The Bala Hisar at Charsadda is potentially the only site in the NWFP with a sequence of occupation that stretches from the mid-2nd millennium BC to the later-1st millennium AD. The PAK-UK Pushkalavati Archaeological Research Project has a number of specific aims:

1. to excavate, analyse and accurately date cultural material recovered from soundings excavated into the 24 metre deep stratified sequence that is preserved at the Bala Hisar;
2. to use geophysical techniques to locate significant subsurface features;
3. to carry out the targeted recovery of cultural, botanical and faunal remains from open area excavations in order to observe changes in socio-economic organisation and subsistence practices for the span of the site's occupation;
4. and to place the results of these analyses into a clearly defined ecological context by reconstructing the palaeo-geography and palaeo-environment of the Peshawar Valley.

 Copyright © M. Nasim Khan and Cameron Petrie, 2007