Mes Aynak, 2,600-year-old Buddhist site in Afghanistan to be destroyed

LurkerBaba

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Mes Aynak is set for destruction at the end of December 2012. All of the temples, monasteries, statues as well as the Bronze age material will all be destroyed by a Chinese government-owned company called China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC). Six villages and the mountain range will also be destroyed to create a massive open-pit style copper mine.



Ancient site needs saving not destroying - CNN.com
 

drkrn

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so sorry to hear that.
while every country wants to preserve its cultural heritage few countries are unable to understand their importance and leaving them for momentary benefits.
once they get destroyed you can't restore them back.if you keep on doing like this what can you give to your next generations??
 

roma

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in that case the hosting of future buddhist conferences should never again be held in any prc territory !!!
 

mikhail

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in that case the hosting of future buddhist conferences should never again be held in any prc territory !!!
PRC is a rogue state!and so are the afgans,these are the same men who destroyed the buddhist statues in bamiyan way bay in 1997:tsk:seriously sometimes i feel pity for these type of religious bigots who only want to spread hatred and nothing else:mad:!yeah they have got an excuse that they wanna build a copper mine there but they could easily asked a salvage company to dismantle the buddhist statues and relocate them to somewhere else instead of demolishing them.its really sad to see how people tend to disown their past identity due to religious fundamentalism!:facepalm:
 

civfanatic

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I doubt the site is 2,600 years old, that would make it as old as the Buddha himself.

Buddhism didn't become prominent in Afghanistan until much later.
 

Tolaha

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From the wiki link:

Mes Aynak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Archeologists excavating a series of ancient Buddhist monasteries.
Archaeologists believe that Mes Aynak is a major historical heritage site. It has been called "one of the most important points along the Silk Road" by French archaeologist, Philippe Marquis.[9] In addition to the Buddhist monasteries and other structures from the Buddhist era that have already been identified, Mes Aynak also holds the remains of prior civilizations likely going back as far as the 3rd century BC. Historians are particularly excited by the prospect of learning more about the early science of metallurgy and mining by exploring this site. It is known to contain coins, glass, and the tools for making these, going back thousands of years. Archaeologists have already unearthed manuscripts that may provide evidence regarding the presence of Alexander the Great's troops.

All of this historical material is in imminent danger of destruction by the mining endeavor. In response to negative reports in the press comparing the Chinese mining company to those who destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas, a plan for minimal archaeological excavation was put in place. This plan still foresees the destruction of the site and everything still buried beneath it, but it does allow for the removal of whatever artifacts can be carried away by a small archaeological team led by DAFA, the French archaeological mission to Afghanistan.[citation needed]

Between May 2010 and July 2011 archaeologists excavated approximately 400 items; more than what the National Museum of Afghanistan housed before the war. The site covers roughly 400,000 square metres (4,300,000 sq ft), encompassing several separate monasteries and a commercial area. It appears that Buddhists who began settling the area almost two millennia ago were drawn by the availability of copper.[10] More recently, a stone statue, or stele, found in 2010 has been identified as Prince Siddhartha before he founded Buddhism and has been taken to support the idea that there was an ancient monastic cult dedicated to Siddhartha's pre-enlightenment life.[11]
 

vishwaprasad

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Taliban destroyed those Buddha statues in 97 and after just 3 years they got punishment of god and were finished by US....
 

Tshering22

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Ah well.. it is not something unusual. Wherever Islam goes and spreads as a majority this is the case. Let's see:

- Mesopotamia= Today's Iraq.

Had ancient culture of their own? Yes.
Had their own religious beliefs? Yes.
Had their own writing systems? Yes.
Were invaded by Muslims? Yes.
Does their faith and culture exist today? NO.

-Ancient Pharaohnic Egypt

Language? Yes.
Script? Yes.
Culture? Yes.
Belief? Yes.
Today any of these present and active? NO.

-Faras= today's Iran

Had their own belief? Yes.
Had their own language? Yes. Avestan.
Had their own culture? Yes.
Had their own script? Yes.
Do they have it still? No. A Muslim Iranian cannot become a Zoroastrian and if he becomes he is Wajib ul Qatl. Today's Iran adopts the Arabic script rather than the ancient Avestan they had. Today Zoroastrians can only exist if they are born one and no Iranian IN Iran can convert. Avesta is no longer the national code of Iran.


Today, it is Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Now those so-called heroic secularists or whatever they call themselves, who were going to belch fire on me for saying my first sentence; PROVE ME WRONG.
 

Das ka das

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Ah well.. it is not something unusual. Wherever Islam goes and spreads as a majority this is the case. Let's see:

- Mesopotamia= Today's Iraq.

Had ancient culture of their own? Yes.
Had their own religious beliefs? Yes.
Had their own writing systems? Yes.
Were invaded by Muslims? Yes.
Does their faith and culture exist today? NO.

-Ancient Pharaohnic Egypt

Language? Yes.
Script? Yes.
Culture? Yes.
Belief? Yes.
Today any of these present and active? NO.

-Faras= today's Iran

Had their own belief? Yes.
Had their own language? Yes. Avestan.
Had their own culture? Yes.
Had their own script? Yes.
Do they have it still? No. A Muslim Iranian cannot become a Zoroastrian and if he becomes he is Wajib ul Qatl. Today's Iran adopts the Arabic script rather than the ancient Avestan they had. Today Zoroastrians can only exist if they are born one and no Iranian IN Iran can convert. Avesta is no longer the national code of Iran.


Today, it is Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Now those so-called heroic secularists or whatever they call themselves, who were going to belch fire on me for saying my first sentence; PROVE ME WRONG.
What more can you expect from the religion of peace...seriously I think whenever somebody questions the Muslims...they will always say "peace", for Christians the word is "love"....no wonder Afghanistan is the poorest country in the world...Karma is a bitch
 

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