The second city of Taxila, built by the Bactrian Greeks in the 2nd century BC on a neat Hippodamian grid plan that still shows clearly in the excavated ruins. The main street runs arrow-straight with side streets branching at right angles, lined with the foundations of shops, houses, and temples. The most famous find here is the Double-Headed Eagle Stupa, a small shrine decorated with Classical, Hindu, and Buddhist motifs side by side — a perfect symbol of Taxila's cultural crossroads. Walking through Sirkap gives you a vivid feel for daily life in an ancient Gandharan city.
The Double-Headed Eagle Stupa is in a side street near the northern end of the main road. The eagle itself — borrowed from Classical tradition — sits atop a series of decorative niches in different styles, as if the builder deliberately wanted to cover all possible divine bases. The stupa was almost certainly built during the Parthian period in the first century AD, when Taxila was an extraordinarily cosmopolitan place. Take a local guide to find it, as the signage in the ruins is inconsistent.