Mir Zakah
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Mir Zakah 33°46′00″N 69°29′00″E is a village in the Mirzaka District of Paktia Province in eastern Afghanistan,[1] and on the old caravan route from Ghazni to Gandhara.[2] Mauryan punch-marked coins have been discovered at Begram and Mir Zakah, indicating early trade or administrative presence in the region.[3]
Two of the largest ancient coin deposits ever attested to,[4] were discovered in the village, in 1947 and 1992.[5] The hoards contained over half a million punch-marked coins dating from the late 5th century BC, to the 1st century AD, containing early Indian bent-bar and punch-marked coins, Greek, Graeco-Bactrian, Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian, Indo-Parthian, and Kushana origins coins. The hoards were plundered in later years, and seen being openly sold, in February 1994, in the Peshawar bazaar.[6][7] The village he controversial Alexander Medaillon[8][9][10] is said to have come from the treasure looted at Mir Zakah between 1992 and 1993.[1][11]
