Current Watch Site

Meandering through gorges of the Indus River valley and across high mountain passes, ancient arteries of the fabled Silk Road cut through the Diamer District of Northern Pakistan. Along these pathways, thousands of petroglyphs cover cliffs, rock faces, and boulders, standing testament to the ancient cultures that once settled in this region and the merchants, pilgrims, and conquerors who later journeyed through it. Over 50,000 rock carvings and 5,000 inscriptions discovered here serve as a timeline from the Epipaleolithic period to the pre-Islamic “golden era” of Buddhism. The earliest petroglyphs, which depict wild animals such as ibex and the Himalayan blue sheep, were created by groups of hunter-gathers who were first drawn to this mountainous region in the early Holocene. At the approach to the first millennium B.C. the 'Eurasian animal style' of drawing was introduced from Central Asia by Scytho-Saka tribal groups. As this region developed into a dynamic Himalayan crossroads in the Silk Road era, more petroglyphs exhibited a vast array of Buddhist iconographic motifs and architectural forms, most importantly associated with the building of stupas.

In 2006, the Pakistani government approved the construction of a dam near Basha that will submerge these petroglyphs. The dam will provide much needed infrastructure to this remote area, but will sever any remaining connection between these communities and the vestiges of their past. Recognizing the need to balance development and heritage stewardship, documentation of the petroglyphs and possible protection measures are being sought so as to mitigate the effects of the dam on this unparalleled complex.