A Note on the Sphero-conical Vessels: New Evidence from Swat, Pakistan

The study deals with three recent finds of imported sphero-conical vessels, datable to the Ghaznavid period or slightly later, from Barikot and Udegram in the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan. The first vessel (complete) comes from the excavation conducted in 2023 at the base of the south wall of the site's acropolis, the second from a survey conducted in the 1950s by Giorgio Gullini on the spur where excavations would later lead to the discovery of the so-called 'Castle' of Udegram. The third container (a fragment) also comes from Barikot, but from a much earlier chronological phase. Based on these findings, the study presents an update of the bibliography of the work published in Ancient Pakistan by Saifur Rahman Dar in 2007 and an overview of the new discoveries

Antonio Invernizzi (Turin, 1 January 1941 – 2 December 2021)

Obituary Prof. Antonio Invernizzi Università di Torin

Archaeological Evidence for a Climatic and Agrarian Crisis in Swat between 530 and 660: Possible Effects of the So-called “Late Antique Little Ice Age” (LALIA)

The short article evaluates the possible impacts of the Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA)—a long cooling period that occurred between 536 and 660 CE in the adjacent regions of Inner Asia (Büntigen et al. 2016; Whittow 2019). The high mountain valley of Swat in Pakistan potentially experienced a collapse of agro-production with dramatic implications for the Buddhist society, which began a long and inexorable decline around the mid-6th century

The View from Malakand: Harold Deane's 'Note on Udyana and Gandhara'

The View from Malakand: Harold Deane's 'Note on Udyana and Gandhara' presents an edition with introductions and extensive commentary of a manuscript, discovered by Luca M. Olivieri in the fort at Malakand, Swat, Pakistan, of a seminal and pioneering account of the antiquities of Swat and Peshawar by Harold Deane. The article of which this manuscript is an earlier draft, the first significant contribution to the archaeology of Swat, was published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society (1896), and the manuscript contains interesting additional information that did not make the final text. The book presents and transcribes the manuscript, also including introductory material on its discovery and the life and significance of Deane, and (most importantly) extended notes identifying and describing the places that Deane discusses in his article. The book thus doubles as a gazetteer of this immensely rich archaeological space, and a history of its archaeological discovery. The book includes images of the original article, the manuscript, some of the artefacts referred to by Deane in his article, and an appendix publishing a manuscript by J. W. McCrindle, 'Alexander's Campaign in Afghanistan', found among a small number of Deane's papers in the possession of his great-grandson in England, which is directly relevant to the composition of his article

Journal of Asian Civilizations, Vol. 46, No. 1, June 2023

The Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations has regularly published this semi-annual peer-reviewed research journal since 1978. Emeritus Prof. Dr. Ahmad Hassan Dani started this journal under the title 'Journal of Central Asia' at the Centre for Central Asian Civilisations. In 1998, the nomenclatures of the Centre and the journal were changed to 'Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations' and 'Journal of Asian Civilizations (ISSN 1993-4696)' respectively. This change aimed to cover a broader field of study of Asian civilisations at advanced academic levels. Furthermore, in order to strengthen the Institute, it was permanently merged with the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad (Pakistan)

Swat after the Indo‑Greeks. The City, the Sanctuaries and the Economy. An Archaeological Overview on the Saka‑Parthian period

The article presents an overview of the archaeological data (updated to 2021) from the recent excavations at Barikot, Swat (Pakistan), and preliminary results from ongoing studies of the other archaeological evidence related to the post‑Indo‑Greek phases in Swat and Gandhara (ca. 50 BC–50 AD). The article introduces some of the most distinctive markers of material culture in this context, as well as the evidence of new fortifications and building activity both in urban centres and Buddhist sanctuaries. The data collected thus far underpin a new interpretation of this little‑known historical phase of ancient northwestern India. The phase is characterized by a building program and political vibrancy, which do not correspond with the model of an economic recession advanced by scholars thus far. Indeed, in this framework, the so‑called ‘Great Debasement’ attributed to Azes II, might have had alternative implications

Le forme della città. Iran, Gandhāra e Asia Centrale. Scritti offerti a Pierfrancesco Callieri in occasione del suo 65° compleanno

This volume brings together contributions from 43 of Pierfrancesco Callieri's colleagues on the archaeology of cities from Iran to Central Asia to Pakistan (Gandhara)

Swat after the Indo‑Greeks – the City, the Sanctuaries and the Economy. An Archaeological Overview on the Saka‑Parthian period

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An insight into Gandharan Art: Materials and Techniques of Polychrome Decoration

Gandharan art developed in the Himalayan area in the early centuries CE. It has been investigated mostly from an iconographic point of view, missing, until very recently, a systematic technical investigation of materials and techniques. Recently our team began performing chemical analyses of the traces of the polychromy originally covering statues, reliefs and architectural decorations, to discover the ancient painting techniques and artistic technologies. This paper presents the results of the analytical investigation (optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry) of pigments, ground layers and binders of a new group of samples taken from stucco architectural decorations (2nd–3rd/4th centuries CE). The samples were collected directly at an archaeological site in the Swat Valley, ensuring the exact knowledge of their stratigraphic provenance, as well as the absence of any restoration treatment applied prior sampling. The results are discussed in the wider context of Gandharan polychromy investigated so far by our team, as found in sculptures and architectural decorations preserved in museums (in Italy and France) and in archaeological excavations in Pakistan. The aim of this research is to shed light on the materials and techniques of this Buddhist ancient art from this region and on the influences exerted on it from Eastern and Western artistic traditions

The effect of humidity on the CO2/N2 separation performance of copolymers based on hard polyimide segments and soft polyether chains: Experimental and modeling

In this work, we studied two copolymers formed by segments of a rubbery polyether (PPO or PEO) and of a glassy polyimide (BPDA-ODA or BKDA-ODA) suitable for gas separation and CO2 capture. Firstly, we assessed the absorption of water vapor in the materials, as a function of relative humidity (R.H.), finding that the humidity uptake of the copolymers lies between that of the corresponding pure homopolymers values. Furthermore, we studied the effect of humidity on CO2 and N2 permeability, as well as on CO2/N2 selectivity, up to R.H. of 75%. The permeability decreases with increasing humidity, while the ideal selectivity remains approximately constant in the entire range of water activity investigated. The humidity-induced decrease of permeability in the copolymers is much smaller than the one observed in polyimides such as Matrimid® confirming the positive effect of the polyether phase on the membrane performance.Finally, we modeled the humidity-induced decrease of gas solubility, diffusivity and, consequently, permeability, using a suitable approach that considers the free volume theory for diffusion and LF model for solubility. Such model allows estimating the extent of competition that the gases undergo with water during sorption in the membranes, as a function of the relative humidity, as well as the expected reduction of free volume by means of water molecules occupation and consequent reduction of diffusivity. Keywords: CO2 capture, Humid gas permeation, Transport properties in polymeric membranes, Water vapor sorption, Modelin