http://www.theage.com.au/world/ancient-treasures-on-shaky-ground-as-chinese-miners-woo-kabul-20101115-17uc8.html
Ancient treasures on shaky ground as Chinese miners woo Kabul November 16, 2010 Ancient Buddha statues inside a temple in Mes Aynak, south of Kabul. Photo: AP Archaeologists are rushing to save as much as they can from a 2600-year-old Buddhist monastery. IT WAS another day on the rocky hillside at Mes Aynak as labourers excavated a sprawling 2600-year-old Buddhist monastery. A Chinese woman politely inquired about their progress. She had more than a passing interest. The woman represents a Chinese company eager to develop the world's second-biggest unexploited copper mine, lying beneath the ruins. Beijing's $US3.5 billion stake in the mine - the largest foreign investment in Afghanistan by far - gets China's foot in the door for future deals to exploit Afghanistan's largely untapped mineral wealth, including iron, gold and cobalt. But Mes Aynak, 30 kilometres from Kabul, is caught between Afghanistan's hopes for the future and its history. Archaeologists are rushing to salvage what they can from a 7th century BC religious site along the Silk Road. Hanging over the situation is the memory of the Buddhas of Bamiyan - statues up to 60 metres high in central Afghanistan that were dynamited in 2001 by the Taliban, who considered them symbols of paganism. No one wants to be blamed for similarly razing history at Mes Aynak. The Chinese government-backed China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) wanted to start building the mine by the end of 2011. But under an informal understanding with Kabul, it has allowed three years for a salvage excavation. Archaeologists working on the site since May say that won't be enough time. ''That site is so massive that it's easily a 10-year campaign,'' said Laura Tedesco, an archaeologist brought in by the US embassy. Said French archaeologist Philippe Marquis: ''This is probably one of the most important points along the Silk Road. What we have at this site, already in excavation, should be enough to fill the [Afghan] national museum.'' In July, the archaeologists received a letter from MCC asking that parts of the dig finish by August and the rest be done by the end of this year. August has come and gone, and excavations at Mes Aynak continue. But the Afghan archaeologist overseeing the dig said he had no idea when company representatives might tell him his work was over. ''We would like to work according to our principles. If we don't work according to the principles of archaeology, then we are no different from traffickers,'' Abdul Rauf Zakir said. Waheedullah Qaderi, a Mining Ministry official working on the antiquities issue, said MCC shared the government goal of protecting heritage while starting mining as soon as possible. Still, a diplomat said MCC has pressured Kabul to stop archaeologists from looking for new places to dig. Mr Marquis said MCC had been co-operative and had helped the archaeologists, hauling dirt away and asking what more needed to be done. Mr Zakir laughed: ''Yes, they are very helpful. They want to help so that we can finish quickly. They want us gone.'' [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
