The War-Ravaged Cultural Heritage of Afghanistan: An Overview of Projects of Assessment, Mitigation, and Preservation

• Published in: Near Eastern archaeology 2015-09, Vol.78 (3), p.187-195
• Main Author: Stein, Gil J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Archaeological sites; Archaeology; Art museums; Central Asian culture; Cultural heritage; Cultural institutions; Cultural preservation; Excavations; Historic artifacts; Historic preservation; Looting; Material culture; Monuments; Museums; National museums; War
• ISSN: 1094-2076; 2325-5404
• DOI: 10.5615/neareastarch.78.3.0187

Afghanistan is the quintessential “crossroads of cultures” where the civilizations of the Near East, Central Asia, South Asia, and China interacted over the millennia in a constantly shifting mixture of trade, emulation, migration, imperial formations, and periodic conflict. This complex history of contacts gave rise to some of the most important archaeological, artistic, architectural, and textual treasures in world cultural heritage. Thirty five years of continuous war have devastated Afghanistan's archaeological heritage – most notably with the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, the shelling and looting of the National Museum in Kabul, and large scale looting of archaeological sites such as Ai Khanoum. This paper presents an overview of the continuing threats to Afghanistan's cultural heritage – focusing mainly on archaeology – and summarizes ongoing efforts to monitor the damage, mitigate its impacts, and develop infrastructure to preserve this priceless cultural patrimony.