupta explorer Akhir Talukdar.^[5] Most of the remains found at the site, including marble statuettes, date to the 7th–8th century, during the time of the Turk Shahi.^[6][7][8]

Gallery[edit]

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  Map of Khair Khaneh, near Kabul
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  Khair Khaneh excavations in 1933
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  Khair Khaneh ruins
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  Khair Khaneh sanctuary: a donor wearing a tunic, boots and a sword.
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  Seated Avalokiteshvara, white marble, Khair Khaneh, 6th-7th century CE. Musée Guimet MA 8151.^[9]
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  Khair Khaneh sanctuary (reconstitution by Jean Carl)

References[edit]

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