Afghanistan's treasure comes to the British Museum

Afghanistan's treasure comes to the British Museum

www.guardian.co.uk

The finds at a site so rich it was named Tillya Tepe – "the hill of gold" – quickly acquired legendary status. Few had ever set eyes on them apart from the team led by the Greco-Russian archaeologist Victor Sarigiannidis and a handful of staff at the national museum in Kabul. Then the treasures vanished without trace, believed possibly melted down and smuggled out as bullion.

(visit the link for the full news article)

The only thing Afghanistan had was its past, nothing else.

Afghanistan has a F'ed up present, and an F'ed up future, obviously with the way things are going.

The only thing Afghanistan had is now taken away, thanks Britain, thanks alot.

Thanks for taking the Afghan history away.

Thanks for raping Afghanistan of everything it had.

Thanks for your sacrifice for imperialism.

Thanks for your sacrifice for mercenariness.

Thanks for your sacrifice for power and greed.

You have shown nothing to Afghans, you have made thousands of promises but haven't achieved even one.

It is unfortunate that Afghans are not like your own citizens, that they are not brainwashed easily. You can't foul them by continually laying down another BS promise over an already uncompleted promise, hoping they will forget.

That is why the insurgency is growing, that is why your demise is imminent.

FTW.

The above is a form of emotionalism brought to you by MSM.

Thoughts.

oz

www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by oozyism


You really think it would safe in Afghan hands? I think the likely hood of it being melted is higher if it were to stay in Afghanistan. Who's to say that it couldn't be returned when Afghanistan is stable?

The Kabul museum was closed, looted, occupied by a militia, bombed, and targeted by religious extremists who smashed thousands of ancient sculptures. But the gold survived, hidden in strong boxes in the national bank.

Sounds like a much better place to keep priceless antiquities, You can;t move in the British museum for religious extremists smashing things up

Curators and conservation workers from Kabul will work at the British Museum during the exhibition – helping to identify some of the smuggled antiquities that have been pouring out of Afghanistan and were intercepted by UK customs authorities.

No need to thank us for finding the stuff the Afghan people stole and sold abroad, don't worry about it!

The exhibition has already been seen in Europe and the US

Oh so nothing to do with Britain then

reply to post by oozyism

So protecting a treasure from the hand that wish to destroy it is now a sin

The Kabul museum was closed, looted, occupied by a militia, bombed, and targeted by religious extremists who smashed thousands of ancient sculptures. But the gold survived, hidden in strong boxes in the national bank.

www.guardian.co.uk...

im sure antique afghan was just as colonial as present britain. why be so hurt at the natural ebb and flow of actions?
you sound more upset that afghan is not receiving the honor you think it deserves.

Actually if it's any consolation my friend, Afghanistan must be exceedingly important for the World's two super powers to take it on militarily practically back to back.

It obviously represents something of incredible value, which likely has more to do with the fierce independence and resilience of its remarkable people.

All that glitters is not gold, and the most valuable things in life are usually those simple but beautiful things that there is no way to attach a price to, because there is no way to sell them.

The Powers that Be are keen to tame the last of the wild places and far flung corners of the earth, I hope they never succeed in that endeavor, and there will always be some places, where the people are living naturally as they really want to live, instead of how they have been forced and enslaved to live.

www.commondreams.org...

Need i remind you of this?

Afghan Taliban Begin Destruction of Ancient Buddha Statues

KABUL - Ignoring an international outcry, Afghanistan's puritanical Taliban Islamic militia began demolishing statues across the country on Thursday, including two towering ancient stone Buddhas.
Taliban Minister of Information and Culture Qudratullah Jamal told AFP the destruction of scores of pre-Islamic figures, designed to stop the worshipping of "false idols," had begun throughout the country.


Undated photo of the world's tallest statue of Bhudda measuring 53 meters (175 feet) in Bamiyan, 125 kilometers (90 miles) west of Kabul in Afghanistan. Supreme Commander of the Taliban Mullah Mohammad Omar had ordered the destruction of all statues in Afghanistan, including the centuries-old Buddha in Bamiyan, and armed Taliban troops fanned out across the country Thursday to implement the supreme leader's order. (AP Photo)
He said militiamen started wrecking the almost 2,000-year-old Buddhist masterpieces in the central province of Bamiyan, including the world's tallest standing Buddha measuring 50 meters (165 feet), after sunrise.

