Jammu and Kashmir Archaeology Department has made some discoveries in Anantnag
Excavators have stumbled into the remains of a bustling ancient urban settlement in Anantnag district of south Kashmir with tiled pavements “stamped in colourful human and animal motifs” and inscriptions in the now defunct Karoshti script.
It consisted of a tiled pavement in concentric circles with a “full-blown lotus” at the centre. “The pavement was laid out in such a wonderful sequence that it left the excavators baffled,” Zahid told PTI.
He said it’s tiles were “stamped in a variety of colourful motifs of humans, animals, mystical creatures, flowers and other abstract designs… Most of the tiles are inscribed in the Karoshthi script” prevalent in civilisations of north- western India circa AD 3rd-4th century. “The features speak of some highly advanced urban civilisation which looks to have flourished on this plateau in the ancient period,” Zahid said and claimed the human-animal motifs on the few exposed tiles were the first to be noticed at any archaeological site. [KASHMIR-DISCOVERY via IndiaArchaeology]
Most most history books don’t mention kharoshthi and the only reference I could find were in the books of Romila Thapar[3, 5]. Sometime before 530 B.C., Cyrus the Achaemenid emperor of Persia converted Gandhara into his satrapy, the most famous city of which was Takshashila where Iranian, Indian and Hellenistic Greek learning mingled. The language of the Achaemenid empire was Aramaic (the same language supposedly spoken by Jesus Christ) and kharoshthi was derived from it.
Set like a jewelled crown on the map of India, Kashmir is a multi-faceted diamond, changing its hues with the seasons – always extravagantly beautiful. Two major Himalayan ranges, the Great Himalayan Range and the Pir Panjal, surround the landscape from the north and south respectively. They are the source of great rivers, which flow down into the valleys, forested with orchards and decorated by lily-laden lakes.
The onset of autumn, perhaps Kashmir’s loveliest season, is towards September, when green turns to gold and then to russet and red. The highest day temperatures in September are around 23oC and night temperatures dip to 10oC by October, and further drop by November, when heavy woollens are essential.
Through December, to the beginning of March is winter time, which presents Srinagar in yet another mood. Bare, snow-covered landscapes being watched from beside the warmth of a fire is a joy that cannot be described to anyone who has not experienced it. Some houseboats and hotels remain open in winter-these are either centrally heated or heated with
JK, you seem to be a little confused about your facts. The language of the Achaemenid empire was avestan and not araimic, which is an Indo-Iranian language, unlike Aramic which is a Middle eastern language. As far as the Khaosthi script is concerned, it is similar to Brahmi in all except that it was written right to left like Aramic and avestan. Some believe that all that brahmi as well as Kharosthi and Avestan derive from Araimic. However, prima facie it is easy to notice that Brahmi, Kharosti and Avestan are closer to each other than any of them are to Araimic
This is good site
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/kharosthi.htm
Corrector, The wikipedia entry for Aramic says that it was the language of the western half of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.