The Oriental Institute: Cultural Heritage in Afghanistan - op-ed

The past month has seen a wrenching tragedy overwhelm the people of Afghanistan, with the collapse of their government and capture of the capital Kabul by the victorious Taliban forces. As one tiny element in these momentous events, the Oriental Institute ended the Afghanistan-based operations of the cultural heritage work we had been conducting for the last nine years.

In this human and cultural crisis, we have a strong commitment to our Afghan colleagues at risk, and have been trying to help evacuate them from the country, for their safety.

A partially rejoined Hadda head

Image courtesy of the Oriental Institute.

Although we have ended our Afghanistanbased work, our international and Chicagobased team continues to carry out the OI’s heritage preservation projects. We have developed the first-ever complete inventory of the holdings of the National Museum of Afghanistan—documenting and photographing more than one hundred forty-six thousand pieces. The existence of this digital inventory means that even if the objects themselves were to be lost or destroyed, the cultural information would still survive. Our Afghan Heritage Mapping Partnership continues searching satellite images of Afghanistan to discover every archaeological heritage site we can. By documenting these sites, we can monitor looting and advocate for their protection. Our Hadda Sculptural Project has been able to partially re-assemble 432 rare Early Buddhist Sculptures from the monastic center of Hadda that had been smashed in 2001 by the Taliban in the months leading up to the 9/11 attacks. Finally, our Mobile Museum project has conducted in-class high school programs in Kabul and the five largest provincial capitals across Afghanistan, teaching more than twelve thousand students about the history of civilizations in Afghanistan.

It has been a unique privilege for our team to have worked in this beautiful but troubled country. We believe that the OI’s projects have made significant contributions to preserving Afghanistan’s cultural heritage. That goal has never been more important or worthwhile.

3D scans

Image courtesy of the Oriental Institute.

By Gil Stein

Gil Stein is a University of Chicago Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology, Oriental Institute and Near Eastern Language and Civilizations and Director of the Chicago Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation.