Peshawar, Nov 16 : A team of archaeologists led by Vice Chancellor of the Hazara University Professor Ihsan Ali has discovered the remains of one of the largest Kushan city sites in Chittar Kot, Mansehra district of the NWFP.

The site Chittar Kot is located on a high spur overlooking the Biran River, offering one of the most spectacular views of the river and the surrounding area, a press release stated.

The site is located at 34" 22.356' N and 73" 08.214' E at an elevation of 945 meters from mean sea level in a pine forest in the Mansehra district.

The site was earlier spotted by Abdul Hameed and Muhammad Ashfaq of the Hazara Cultural Museum during a survey of archaeological sites in Mansehra.

The name Chittar Kot is derived from the word Chittra meaning an umbrella or an elevated place represents a large Kushan settlement site, protected by a similar defensive structure on the west and the exposed structure spreading over a mile on the steep hill.

The strategic location of the site warranted an effective control of the surrounding area from all four directions, and thus could have been of multi-faceted defensive settlement, with far-reaching consequences for the establishment of cultural profile of Mansehra district.

It gives an unhindered view of the present settlements of Nawa-Shehr, Kherian and Bhir Khund, The News reported.

This excavation will also provide extensive material to the newly established Hazara Cultural Museum at the Hazara University and will shed new light on the people of the area living 2,000 years ago. (ANI)