"The work started about five hours ago but I do not know how much of it (the two Bamiyan Buddhas) has been destroyed," Jamal said. "It will be destroyed by every means. All the statues are being destroyed."

He said Taliban soldiers were at "work" in the Kabul museum and elsewhere in the provinces of Ghazni, Herat, Jalalabad and Kandahar.

An edict announced Monday by the militia's supreme leader, Mulla Mohammad Omar, calling for the destruction of all statues in line with "Islamic" laws, has caused shock around the world.

The extremists in your country destroy anything non-islamic or anything that can be worshipped.

Why not put it in a safer place? At least it's not getting wiped away from history.

Yeah they should leave everything in Afghanistan so they can destroy it forever like they did the Buddha statues that stood for centuries only to have the idiot taliban fire rockets at them.

I think it would be lovely to leave treasured archaeological items in place, but how long will they last? At least in Britain they will be treated with respect and viewed and admired by thousands, instead of being blasted to kingdom come by the locals. I say get the allies out of that hell hole of a country and let them destroy each other.

reply to post by oozyism


Me thinks somenone is pissed just because the artefacts are in the British Museum and not in Washinton...

If they where left in Afghanistan then somone in their own government would have stolen them and sold em for scrap metal...now they're protected for humanity and history in the best museum in the world,

This has nothing to do with raping a nation or making the world safe for imperialsim. Its ABOUT SAVING HISTORY.

Jesus i hate the way that people spin around any situation to make it about politics and world domination.

Just take the damn blinkers off your eyes and look at the big picture,

From the rest of the OP linked article..

The Kabul museum was closed, looted, occupied by a militia, bombed, and targeted by religious extremists who smashed thousands of ancient sculptures. But the gold survived, hidden in strong boxes in the national bank.

Fredrik Hiebert, an archaeologist with National Geographic, had been on the trail of the gold for almost 20 years since he heard the story from Sarigiannidis. Both men were present six years ago when the boxes were finally opened.

Link

Just to add the truth to what appears to be an agenda..

So... end result

WAY TO GO British.. They saved what they could from the "Religious Extremists"

"Religious Extremists" ?

Wonder who they mean?

Semper

If you let Russians go into Afghanistan, you can't expect them not to do something like this.
Not being a racist, but from personal experience Russians and Afgans don't fit too well together

No one is saying it should be in Afghanistan under the hands of radicals who the West loved so dearly against USSR.

But

That doesn't mean it shouldn't be in Afghanistan.


Anyone heard of Kabul Museum?

reply to post by oozyism


Read the sources other's have provided about Kabul museum.

And you yourself state that Afghanistan is corrupt and rotten to the core.
How long do you think they would last if left in Afghanistan?

Yet another case of criticising just for the sake of criticising.

So boring.
So predictable.

Originally posted by Freeborn
reply to post by oozyism

 

Read the sources other's have provided about Kabul museum.

And you yourself state that Afghanistan is corrupt and rotten to the core.
How long do you think they would last if left in Afghanistan?

Yet another case of criticising just for the sake of criticising.

So boring.
So predictable.

So what is occupying troops doing there then?

If they can't even protect a museum, shouldn't they pack their bags and leave, and let the Afghans do their own thing?

reply to post by oozyism


The museum was destroyed in 1994 WAY before any troop were there

Afghaniststans's treasures should stay there.

Why has Britain got them?

Give them back!

Originally posted by davespanners
reply to post by oozyism

 

The museum was destroyed in 1994 WAY before any troop were there

Then it was rebuilt couple of years after the invasion/occupation.

Second line.

reply to post by oozyism


OK, so they are caring for them.

But the Brits stole a lot of stuff before - like countries.

Originally posted by catwhoknows
reply to post by oozyism

 

OK, so they are caring for them.

But the Brits stole a lot of stuff before - like countries.

What do you mean caring for them?

Who owns them now?

That is the question.