email from DRBDES
Afghanistan Unearths 2,600 Year Old Buddhist Monastery
Very interesting. I hope they will not destroy the artefacts as they did at Bamiyan.......
Afghanistan
was the centre of Theravada Buddhism, perhaps at this time. The
Bahamian Statutes were located in Afghanistan, later blasted by the
Taliban
Digging Mine in Afghanistan Unearths 2,600 Year Old Buddhist Monastery
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
A
Chinese company digging an unexploited copper mine in Afghanistan has
unearthed ancient statues of Buddha in a sprawling 2,600-year-old
Buddhist monastery. Archaeologists are rushing to salvage what they can
from a major 7th century B.C. religious site along the famed Silk Road
connecting Asia and the Middle East. The ruins, including the monastery
and domed shrines known as 'stupas,' will likely be largely destroyed
once work at the mine begins.
The
ruins were discovered as labourers excavated the site on behalf of the
Chinese government-backed China Metallurgical Group Corp, which wants to
develop the world's second largest copper mine, lying beneath the
ruins.
Historic
find: Ancient Buddha statues inside a temple in Mes Aynak, south of
Kabul, Afghanistan. Chinese labourers digging a copper mine made the
astonishing discovery
Hanging
over the situation is the memory of the Buddhas of Bamiyan statues
toweriing up to 180 feet high in central Afghanistan that were dynamited
to the ground in 2001 by the country's then-rulers, the Taliban, who
considered them symbols of paganism. No one wants to be blamed for
similarly razing history at Mes Aynak, in the eastern province of Logar.
MCC wanted to start building the mine by the end of 2011 but under an
informal understanding with the Kabul government, it has given
archaeologists three years for a salvage excavation. Archaeologists
working on the site since May say that won't be enough time for full
preservation.
Ancient:
An Afghan archaeologist stands next to the remains feet of the Buddha
statues discovered in Mes Aynak. The ruins, including the monastery and
domed shrines known as 'stupas,' will likely be largely destroyed once
work at the mine begins
The
monastery complex has been dug out, revealing hallways and rooms
decorated with frescoes and filled with clay and stone statues of
standing and reclining Buddhas, some as high as 10 feet. An area that
was once a courtyard is dotted with stupas standing four or 5ft high.
More than 150 statues have been found so far, though many remain in
place. Large ones are too heavy to be moved, and the team lacks the
chemicals needed to keep small ones from disintegrating when extracted.
'That site is so massive that it's easily a 10-year campaign of
archaeology,' said Laura Tedesco, an archaeologist brought in by the US
Embassy to work on sites in Afghanistan. 'Three years may be enough time
just to document what's there.'
Dig:
A wooden Buddha statue, estimated to be about 1,400 years old, is
discovered during the excavation at the sprawling 2,600-year-old
Buddhist monastery
Philippe
Marquis, a French archaeologist advising the Afghans, said the salvage
effort is piecemeal and 'minimal', held back by lack of funds and
personnel. The team hopes to lift some of the larger statues and shrines
out before winter sets in this month, but they still haven't procured
the crane and other equipment needed.
Around
15 Afghan archaeologists, three French advisers and a few dozen
labourers are working within the 0.77-square-mile area - a far smaller
team than the two dozen archaeologists and 100 labourers normally needed
for a site of such size and richness. 'This is probably one of the most
important points along the Silk Road,' said Marquis. 'What we have at
this site, already in excavation, should be enough to fill the (Afghan)
national museum.'
Deadline: Archaeologists digging at the site of the ancient ruins have three years to finish the excavations
Mes
Aynak, 20 miles south of Kabul, lies in a province that is still
considered a major transit route for insurgents coming from Pakistan.Â
In July, two US sailors were kidnapped and killed in Logar. Around 1,500
Afghan police guard the mine site and the road. Mes Aynak's religious
sites and copper deposits have been bound together for centuries —
'mes' means 'copper' in the local Dari language. Throughout the site's
history, artisanal miners have dug up copper to adorn statues and
shrines. Afghan archaeologists have known since the 1960s about the
importance of Mes Aynak, but almost nothing had been excavated. When
the Chinese won the contract to exploit the mine in 2008, there was no
discussion with Kabul about the ruins - only about money, security and
building a railroad to transport the copper out of Logar's dusty hills.
But a small band of Afghan and French archaeologists raised a stir and
put the antiquities on the agenda.
The
mine could be a major boost for the Afghan economy. According to the
Afghan Mining Ministry, it holds some 6 million tons of copper, worth
tens of billions of dollars at today's prices. Developing the mine and
related transport infrastructure will generate much needed jobs and
economic activity.Waheedullah Qaderi, a Mining Ministry official working
on the antiquities issue, said MCC shares the government goal of
protecting heritage while starting mining as soon as possible.
