Bactrian Gold in Paris

A sumptuous trove of ancient Afghan treasure went on show in a Paris museum yesterday after escaping the destruction of the Taleban regime while hidden in vaults under the presidential palace in Kabul.

The items, some dating from the great civilisations before the Roman Empire, owe their survival to a scheme involving seven keys that would have befitted a central Asian fable.

At the heart of the exhibition, in the Guimet museum, is a collection of jewellery, dress and other artifacts of gold and precious stones from the first century AD that were found in 1978 by Soviet archeologists at Tillia-Tepe, in northern Afghanistan.

The “hoard of Bactrian gold”, never before seen in public, had been give up for lost until 2003 . . .

The Paris show was suspended this year after the Afghan parliament refused to let the treasures leave the country. After the decision was reversed, insurers refused to cover their transport. They relented after the French armed forces undertook the shipment.

The Guimet museum was chosen because of its long involvement in Afghan archaeology, which was almost a French monopoly until the 1970s.

Posted by David on December 10, 2006 4:36 PM