Resistance at the Edge of Empires: The Archaeology and History of the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200

From 1985 to 2001, the collaborative research initiative known as the Bannu Archaeological Project conducted archaeological explorations and excavations in the Bannu region, in what was then the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This Project involves scholars from the Pakistan Heritage Society, the British Museum, the Institute of Archaeology (UCL), Bryn Mawr College and the University of Cambridge. This is the third in a series of volumes that present the final reports of the exploration and excavations carried out by the Bannu Archaeological Project. This volume presents the first synthesis of the archaeology of the historic periods in the Bannu region, spanning the period when the first large scale empires expanded to the borders of South Asia up until the arrival of Islam in the subcontinent at the end of the first and beginning of the second millennium BC. The Bannu region provides specific insight into early imperialism in South Asia, as throughout this protracted period, it was able to maintain a distinctive regional identity in the face of recurring phases of imperial expansion and integration. Table of Contents 1. At the edge of empires: the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200 2. Environment and settlement in the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200 3. Historical context of the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200 4. Empire and resistance in the borderlands from 1000 BC to AD 1200 5. The Bannu Archaeological Project excavations at Akra and Ter Kala Dheri 6. Ceramics from Akra: raw materials and fabrics 7. Ceramics of the first millennium BC from Akra 8. Ceramics of the first and early second millennium AD from Akra 9. Small finds from Akra 10. Chronology of Akra and Ter Kala Dheri 11. Resistance at the edge of empires: the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200 Index