Overview
- Teams from the J&K Department of Archives and Kashmir University, supported by the Union Ministry of Culture, identified multiple stupas, structural foundations, pottery, copper objects and stone walls dating to nearly 2,000 years ago.
- Archaeologists say the site sits on an ancient Silk Route corridor toward Kandahar, pointing to Kashmir’s role in transregional exchange and monastic activity.
- Three blurred images preserved in a French collection showing Baramulla stupas provided the key lead to interpret the Zehanpora mounds as Buddhist remains.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the photographs and the excavation in his December 28 Mann Ki Baat address.
- Researchers used drone surveys, aerial photography and mapping, and they plan further excavation phases to expose additional stupas and publish detailed analyses.