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GHF in the news

GHF Fellow Interviews Director of National Museum of Afghanistan about Mes Aynak

September 29, 2011

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For the past year, we have been covering a site called Mes Aynak, where archaeologists are racing against the clock to excavate an ancient Buddhist monastery. The reason for the rush: a Chinese mining company that is scheduled to develop the overlapping copper mine (the second-largest unexploited copper mine in the world) in less than three years. The deal is expected to secure more than $3 billion for Afghanistan’s struggling economy, but the payoff is bittersweet for those troubled by the loss of such magnificent cultural heritage.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Mes Aynak, Middle East, Preservation Fellowships

 

 

Across the Wire

Archaeologists Continue Race Against Clock at Afghanistan’s Mes Aynak

July 28, 2011

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As we reported last November, French and Afghan archaeologists have been working feverishly to excavate Mes Aynak, a 9,800-acre site in eastern Afghanistan that contains the ruins of an ancient Buddhist settlement. Since then, the conservation team has expanded to include more than 100 laborers, but the site remains on track for demolition.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Development Pressures, Looting, Mes Aynak, Middle East

 

 

SUCCESS STORIES

GHF Announces 2011 Preservation Fellows

July 22, 2011

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GHF is pleased to announce the 16 recipients of the 2011 Global Heritage Preservation Fellowships. Intended to support cultural heritage preservation and community development at sites throughout the developing world, the Global Heritage Preservation Fellowship Program provides support to young researchers to make a difference while gaining skills and experience in the field.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia, Chavin de Huantar, China, Fujian Tulous, Hampi, India, Marcahuamachuco, Mes Aynak, Micronesia, Pakistan, Peru, Pingyao, Preservation Fellowships, Turkey, Turkmenistan

 

 

Across the Wire

War in Afghanistan Jeopardizes Heritage of Several Sites in Region

December 03, 2010

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The conflict in Afghanistan has placed several historic cities and buildings in grave danger from a heritage standpoint. With all eyes focused on the war, ancient Middle Eastern history has suffered from a lack of preservation effort.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Buddhas of Bamiyan, Middle East, UNESCO, War and Conflict

 

 

ON THE VERGE

Balkh, Afghanistan

“A Great and Noble City” — Marco Polo, 13th Century

November 17, 2010

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A glimpse at Balkh’s history reveals a multitude of cultures that lived there over the past few millennia. Originally inhabited by Indo-Iranian tribes between 2,000-1,500 BC, Balkh (then known as Umm Al-Belaad) was traditionally a center for Zoroastrianism, and the first place where Zoroaster preached his religion.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Balkh, Looting, Middle East, War and Conflict

 

 

Across the Wire

Afghan Archaeologists Trying to Salvage Ancient Monastery, But Running Out of Time

November 16, 2010

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About 20 miles south of Kabul, in an abandoned Soviet copper mine, lies Mes Aynak, a former Al-Qaeda training camp where Afghan and French archaeologists are working furiously to salvage a recently-discovered Buddhist religious site. The site, called Tepe Kafiriat, is estimated to be 2,600 years old and contains both ruins of an ancient monastery and domed shrines known as “stupas.”

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Tags: Afghanistan, Buddhas of Bamiyan, China, Destruction, Middle East, Silk Road