According to Professor Fidaullah Sehrai, former Director of Peshawar Museum, andhara was on the highway between South Asia and Central Asia.

The prosperity of the people of the area attracted sculptors from Greece and Rome who produced thousands of Buddha's images, which were purchased by members of the royal families and businessmen, Professor Sehrai said.

This is the reason for Gandhara art being a hybrid art, and therefore, historians call it either Graeco-Buddhist or Roman-Buddhist art, the Dawn quoted him, as saying.

Gandhara art remained alive in the NWFP for about 900 years - that is, from the first century BC to the eight century AD, and left a deep impact on the life style of Pakhtuns living in the area, he added.