Stolen Afghan artefacts return home

9 Jul 2009

Stolen Afghan artefacts return home

KABUL - More than seven thousand Afghan artefacts which were stolen and smuggled out of the country have returned home over the past two years.

In 2007, more than 6,000 artefacts looted from Afghanistan’s ancient sites were returned to Afghanistan. These include more than 4,000 artefacts from Denmark, 68 manuscripts belonging to Buddhist period from Norway and 1,328 artefacts from Switzerland.

“We have had good results in returning stolen Afghan artefacts from abroad,” said Omara Khan Masoudi, the director of the Kabul National Museum who has been working there since 1978.

Recently around 1,500 pieces of artefacts seized at Heathrow airport in London were returned to Afghanistan. “I am very happy that the British Government, as per our request, returned these artefacts to Afghanistan,” said Mr Masoudi.

The Kabul National Museum once had a collection of more than one hundred thousand artefacts ranging from the pre-historic period up to the 20th Century.

A survey in the year 2000 found that around 70 per cent of Kabul Museum’s artefacts were looted while the remaining 30 per cent were not in a good condition, according to Mr Masoudi.

“More than 2,000 artefacts are in need of urgent repair, cleaning and restoration,” Mr Masoudi added.

“I am happy that we have the support of the international community, including the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and countries like Greece, the United States, Japan, Italy, Britain and France. They supported this museum not only with rehabilitation building itself, but they also trained the staff of the museum,” Mr Masoudi said.

So far seventy per cent of Kabul’s museum staff have been trained in foreign countries.

“After the collapse of the Taliban regime we were able to re-establish most of the museum’s departments,” said Mr Masoudi.

“The museum needs to improve on keeping and preserving these artefacts in good condition,” said Shigeru Aoyagi, the director of UNESCO, the organisation which helped return artefacts from Switzerland.

“These returned artefacts are very precious – like the ivory pieces looted from the museum and artefacts from the ancient site of Aai Khanum – a very ancient site dated to 3rd Century BC,” added Mr Masoudi.

The returned artefacts will go on public display in the middle of July in Kabul’s National Museum.

By Kangying Guo, UNAMA

Website: Ministry of Information and Culture

Website: United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation