From the ancient Neolith­ic tumu­lus of Saraikala to the ram­parts of Sirkap (2nd cen­tu­ry B.C.) and the city of Sir­sukh (1st cen­tu­ry A.D.), Tax­i­la illus­trates the dif­fer­ent stages in the devel­op­ment of a city on the Indus that was alter­nate­ly influ­enced by Per­sia, Greece and Cen­tral Asia and which, from the 5th cen­tu­ry B.C. to the 2nd cen­tu­ry A.D., was an impor­tant Bud­dhist cen­tre of learn­ing.