Countdown to tragedy Tom St John Gray reviews Brent E Huffman’s award-winning documentary Saving Mes Aynak. Mes Aynak, a spectacular 2,000-year-old Buddhist city south of Kabul, Afghanistan, is facing total destruction. This sprawling 500,000m² complex of monasteries, temples, and hundreds of Buddha statues is hailed as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of this century. […]
Afghanistan
Afghanistan: A Divided Path
Ten years after the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, what is happening to archaeology in this war-torn country? Joanie Meharry reports from Afghanistan.
Ancient Afghanistan revealed
The British Museum has just launched a major exhibition on Afghanistan. In a world exclusive, curator St John Simpson reveals the inside story of troubles surmounted, relationships forged, and treasures relocated.
Crossroads of the Ancient World
In 1978, a year before the Soviets foolishly decided to invade Afghanistan, a team of Russian and Afghan archaeologists were excavating a site called Tillya Tepe – literally ‘Hill of Gold’ – high in the Afghan mountains. The site is actually a tell, into the top of which were dug six different burials: as the […]
World’s oldest use of oil paint found in Afghanistan
The Buddhas of Bamiyan have revealed oil paints being used to decorate associated caves in the mid 7th century AD
Afghan Gold, Treasures from the East
John Herbert reports on the glorious exhibition ‘Afghanistan, les trésors retrouvés’ currently on show at the Guimet Museum, Paris
Bamiyan: Destruction of Giant Buddhas
Looting continues in Afghanistan following the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in 2001