Buddhist settlements and proto-historic graveyards: New chronometric and archaeological data from Saidu Sharif I (Swat, Pakistan)

The article re-examines an interesting case study of the physical and chronological relationship between a pre- Buddhist graveyard and a Buddhist sacred area (Saidu Sharif I, Swat, Pakistan) in the light of new archaeological investigations and radiometric analyses. The specific case is also reappraised against the broader background of Swat cultural history and, in particular, the paradigms of social and economic changes introduced by Buddhism.