The Bamiyan Buddhas return

A photo of what isn't, by Tracy Hunter

Archaeologists in Afghanistan have begun the painstaking work of rebuilding the remains of the famous Bamiyan Buddhas.

BACK IN 2001, despite a worldwide outcry, the Taliban moved to destroy the two giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. At the time, after firing at the statues for several days with artillery, then Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal complained about the difficulty of the task:

this work of destruction is not as simple as people might think. You cant knock down the statues by shelling as both are carved into a cliff; they are firmly attached to the mountain.

Then they got down to business with anti tank mines, dynamite and, finally, a rocket fired at the remains of one of the Buddhas heads. By the time the task was done, they were thought to be thoroughly destroyed.

Fast forward a decade, and United Nations-funded archaeologists and work crews have begun the difficult task of trying to undo the destruction wrought on the statues by the Taliban. The damage has been so thorough, that a process called anastylosis is being employed essentially rebuilding the statues with a combination of original material (where available) and modern equivalents where the original sections are lost or beyond recovery. Its a sizable job, as the work crews sift through 400 tons of rubble that occasionally yield landmines and undetonated explosives from the original demolition.

It is also an undertaking that has attracted criticism from some quarters. With much of Bamiyan highly underdeveloped, debates have begun to surface as to whether United Nations money would not have been better spent on improving the living conditions of local residents instead of embarking on grandiose cultural projects. Some of those in favour of the restoration argue that, in the long term, the restoration of the Buddhas will entice tourists to return to the area and create long term benefits for residents.

Regardless, the Bamiyan restoration, now started, is temporarily on hold as the Afghan summer arrives. It is due to be resumed in the fall.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Worlds Oldest Maps

Image
Man has been carving symbols in to stones as well as upon cavern walls for thousands of years so it was usually a make a difference of time before maritime inscriptions would arise to assistance guide a hunting as well as foraging patterns. From cavern drawings as well as Babylonian clay tablets to mill carvings as well as papyrus text, here are a little of a worlds oldest maps (in no particular order). 1418 Ming Dynasty Map The map graphic upon top of is pronounced to be a copy of an strange 1418 Ming Dynasty Map, that potentially proves that in a 15th century, a Chinese were already exploring a shores of modern-day North America. This chronicle was copied in 1763 by artist Mo Yi-tong as well as was sold for $500. Read A Review of a Historical Importance of Oldest World Map by Gunnar Thompson, PhD for some-more information. atalhyk 6200 B.C. Babylonian Clay Map During a 1963 excavation in Ankara, Turkey, British archeologist James Mellaart unearth what is pronounced to be one of a be...
Keep reading

How meditation relates to happiness

Image
Meditation leads to mindfulness Studies point out how valuable meditating can be to overall well-being. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN meditating for thousands of years, but it seems only recently that its gaining credibility by the scientific community. The shame is that many wont even give things a second thought unless some researcher or scientist proves its benefits, choosing to ignore the wisdom of experience. An article at Forbes discusses research done that correlates meditation and happiness . First, a Harvard University study has shown that wandering minds are an attribute of unhappy people. 2250 volunteers (ages 18-88, from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and occupations) were used in the study they were contacted at random intervals by the researchers and asked what they were currently doing and what they were actually thinking about. almost half of the time (46.9%) people were thinking about something else. They were then asked whether what they were thinking about ...
Keep reading

Notes on a shrike

Image
Photo: dobak Mary Sojourner cant leave the dead bird there to get flattened. I WALK NORTH in the Mojave. I listen to my friend on the cell phone. She tells me of her recent work with a healing process called EMDR. Im about to cross the two-lane highway. Something lies on the edge of the asphalt. I look. It is a dead bird gray and black and white. I pick it up. There is no mark on it, no blood or broken bone. I cant bear to think of it being flattened. The feathers are exquisitely soft against the palm of my right hand. I am walking to the Joshua Buddha and I know to carry the bird to the dead tree that looks like a gray seated Buddha. My friend begins to tell me the details of the second EMDR sessions. I realize I am not listening because I need to concentrate solely on carrying the bird to the Joshua Tree. I tell her I will call her back. At the tree, I tuck the bird in the broken space between the stump and a dead branch. He for I know somehow it is a he is just below what would b...
Keep reading