Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
- 28,003
- 9,608
- 910
- A 2,000-year-old Buddhist city, Mes Aynak in Afghanistan, rich in stupas, shrines and monuments could be razed to the ground if a Chinese mining company is allowed to prospect for huge copper reserves on which the city sits.
Around 600 large Buddha statues, and frescoes showing scenes from the life of the Buddha, have been unearthed to date, but the site is enormous and many more treasures are expected to be buried beneath.
"Some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of Afghanistan and the history of Buddhism itself," reports Saving Mes Aynak.
The Afghanistan government and a Chinese state-owned mining company, the China Metallurgical Group Corporation, plan to mine the area. To reach the deposit, the site along with six surrounding villages have to be destroyed, reports Popular Archaeology.
Buddha Purnima Ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan could be destroyed by copper mining
more information from this link:
In many ways, the Mes Aynak situation is a classic example of the conundrum faced by world leaders and people everywhere concerning the problem of how humanity can reconcile the needs for economic prosperity with the imperatives of preserving, protecting and advancing knowledge and awareness of humanity’s cultural identity and history. In this context, Mes Aynak, like a number of other cases across the globe, could present an opportunity for problem solvers to put their heads together and come up with surprisingly workable solutions.
But for now, at least for Mes Aynak, it continus to be an uphill battle. Excavation went full throttle during the filming, although it has recently diminished as threats from the Taliban have increased. "It's a harrowing situation," says Huffman. "Qadir received threatening phone calls from them while I was on site." Moreover, the mining is scheduled to begin in 2015. And although Afghanistan’s new President Ashraf Ghani, a former anthropologist as well as economist, may be positively sensitive to serious consideration of a submitted petition, he has also recently visited Beijing to meet with the President of China about prioritizing mining projects in Afghanistan—including, of course, Mes Aynak.
Mes Aynak A Story of Courage and a Priceless World Treasure in Afghanistan Popular Archaeology - exploring the past
That's quite a mess.
Around 600 large Buddha statues, and frescoes showing scenes from the life of the Buddha, have been unearthed to date, but the site is enormous and many more treasures are expected to be buried beneath.
"Some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of Afghanistan and the history of Buddhism itself," reports Saving Mes Aynak.
The Afghanistan government and a Chinese state-owned mining company, the China Metallurgical Group Corporation, plan to mine the area. To reach the deposit, the site along with six surrounding villages have to be destroyed, reports Popular Archaeology.
Buddha Purnima Ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan could be destroyed by copper mining
more information from this link:
In many ways, the Mes Aynak situation is a classic example of the conundrum faced by world leaders and people everywhere concerning the problem of how humanity can reconcile the needs for economic prosperity with the imperatives of preserving, protecting and advancing knowledge and awareness of humanity’s cultural identity and history. In this context, Mes Aynak, like a number of other cases across the globe, could present an opportunity for problem solvers to put their heads together and come up with surprisingly workable solutions.
But for now, at least for Mes Aynak, it continus to be an uphill battle. Excavation went full throttle during the filming, although it has recently diminished as threats from the Taliban have increased. "It's a harrowing situation," says Huffman. "Qadir received threatening phone calls from them while I was on site." Moreover, the mining is scheduled to begin in 2015. And although Afghanistan’s new President Ashraf Ghani, a former anthropologist as well as economist, may be positively sensitive to serious consideration of a submitted petition, he has also recently visited Beijing to meet with the President of China about prioritizing mining projects in Afghanistan—including, of course, Mes Aynak.
Mes Aynak A Story of Courage and a Priceless World Treasure in Afghanistan Popular Archaeology - exploring the past
That's quite a mess.
