Amidst Shrapnel in Afghanistan

A near miracle, I dare say, to see archaeologists at work in Afghanistan while the fighting between Taliban and the Western forces is still an ongoing business. An article from Reuters, meaning that we can consider the information as trustworthy, reports on 17 August 2010 about Buddhist remains that are being discovered south of Kabul.

Mohammad Nader Rasouli, head of the Afghan Archaeological Department, mentions that two statues were found, respectively seven and nine meters high, and some coins. They also uncovered a temple, some stupas, rooms decorated with colorful fresco’s and gold. Some of the finds have been dated to the 5th century, but there may be artifacts dating from the BC era.

The site is located in the Aynak region of the Logar province, close to the area where the Chinese have recently started mining copper ore. The mine exploitation is not harming the excavations but looters and smugglers are. They were there even before the government could start excavation work last year. Always a pity when those things happen.

The situation is grim, as can be expected for we all remember how the radical Talibans destroyed the giant Buddha statues at Bamyan at the end of last decade; many more antiquities and historical sites were destroyed or pillaged in the process.

Rasouli says that they don’t have the resources to move the relics to a safe place, but he hopes to build a museum there instead, adding "We need foreign assistance to preserve these and their expertise to help us with further excavations."

Safeguarding a country’s archaeological heritage is never easy but in war zones it is always worse. Let’s hope that a reasonable solution can be found for in my eyes Afghanistan is part of the land conquered by Alexander the Great. There must be an enormous wealth in archaeological treasures from his days and from Hellenistic times still hidden out there … somewhere…