- The face of Afghanistan's cultural heritage since 1993 has been quite extraordinary. Not only has the country been deprived of a large part of its movable heritage, but also its most significant immovable heritage has fallen victim to an act of willful destruction
5 areas:
- the importance of archaeology for understanding Afghanistan's history
- the plundering of the National Museum in Afghanistan and Kabul
- the illegal excavation and looting of archaeological sites
- the willful destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas and figures from the National Museum
- material that has survived the war
History
- in the Fourth century B.C., Alexander marched through the region and founded several "Alexandrias"--Greek towns in which a genuine Greek way of life was maintained for several centuries
- Hellenic influence helped Buddhism to develop
- in the reign of Kanishka, Buddhism became the established religion
- The Hellenistic tradition of depicting gods and goddesses in human form coincided with the development of Mahayana Buddhism and resulted in the 1st appearance of the Buddha image in human form
- Before Mahayana, Buddha was represented ONLY in symbols
- These new images, on coins, in sculptures, paintings were traded along the Silk Road and helped spread Buddhism to China, Korea, Japan, and the Himalayas
- During the 1st centuries of the first millennium AD, the Afghan area was one of the main centers of the Buddhist world
- Huns from Central Asia destroyed most of the Buddhist monasteries during the 5th century AD
- Bamiyan Valley sites persisted
- with the introduction of Islam, Buddhism disappeared. The Ghaznavid Empire ruled the Aghan area from Ghazni for the 11th and 12th centuries
- Ghenghis Khan and troops destroyed Ghazni in 1221
- the minaret of Jam in the center of Afghanistan and the Bamiyan Buddhas survived
- 15th century Timurids established a flourishing civilization with architecture, poetry, and famous manuscripts, blue tiled monuments in Heart and Balkh
- Babur, the founder of the Great Mogul Empire-stretched in India was buried in Kabul
- the Babur Gardens are in the process of being restored
- 1989, Russians ended 10-year occupation of Afghanistan
- 1992, Najbullah, Russian puppet-president was overthrown
- Until 1993, the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul was untouched
- 1993, National Museum was accidentally bombed-target was Ministry of defense-was plundered by looters
- An estimated 70 percent of the collection was missing, including Buddhist statues and reliefs, the world-famous Begram ivories, Greek and Roman sculptures, and valuable coins from the time of Alexander the Great onward
- 1994, Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage (SPACH)
- By the summer of 1996, most of the materials had been moved to Kabul Hotel, although some pieces, mostly intact but too heavy to transport, remained in the museum
- In September 1996 the Taliban took control of Kabul and moved the materials from Kabul Hotel to the Ministry of Information and Culture. At the same time they banned depictions of the human form and destroyed ornaments on buildings, ripped up photographs, and closed the cinema
- During the civil war (1993-2001), many museum pieces were stolen and left the country illegally
- two bronze age seals, two small ivories from Ai Khanoum, Roman plasters, and a dozen Buddha heads. Currently the objects are kept in a secret location awaiting their return to the National Museum when conditions permit
- The most important problem at present is the indiscriminate plundering of both known and unknown archaeological sites. Complete sites have been dug up using shovels and bulldozers
- Ai Khanoum, a Greek town probably founded by Alexander the Great, traces of a theatre, gymnasium, and mosaics were discovered
- All that is left today is a field that is fit only for growing crops. Other examples of sites that have fallen victim to illegal diggers working for unscrupulous dealers are the numerous Buddhist sites of Hadda and the golden mounds of Tellya Tepe
- Unfortunately, Afghanistan has not ratified the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property
- 2002, Norway ratified the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects
- Although the Convention is not retroactive, and its ratification does not threaten Schoyen's ownership, it does indicate that the Norweigian government has decided against the morality of such purchases
- In March 2001 the already war-torn country was confronted with another major tragedy when the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan were blown up with explosives by the Taliban militia
- In July 1999 the Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued 2 decrees (a) concerning the Protection of Cultural Heritage, and (b) Concerning the Preservation of Historic Relics in Afghanistan
- After the most tragic destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas and the demolition of what remained in the National Museum, the idea of temporary evacuation should be strongly advocated. Let us hope the world will not forget these tragic disasters in Afghanistan (and Iraq for that matter) too soon and that attitudes and laws can be changed so that the evacuation concept becomes a reality whereby we can do the utmost to protect what we cherish
- The aim of Buddhism is total detachment, both material and spiritual
- Yet the Afghans themselves seem to regard the rebuilding of the Buddhas as being a step of the utmost importance toward restoring a sense of history and national pride
- SPACH and other organizations acquired pieces when and where they could, with the intention of returning them to the National Museum in due course
- The destruction of Afghanistan's cultural heritage is exceptional because this heritage fell victim to both extensive looting and to religiously inspired iconoclasm. However, it could, and in my opinion should, serve as a case study to illustrate the types of threats that need to be guarded against in the future and to indicate what might constitute appropriate preventive action or countermeasures
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