Hannah Bloch (natgeo.com), Simon Norfolk; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.) Wisdom Quarterly
Searching for treasure, looters ravaged this
larger-than-life Buddha. “Archaeology is the only way to protect
the site,” says Philippe Marquis, who oversaw excavation until 2014.
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War brought to light hidden Buddhist history. |
Boy gathers potatoes in Bamiyan (W). |
But the texts refer to two others appropriate to the three traditional seasons: hot, rainy, and cold. The two other locations for palaces were likely modern Kabul and Mes Aynak.
- A Young People's Life of the Buddha (Ven. Silacara)
Massive Buddhas of Bamiyan |
Afghanistan (left), Bihar (right) |
His father the Shakyan king kept tabs on the renunciant Siddhartha through emissaries for the seven years he was gone on his spiritual quest.
His wife, Bimba-devi (Rahula Mata, Bhadda Kaccānā, who like most figures in Buddhism is best known by her descriptive name Princess Yasodhara), was also well aware of Siddhartha's whereabouts, so much so that she took on whatever austerities he engaged in.
For example, when he wore saffron robes, slept on the floor, and took only one meal a day, she did the same. She was stuck in the luxurious palace with the royal family raising their son, Prince Rahula, next in line to rule.
Rescuing Mes Aynak
Siddhartha's former wife, Bimba-devi |
For example, when he wore saffron robes, slept on the floor, and took only one meal a day, she did the same. She was stuck in the luxurious palace with the royal family raising their son, Prince Rahula, next in line to rule.
Our Buddhist heritage: National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul (nationalmuseum.af) |
Rescuing Mes Aynak
Hannah Bloch, NationalGeographic.com, Sept. 2015 (photographs by Simon Norfolk )
Mega copper deal [with Chinese] in Afghanistan fuels rush to save ancient [Shakyan Buddhist] treasures. Under threat of Taliban attack, archaeologists are excavating a spectacular Buddhist complex before it’s obliterated by a huge mining operation [after gold and rare earth minerals].
The faces of ancient local figures depicted in
painted clay evoke a time when Mes Aynak was a crossroads of Central
Asia. Left: A member of the archaeological team working to save the rich
cultural heritage of Mes Aynak. Patron (R), 2.8 inches, 4th-7th
century, Kabul Museum.
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Mega copper deal [with Chinese] in Afghanistan fuels rush to save ancient [Shakyan Buddhist] treasures. Under threat of Taliban attack, archaeologists are excavating a spectacular Buddhist complex before it’s obliterated by a huge mining operation [after gold and rare earth minerals].
About an hour’s drive along the Gardez Highway south of [the current capital of Afghanistan] Kabul, beyond the bustling shops, the trucks spewing diesel exhaust, and the clatter of donkey carts, there is a sharp left turn onto an unpaved road.
In a district of Logar Province friendly to the Taliban, the vicinity has been shaken by roadside bombs, intermittent rocket attacks, kidnappings, and murders. The road continues along a dry riverbed, past small villages, paramilitary roadblocks, sentry towers, and an empty, blue-roofed compound cordoned off with concertina wire.
A little farther on, the view opens onto a treeless valley creased with trenches and exposed ancient walls. Over the past seven years a team of Afghan and international archaeologists, supported by up to 650 laborers, has uncovered thousands of Buddhist statues, manuscripts, coins, and holy monuments [sacred scriptures].
The team of archaeologists working to preserve Mes
Aynak uncovered a life-size gilded plaster head of the Buddha (left). A modern Muslim
laborer on the team is shown at right.
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Entire [Buddhist] monasteries and fortifications have come to light, dating back as far as the third century a.d. More than a hundred check posts surround the site, which is patrolled day and night by some 1,700 police.
The excavation is by far the most ambitious in Afghanistan’s history. But the security wasn’t put in place just to protect a few scientists and some local workers. Buried below the ancient ruins is a lode of copper ore that extends two and a half miles across and runs a mile or more into the Baba Wali mountain, which dominates the site.
It ranks as one of the world’s largest untapped deposits, containing an estimated 12.5 million tons of copper. In antiquity, copper made the Buddhist [temples] here wealthy; colossal deposits of purple, blue, and green slag, the solidified residue from their smelting, spill down the slopes of Baba Wali, attesting to production on a nearly industrial scale. The Afghan government hopes that copper will help make the country wealthy again, or at least self-sufficient.
Open pit mine might save Buddhist artifacts
Detail of copper and gold bowl from Tepe Baba Wali, Mes Aynak depicts a snarling lion.
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The name of this place is understated: Mes Aynak, “little copper well.” There is nothing little about Mes Aynak. In 2007 the Beijing-based China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), leading a state-backed consortium, won rights to extract the copper here on a 30-year lease.
(China is ravenous for copper: It now consumes half the world’s supply.) The company made a bid worth more than three billion dollars and promised to provide infrastructure for this isolated, underdeveloped district, including roads, a railway, and a 400-megawatt electricity plant.
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