| Tepe Maranjan | |
| Map Type: | Afghanistan#Hindu-Kush#South Asia#West Asia |
| Relief: | yes |
| Coordinates: | 34.5178°N 69.2083°W |
| Type: | Monastery |
Tepe Maranjan ("Maranjan Hill"), previously known as Siyah Sang (fa|سياه سنگ, "Blackstone"), is a small hill in southeastern Kabul, Afghanistan.
Tepe Maranjan was the site of a Buddhist monastery that appears to have been founded in the 4th century,[1] the 67th century of Buddhism in Afghanistan.[2] It lies east of the tomb of Nadir Shah and south of the road from Kabul to Jalalabad and Peshawar.
The site was excavated by the French DAFA Jean Carl in 1933, again by Gérard Fussman in 1976, and again by Zemaralaï Tarzi of the Afghan Institute of Archaeology more recently.[3] Many Buddhist sculptures were discovered on the site. They are made of clay and represent a style intermediate between the sculptures of Hadda and those of the Fondukistan monastery.[1] Tepe Maranjan can be considered as generally representative of the art of Gandhara of the 5th or 6th century.[1]
A large hoard of Sasanian Empire coins was also discovered at Tepe Maranjan: 367 Sassanian silver drachms from the reigns of kings Shapur II (r. 30979) and Ardashir II (r. 37983), which, owing to their uniformity, are thought to have been minted in the vicinity of Kabul.[4] The hoard also contained 12 scyphate gold dinars of the Kidarites, which might have circulated at the same time as the Sassanian coins, or may have been added later.[4]