Fabulous objects: Treasures of Afghanistan at the British Museum

Associated media

Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World

The Silk Road across Central Asia once connected China and the Greco-Roman world around the Mediterranean, to their mutual profit.  Its slow decay followed the opening of seaborne trade routes to the Far East, an agricultural decline that was perhaps related to climatic change, and, more recently, the eastward expansion of Russia. Alexander, after defeating the Persian armies immediately set about adding Afghanistan to his conquests, before heading for India.  After his death the Diadochi, the generals who carved up his empire, set up a number of Greek or semi-Greek successor states, including one in Afghanistan that included Sogdiana and Bactria to the north.  The Greek conquest and subsequent settlement suggests pre-existing trade routes on a considerable scale.  The Greco-Bactrian kingdom was prosperous, and Begram was a terminus for roads leading to passes over the Hindu Kush.

The British Museum’s small but fascinating exhibition presents a number of fabulous objects, almost entirely unknown to us before, and sets them in their historical context.  This background will be almost entirely unknown to anyone but the specialist.   Afghanistan, which now features daily in our news media as a lawless and backward wasteland, was once a prosperous country and the home to many cultures. The variety of exhibits here reminds us of the former prosperity of this part of the world, and its cultural diversity.

Excavations in Begram in 1937–9 produced a multitude of finds, dating from the third century BC to the first century AD, such as Indian ivories and Roman glass, which are exhibited here.  The latter articles were, rather surprisingly, traded via India and not via the Silk Road.  There were no direct connections with the Roman Empire because of its wars with Parthia but there was a flourishing sea trade between Alexandria and India, which made use of the monsoon winds discovered by Greek traders, and so Roman Egypt and Afghanistan were connected by commerce.  Such finds suggest a degree of affluence; dates were harvested, and elaborate clay dishes were made for ceremonial meals. 

There are over 200 items from sites such as Begram and Ai Khanum (formerly Alexandria Oxiana), but the highlight of the exhibition is the wealth recovered from Tillya Tepe (meaning ‘hill of gold’ in Uzbek).  Six princely graves, possibly belonging to Scythians from the first century BC, were excavated in 1978, and despite some past disturbance, were essentially intact.  The finds included a gold crown and 20,000 other gold objects for personal adornment. They represented settled rather portable wealth, so even the crown could be folded up into a more compact space.  These objects all belonged to the National Museum in Kabul, which scarcely survived the Soviet invasion of 1979, the civil war of 1992–4 and the subsequent disturbances.  Some were hidden for years by courageous curators.  Many objects were looted and found their way out of the country.  But it is pleasing to say that in this exhibition there is a display case full of stolen ivories from Begram which were offered for sale in the UK. They were bought by a generous individual (indeed, a dealer) and given to the BM, where they have been conserved, and are due to be returned to Kabul some day – hopefully in the near future.

Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World is at the British Museum until 3 July 2011.