Charles Masson and the Buddhist Sites of Afghanistan: Explorations, Excavations, Collections 1832−1835

Abstract

• From 1833–8, Charles Masson (1800–1853) was employed by the British East India Company to explore the ancient sites in south-east Afghanistan. During this period, he surveyed over a hundred sites around Kabul, Jalalabad and Wardak, making numerous drawings of the sites, together with maps, compass readings, sections of the stupas and sketches of some of the finds. Small illustrations of a selection of these key sites were published in Ariana Antiqua in 1841. However, this represents only a tiny proportion of his official and private correspondence held in the India Office Collection of the British Library which is studied in detail for the first time in this publication. It is supplemented online by The Charles Masson Archive: British Library and British Museum Documents relating to the Masson Collection (Volume 2, British Museum Research Publication number 216). Together they provide the means for a comprehensive reconstitution of the archaeological record of the sites. This study on Masson is completed by Charles Masson: Collections from Begram and Kabul Bazaar, Afghanistan 1833–1838 (Volume 3, British Museum Research Publication number 219).