The Taliban didn't smash them all

Good news from Afghanistan:

More than 22,000 ancient cultural treasures from Afghanistan, feared lost or destroyed after decades of war and Taliban rule, have been taken out of dusty crates and safes in Kabul and inventoried for safekeeping . . .

The bulk of the newly inventoried items were found in April 2003 when a presidential palace vault in Kabul was cracked open to reveal a trove of famed, in tact Bactrian gold pieces.

But many more artifacts, including giant Buddhist sculptures and ancient ivory statues, have been found in recent months in unmarked boxes and safes stashed for safekeeping during the Soviet-led coup and then during the years of hardline Taliban rule.

After doing a first inventory of the Bactrian gold pieces, Hiebert was surprised when he was asked to look at 20 other boxes found to contain precious objects that Silk Road camels once carried between China and Rome and elsewhere. . .

Later, more trunks of precious artifacts were found in another location, which Hiebert declined to name because of security concerns.

Fearing they would find only objects smashed by the Taliban which had destroyed many pre-Islamic objects, these trunks were filled with hundreds and hundreds of sculptures and carvings from Buddhist religious structures, Hiebert said.

Posted by David on November 18, 2004 11:05 PM