Protecting Buddhist-era heritage at
Mes Aynak AFGHANISTAN
Protecting Buddhist-era heritage at
Mes Aynak AFGHANISTAN
The history and splendor of Mes Aynak
Located on the historic Buddhist pilgrimage route, weaving through the Hindu Kush mountains of eastern and central Afghanistan, and leading from the Indian subcontinent to the steppes of Central Asia, lies Mes Aynak (meaning “little source of copper”). The identification of this extraordinary site represents one of the most important discoveries in the region over the past four decades. Containing the significant remains of an extensive Buddhists city, it is believed that the settlement was initially established by the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century as a mining colony at what is today thought to be the second largest deposit.
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The history and splendor of Mes Aynak
At an altitude of 2500 meters above sea level, the settlement grew to cover an area of approximately 45 hectares and included multiple mining and smelting areas, residential quarters, and peripheral religious complexes containing clay statues, wall murals, and stupas dating to Late Antiquity. The fate of the site was linked to the decline of the Kushan Empire. It is believed that when mining operations were abandoned, large segments of the settlement were dismantled and covered with soil.
Extensive looting over the past 50 years has disturbed what otherwise remained of the Buddhist settlement, hidden beneath layers of earth for more than 1300 years. Archaeologists and geologists, working in tandem at times, identified the presence of both archaeological material and high concentrations of copper ore in the 1970s. Since that time, successive Afghan administrations have proposed largescale mining operations at Mes Aynak, which has the potential to become a major source of revenue for the impoverished country.
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The history and splendor of Mes Aynak
Mining & Salvage Archaeology Mes Aynak - Protection of Buddhist-era heritage
Following an award for copper extraction rights in 2007, an emergency archaeological salvage operation was launched in 2009 with financial support from the World Bank. This resulted in the discovery of more than 3500 major artifacts, and the identification and relocation of dozens of statues and wall paintings over ten years. Emergency salvage operations were conducted by the Ministry of Information and Culture, with technical support from the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (DAFA) and later UNESCO and funded by the World Bank. Throughout these interventions, dozens of archaeologists from many nationalities worked together at the site. Artifacts from Mes Aynak were transferred to the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, where select pieces have been restored and displayed in national and international exhibitions, including at the Czech National Museum in Prague.
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Mining & Salvage Archaeology
In 2019, after ten years of work, salvage operations were suspended. The dilapidated, ad-hoc temporary structures that had been quickly built over the course of the salvage archaeology project did not provide sufficient protection against the natural elements in the harsh environment of Mes Aynak. And over the subsequent four years, the archaeological remains and artifacts still on site suffered from extensive decay and degradation. Part of this loss took the form of eroded and disintegrated delicate clay statues exposed to cycles of evaporation of moisture.
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Mining & Salvage Archaeology
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Mining & Salvage Archaeology
A new partnership is launched
Taking into account the prospect of the possible exploitation of the mining site, in November 2022, the International alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas (ALIPH) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) launched an emergency conservation program to prevent further loss and damage to key artifacts and heritage at the Mes Aynak site. This initiative was built on the shared mandate and ethos of ALIPH and AKTC to support Afghans in preserving their unique heritage for future generations.
This project includes compiling comprehensive records of the whole site, building and expanding temporary protective structures above key archaeological areas, and installing a drainage system, as well as consolidating archaeological and architectural remains.
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A new partnership is launched
A critical component of work at Mes Aynak entails comprehensive documentation of archaeological extents and individual areas containing in-situ artifacts. State-of-the-art documentation equipment is being employed by skilled Afghan technicians so detailed surveys of architectural spaces and individual historical objects can be prepared. In addition, accurate drawings and three-dimensional renderings are being produced for further scientific research and to enable key interventions to preserve this heritage. In addition, a centralized database and archive containing current data and documents prepared during the salvage archaeology process have been established to facilitate better understanding of the site and to coordinate between experts engaged in the project.
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A new partnership is launched
International conservation specialists with extensive scientific experience working on similar sites in Afghanistan have been tasked with preparing a pilot project to consolidate, preserve, and relocate select artifacts. While condition assessments and collections of material samples for laboratory testing and analysis in Germany, Austria, and Italy have enabled the formulation of scientific methods and procedures for future preservation works. Finally, durable and resilient temporary shelters have been constructed over seven individual archaeological zones, covering an area of more than 4700 square meters and containing the vast majority of the site’s exposed artifacts. Afghan architects and engineers are working alongside skilled carpenters and metal workers to construct temporary shelters and erect protective barriers to safeguard fragile statues, stupas, and wall murals.
