Sirsukh ( ur, سر سکھ) is an ancient city that forms part of the ruins at Taxila, near the modern day city of Taxila,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

City

The city of Sirsukh is said to have been founded during the Kushan era after 80 CE, and is the last of the great ancient cities of Taxila. The invaders decided to abandon the older city of

Sirkap Sirkap (Urdu and pnb, ) 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. ...

and build a newer city on the other side of the Lundi-nala. The wall of the city is about 5 kilometers long and about 5.4 meters thick. The city wall covers an area of around 2300 x 1000 meters seen along the east-west direction, and is laid out in a typical Central Asian style, complete with suburbs. Sirsukh was left uninhabited when the White Huns invaded the

at the end of the fifth century CE. To the north-east of the city flows the Harro river whereas to the south the Lundi-ravine is present. The ancient city was excavated only on a very small scale in 1915-16 CE, and further excavation work has been impeded by a high water table which threatens the integrity of ancient structures. It was included in the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

of the UNO in 1980 as part of Taxila.

Wall

File:Wall bastion - Sirkap.jpg, Bastion in the wall of Sirsukh with hole for the archers, Taxila. File:SirsukhBastionInside.JPG, Inside the Bastion in the wall of Sirsukh, Taxila. The wall of the city is made of large stone bricks with smaller stone bricks in-between the larger ones. It is remarkably smooth on the outer side. Circular bastions are present in the wall at small distances for defence. These bastions contain holes for archers who could shoot arrows at the enemy outside.

References

{{Cultural heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , state=expanded Archaeological sites in Pakistan History of Pakistan Former populated places in Pakistan Taxila Tehsil Archaeological sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

City

Wall

See also

References