Saunkh

Saunkh
Town
Saunkh 16km 9.9miles Saunkh     Location of Saunkh, near Mathura
Saunkh Show map of Uttar Pradesh Saunkh Show map of India
Coordinates: 27°23′42″N77°29′38″E / 27.395°N 77.494°E / 27.395; 77.494
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Mathura
Population  (2011)
• Total	9,556
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Website	npsonkh.in

Saunkh, often spelled as Sonkh, is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. ^[1]

Further information: Borapa

Archaeology

The site is well-known for archaeological excavations led by Herbert Härtel in 1969-70. ^[2] Numerous artefacts recovered from Sonkh are visible in the Mathura Museum. ^[3] Stratigraphical analysis at Sonkh and other sites has shown that the area of Mathura was almost undeveloped and Mathura was mostly a hamlet before the Mauyra era. ^[4]

Coins of the Mitra dynasty were found in Sonkh, corresponding to layers dated to about 150-50 BCE, at a time when the Indo-Greeks ruled over the region. ^[5] The earliest Mitra coins are those of Gomitra (150-50 BCE). ^[5]

• 
  Sonkh Apsidal Temple, a Nāga shrine. ^[6]
• 
  Salabhanjika sculpture
• 
  Sonkh Matrika statuette
• 
  Sonkh bronze image of Kubera and Hariti. Kushan period
• 
  Naga Noble Man Coming Out of Crocodile Jaws. Circa 100 CE
• 
  Fragment of Beam Showing Fish-tailed Elephant with Stalked Lotus in His Trunk. Circa 100 CE

Naga Court, Sonkh, Mathura, 100 CE

References

1. "Saunkh". Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
2. Härtel, Herbert (1970). Excavations at Sonkh (Mathura District): 1969-70.
3. Sharma, Ramesh Chandra (1994). The Splendour of Mathurā Art and Museum. D.K. Printworld. p. 16. ISBN   978-81-246-0015-3.
4. Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2007). History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura, ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE. BRILL. p. 1. ISBN   978-90-474-1930-3.
5. Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2007). History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura, ca. 150 BCE - 100 CE. BRILL. pp. 9–10. ISBN   978-90-474-1930-3.
6. Harle, James C. (1994). The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. Yale University Press. p. 59. ISBN   978-0-300-06217-5.