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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[File:Semthan statuette (Ashmolean Museum).jpg|thumb|Statuette from Semthan, ancient Chakradhara. Kashmir, 100 BCE-100 CE. Terracotta plaque. Semi-draped figure with Hellenistic influence. Ashmolean Museum.]]<br />
{{Location map+<br />
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|caption = Location of Sentham in J&K, India<br />
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{{location map~ |South Asia |lat=33.745833 |N |long=72.7875|E |label=[[Taxila]] |position=left |label_size=70 }}<br />
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'''Semthan''', also '''Semithan''' is a village 1 km north of [[Bijbehara]] in the [[Anantnag district]] of the [[Kashmir Valley]] in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], India. It has an archaeological site, the ancient site of '''Chakradhar''' where cultural sequences were stratified, from the [[Neolithic]] to the [[Indo-Greek]] and [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] periods.<ref name="JS32"/><ref name="IA80"/><br />
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==Excavations==<br />
The site was excavated during several seasons from 1977 to 1981.<ref name="IA80"/> Upon excavation, the site revealed several occupation layers:<ref name="JS32"/><br />
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Period 1: pre-NBPW (700-500 BCE)<br><br />
Period 2: [[Northern Black Polished Ware|NBPW]] (500-200 BCE)<br><br />
Period 3: [[Indo-Greek]] (200-0 BCE)<br><br />
Period 4: [[Kushan Empire]], [[Huna Kingdom]] (1st-5th century CE)<br><br />
Period 5: Hindu (5th-13th century CE)<br><br />
Period 6: Late Medieval, post 13th century<br><br />
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Pottery wares were found in Level 3, as well as a seal with an Indo-Greek deity, and Indo-Greek coins.<ref name="JS32"/> A large number of terracotta figurines were also found in Level 4.<ref name="JS32"/><ref name="IA80"/> <br />
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==Artefacts==<br />
{{see also|Indo-Greek art}}<br />
Semthan was at one point a Greek settlement.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jamwal |first1=Suman |title=Commercial Contacts Between Kashmir and Rome |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |date=1994 |volume=75 |issue=1/4 |page=202|jstor=41694416 |issn=0378-1143}}</ref> Many figurines in the [[Hellenistic art|Hellenistic style]] were found during the excavations.<ref name="JS32">{{cite book |last1=Siudmak |first1=John |title=The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences |date=2013 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-24832-8 |page=32–36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVft0FqSxc0C&pg=PA32 |language=en}}</ref> The female figurines are fully dressed, with the left leg slightly bent, and wear the Greek ''[[chiton]]'' and ''[[himation]]'', and the Hellenistic styles of [[Greco-Bactria|Bactria]] are probably the ultimate source of these designs.<ref name="JS32"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Siudmak |first1=John |title=The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences |date=2013 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-24832-8 |page=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVft0FqSxc0C&pg=PA43 |language=en}}</ref> It is thought that the Indo-Greeks introduced their artistic styles into the area as they moved eastward from the area of Gandhara into South Kashmir.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kaw |first1=Mushtaq A. |title=Central Asian Contribution to Kashmir's Tradition of Religio-Cultural Pluralism |journal=Central Asiatic Journal |date=2010 |volume=54 |issue=2 |page=245 |jstor=41928559 |issn=0008-9192}}</ref> The stratigraphy does not permit a precise dating of these statuettes, and the date has been broadly defined as probably pertaining to the period from the 2nd half of the 1st century BCE to the 1st or 2nd century CE, in effect covering the end of the Indo-Greek period to the early Kushan period.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Siudmak |first1=John |title=The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences |date=2013 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-24832-8 |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVft0FqSxc0C&pg=PA33 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Siudmak |first1=John |title=The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences |date=2013 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-24832-8 |page=xiii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVft0FqSxc0C&pg=PR13 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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Such Hellenistic draped figurines have not been found at [[Taxila]] or [[Charsadda]], although they are known to have been Indo-Greek cities, but probably this is mainly because excavations to Greek levels have been very limited: in Sirkap, only one eight of the excavations were made down to the Indo-Greek and early Saka levels, and only in an area far removed from the center of the ancient city, where few finds could be expected.<ref name="JS39">{{cite book |last1=Siudmak |first1=John |title=The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences |date=2013 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-24832-8 |pages=39–43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVft0FqSxc0C&pg=PA39 |language=en}}</ref><br />
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<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4"><br />
File:Semthan terracotta statuette.jpg|Terracotta statuette in Chiton and Himation, Semthan<br />
File:Semthan, Hellenistic dress.jpg|Male Hellenistic dress, Semthan<br />
File:Semthan, female Hellenistic dresses.jpg|Semthan, female Hellenistic dresses<br />
File:Semthan, figure with helmet.jpg|Figure with helmet, Semthan<br />
File:Semthan, Indo-Greek and other coinage.jpg|Indo-Greek coin of [[Lysias Anicetus|Lysias]] and other coinage, Semthan<br />
File:Lysias Indian standard coin.jpg|Indo-Greek coin of [[Lysias Anicetus|Lysias]] (130–120 BCE), Indian square standard, of the type found at Semthan<br />
File:Semthan, sealing with Indo-Greek deity.jpg|Semthan, sealing with Indo-Greek deity.<ref name="IA80">{{cite book|title=Indian Archaeology 1980-81 A Review|date=1981|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India|pages=21–23|url=http://nmma.nic.in/nmma/nmma_doc/Indian%20Archaeology%20Review/Indian%20Archaeology%201980-81%20A%20Review.pdf}}</ref><br />
</gallery><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Archaeological sites in Jammu and Kashmir]]</div>CynthiaBegg56