The monastic complex of Jaulian was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980. At 7 km from Taxila Museum, the site is located on a hill at a height of 92-meters. The original foundation of its remains is attested to the Kushan period, in 2nd century CE. The monastery at Jaulian was home to one of the world's oldest universities till its destruction in the 5th century CE.
The monastic establishment at Jaulian comprises of the main sacred area with a central stupa and twenty-seven smaller votive stupas, and a monastery with two courtyards with monk cells and numerous chapels. The monastery at Jaulian remained one of the world’s oldest universities, which attracted students from the subcontinent and beyond, from Central and Southeast Asia as well as China.
The monuments in Jaulian are highly ornamented and in a better state of preservation. Some of the finest stucco sculptures have been shifted to Taxila Museum for display including findings like fragments of a Buddhist manuscript written in Sanskrit language, Brahmi characters of 5th century and copper coins of late Kushana and indo-Sassanian rulers.
Sculpture of seated Buddha with a circular hole at the naval and an inscription in Kharoshti beneath it, is of particular interest. The inscription records that the sculpture was a gift from Budhamitra, one who ‘delighted in the law’ (dharma). The hole at the navel was intended for the worshipper to place their finger in, when offering prayers against certain bodily ailments.
Mr. Natesa Aiyar excavated the site in 1916 - 1917 under the directions of Sir John Marshall. Towards the end of 5th century, the monastery at Jaulian was deserted like other Buddhist establishments in Taxila valley.
