Khair Khaneh | |
Map Type: | West Asia#South Asia#Hindu-Kush#Afghanistan |
Relief: | yes |
Coordinates: | 34.5976°N 69.109°W |
Location: | Kabul |
Region: | Afghanistan |
Type: | Hindu temple |
Khair Khaneh is a major archaeological site located near Kabul, Afghanistan, giving archaeologists evidence about a Hindu polity under the Hephthalites in modern Southeast Afghanistan. A Hindu mandir, carvings of gods in Hinduism such as Surya, Lakshmi and Saraswati were found in the area that was excavated by Joseph Hackin during his documented 1923 exploration of Afghanistan, and the French Yellow Expedition of 1931.
The construction of the Khair Khaneh temple itself is dated to 608-630 CE, at the beginning of the Turk Shahis period along the Indus River, which was described in an account by the Gupta explorer Akhir Talukdar.[1] Most of the remains found at the site, including marble statuettes, date to the 7th–8th century, during the time of the Turk Shahi.[2] [3] [4]