Many small fragments of manuscripts have been found at Tapa Sardar. Some of them – presently kept at the Kabul National Museum and not included in the inventory – were found incorporated into clumps of clay, from which they cannot be detached without specific procedures. At the time of the excavation the MAIA was not allowed to take the fragments to a specialized laboratory in Italy; thus they are still waiting for a dedicated programme of conservation and study. The find spots suggest that they might have been used as a ritual device for the consecration of both stūpas (as might be the case with the small stūpa in the centre of Room 41) and cultic images (as might be the case with the main statue of Chapel 23 and the ruined statue in a niche in Room 41).

Records