Looted Afghan artefacts returned to Kabul
cheap abercrombie outlet ukHundreds of archaeological artefacts looted from Afghanistan have been handed over to the country's national museum during a ceremony in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Many of the 843 pieces were stolen during Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s and ended up on the black market.Some of the items, which include stone statues of Buddha and intricate ivory carvings, are up to 4,000 years old.The British Museum in London has helped to complete their return. Some of the stolen artefacts were recovered by British border forces and police, while others were found in private collections and bought back by generous donors.One stone Buddha, thought to be around 1,800 years old, was stolen from the museum in Kabul and recovered in Japan.The British Ministry of Defence flew the pieces back to Afghanistan in large crates, landing at their military base in Camp Bastion.Afghan archaeologists say the repatriation of the treasures, which had been feared lost forever, is a source of national pride. More than two thirds of the exhibits at the National Museum in Kabul were stolen or destroyed during the civil war.The BBC's correspondent in Kabul, Aleem Maqbool, says there will be concerns about the fate of the artefacts, given the unpredictability surrounding Afghanistan's future.But archaeologists in Afghanistan say having so many of their treasures back on home soil is a source of great national pride, our correspondent adds.Our users tell us that one of the things they value most about our service is our policy of linking openly to other websites.
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abercrombie and fitch uk We have a policy of only linking to English-language sites. The results are sorted in date order to provide the most recent stories at the top.We hope you find this service useful. We are continuously trying to improve it, so if you have any comments or suggestions about Newstracker, please send them using the form below.Hundreds of archaeological treasures looted from Afghanistan were returned to the war-torn country's National Museum on Sunday after being recovered with the help of the British Museum.Many of the 843 artefacts were seized as they were being smuggled into Britain after some 70 percent of the museum's contents were stolen during Afghanistan's civil war in the early 1990s.Others were identified on the black market and acquired on behalf of the museum by private donors.The returned treasures include "exquisite examples" of the Begram Ivories, a series of decorative inlays dating back to the first century AD, the British Museum said ahead of Sunday's handover ceremony.Among others items are a statue of Buddha from the second or third century, Bactrian Bronze Age items, Greco-Bactrian and medieval Islamic coins.Afghanistan, lying on the famed Silk Road trading route connecting east and west, absorbed Buddhism from India and the religion flourished for hundreds of years before the arrival of Islam in the eighth century.The museum itself -- rebuilt with international aid -- was largely destroyed as rival warlords unleashed artillery and rocket fire on the capital in a brutal struggle for power in the early 1990s.And the country achieved global notoriety for cultural barbarism when the Taliban Islamist regime, which came to power in 1996, blew up the famed and ancient Bamiyan Buddhas shortly before being overthrown by a US-led invasion.In a country still at war, with 130,000 US-led NATO troops helping the government of President Hamid Karzai fight a Taliban insurgency, it remains unsafe for the museum to display some of its most important possessions.
abercrombie saleThe famed and priceless 2,000 year-old Bactrian Gold collection of more than 20,000 gold ornaments, hidden by museum staff during the civil war, has been touring the world since 2006. On Sunday, British officials will complete the handover of hundreds of archaeological artefacts to the National Museum of Afghanistan. Many were stolen during the civil war and have been recovered with the help of the British Museum and the UK Ministry of Defence, writes the BBC's Aleem Maqbool.Fahim Rahimi has been waiting for this moment for months. The young chief curator of Afghanistan's National Museum has just taken delivery of three huge orange-painted metal chests. They have come from London, via RAF Brize Norton and Camp Bastion.All the staff at the museum gather round and fall silent as Fahim unscrews one of the containers.As the front is removed, it reveals a large, beautifully preserved stone statue of Buddha, thought to be around 1,800 years old.With a wooden bar across his chest to hold him in place in the crate, Buddha's right hand is raised in a gesture of assurance and serenity.He is back home, but it has taken 20 years and has been quite a journey. This is one of more than 800 historical artefacts that have been returned to Afghanistan with the assistance of the British Museum and the UK's Ministry of Defence.Many of the treasures, like the statue of Buddha, had been on display in the National Museum in Kabul in the early 1990s, but were stolen during the civil war and ended up on the black market."I am so happy, but not just as an archaeologist," says Fahim.
abercrombie outlet "I am happy as an Afghan that all of these pieces that are so important to the history and culture of this country are back with us."There is excitement as he opens the second chest. When he lifts the lid and removes the packaging, everyone moves closer to take a look at the dozens of precious artefacts laid out inside.Generous donors Among them are delicate furniture decorations from the 1st century AD, made of ivory from the ancient city of Begram.But there are Bactrian statuettes and flasks thought to be millennia older.After being stolen, it was feared many had been lost forever. However, some were intercepted by border forces as they were being smuggled into the UK, others recovered after investigations by London's Metropolitan Police.Some were found in private collections and bought by generous British donors on behalf of the Kabul Museum.They include the statue of Buddha, which we later see mounted in a cove close to the entrance to the museum."It was discovered in Japan," curator Fahim tells me. "A private anonymous donor bought it for us, and we are so grateful."But as the figure of Buddha looks down at us, finally at rest after its 20-year ordeal, it is hard not to think of its future.Could Afghanistan again see a time when there is such chaos that the national museum could be looted at will?Will the leaders here always respect their heritage, even the pre-Islamic?Is it too early to return this Buddha to the museum from which it was stolen or would it have been better to keep it elsewhere?"God willing, we will never see days as bad as that again," says Fahim. "We need these things here to remind people of our rich culture and of the people we are."
