The town proper was about in size. Dilbarjin had a city wall built under the Kushan rule. In the middle of the town there was a round citadel, built at about the same time. In the north-east corner of the town was excavated a temple complex. Here were found many wall paintings, some in a purely Hellenistic style. Originally the temple was perhaps dedicated to the
Dioscuri, of which a mural in Hellenistic style has been recovered. A long inscription in the
kushan language was also discovered, dated to the early great Kushans, around the period of
Kanishka I, on paleographic grounds, as it seems slightly younger than the inscription of
Surkh Kotal. Outside the city walls there were still substantial buildings. Finds include inscriptions in
Bactrian, most of them too destroyed to provide any historical information. There were fragments of sculpture and many coins.
Wall paintings on the model of
Varahran, of the type found in Dilberjin. Circa CE 350–365,
Balkh mint. The paintings of Dilberjin Tepe belong to the 5th-6th century CE, or even as early as the 4th century CE according to some authorities, based on numismatic evidence. The paintings have some similarity with those of
Balalyk Tepe, and some from
Bamiyan. A famous mural shows a row of warriors in kaftan, relatively similar to
the mural from Kyzyl. A much later fresco showing an Indian scene, with
Shiva and
Parvati on the bull
Nandi, has been dated to the 8th century CE.
Coinage Coins of many periods were found at the site, including Hephthalite coins, but those of the
Kushano-Sasanians and the
Kidarites were the most numerous from the early Sasanian period to have been found on the site. About 72 such coins were found, belonging to
Ardashir I,
Peroz I,
Hormiz I, as well as each type of the
Varahran I, that is, the coins first struck under Varahran, and then those struck on the model of Varahran by the
Kidarite rulers
Kirada,
Peroz and
Kidara I. These coins suggest that the murals themselves should be dated to the late 4th century CE or early 5th century CE at the latest. File:Dilberjin portrait.jpg|Dilbergin fresco royal figure File:Dilberjin attendants.jpg|Dilberjin attendants File:Dilberjin. Man in white caftan coming out of a tree.jpg|Man in white caftan coming out of a tree File:Dilberjin Tepe, cup bearers.jpg|Cup bearers. File:Dilberjin Tepe, Athena Anahita.jpg|Athena Anahita. ==See also==