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A new partnership is launched
Employment More than 17,000 days of employment for skilled, semi-skilled, and daily laborers has been generated thus far, helping many Afghans provide for their families while also engaging in the preservation of their heritage. Afghan architects, archaeologists, conservators, and documentation specialists have been provided with an important opportunity for professional development through the project. Afghan female professionals have also had the opportunity to build upon their technical studies and expand their knowledge in the fields of documentation, archaeology, and architecture.
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Employment
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Employment
Training and Developing Capacity
Each stage of activity at the Mes Aynak archaeological site includes training Afghan professionals from the Departments of Archaeology and Historic Monuments as well as the National Museum, engaging them in documentation and physical conservation works.
Regular exposure visits are also organized for large groups of archaeology and architecture students from Kabul and Kabul Polytechnic University. Guided by expert staff, these visits provide an important opportunity for Afghanistan’s future professionals to become aware of the richness and diversity of their heritage.
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Training and Developing Capacity
Scientific Advisory Panel
A Scientific Advisory Panel was convened to help guide each step of works planned at the site. Composed of foremost international experts in the fields of archaeology, art history, conservation, and heritage management, the panel convenes quarterly to review progress on planned works and provide guidance for future activities.
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Scientific Advisory Panel
Engagement The emergency project to save the irreplaceable heritage at the Mes Aynak archaeological site has provided a platform to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, interlocutors, and partners and to advocate for the protection of Afghanistan’s unique patrimony. The project provides heritage professionals with an opportunity to collaborate, while uniting those who decided to remain in the country under a common purpose.
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Engagement
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Engagement
Potential Future Development The goals of the first emergency phase of the project are to ensure that vulnerable heritage remaining at the site is immediately protected; that standardized scientific methodologies for the documentation, conservation, and relocation of artifacts are established; and that the technical and operational framework to expand preservation activities under subsequent phases is developed. Should mining activities go forward, the consolidation and relocation of more than 100
Mes Aynak - Protection of Buddhist-era heritage
individual statues, wall murals, and stupas, would be required, followed by the strategic expansion of archaeological excavations to new zones of the site containing additional areas of heritage. The future of Mes Aynak thus relies on the cooperation of a wide range of partners, the concerted efforts of the scientific community, and the mobilization of financial resources, to protect this unique part of our shared history.
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Potential Future Development
ALIPH The International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) is the principal global fund exclusively dedicated to the protection of heritage in conflict zones and post-conflict situations. It was created in 2017 in Geneva, in response to the massive destruction of cultural heritage over the past two decades due to terrorism and conflict, predominantly in the Middle East and the Sahel. ALIPH selects, finances, and steers protection or rehabilitation projects of monuments, sites, museums, collections of artefacts or manuscripts, places of worship, and intangible heritage. These are led and implemented by the Foundation’s partners, including NGOs and cultural institutions. The ALIPH way can be summed up by action, agility, and the field. To date, the Foundation has supported over 430 projects in 35 countries on 4 continents.
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ALIPH
The organization is run with the mindset of a startup, making it an agile instrument, ready to respond quickly during crises. ALIPH’s priority is to support concrete projects and to work closely with local authorities, communities, and actors. A public-private partnership, ALIPH counts eight member States—France, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, China, Morocco, and Cyprus—and three private donors—Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan, the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, and the Getty. Other public partners—the European Union, Monaco, Oman and Romania and private donors—the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and TotalEnergies—have engaged to support ALIPH. Its headquarters are in Geneva (Switzerland).
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ALIPH
Aga Khan Trust for Culture The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network headquartered in Geneva comprises of four main programmes through which it preserves cultural heritage and uses culture to promote economic and social development and education: the Historic Cities Programme, the Aga Khan Music Programme, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
Through its Historic Cities Programme, AKTC has worked for over three decades implementing over 350 conservation projects, including 11 UNESCO World Heritage sites. It is the leading programme globally that focusses on the preservation of built heritage in the Muslim world, whilst the mandate given by its founder His Highness the Aga Khan is to promote intercultural understanding in a pluralist world.
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Aga Khan Trust for Culture
AKTC has been a front-runner in using Public Private Partnerships in the cultural field, maximizing impact and results. It worked with multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, national development banks and private organisations to co-fund its projects. Having built capacities and expertise over three decades in the countries where it maintains a permanent presence, it is able to implement quickly and effectively. AKTC brings together leading experts from archaeology, conservation, urban planning and museology to build sustainable models for the preservation and maintenance of heritage sites, and its projects have won multiple awards of excellence in the field of conservation of heritage.
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Aga Khan Trust for Culture
October 2023
Rue de Lausanne 80 1202 – Geneva Switzerland +41 22 795 18 00 www.aliph-foundation.org contact@aliph-foundation.org Follow us on: