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New excavations in Afganistan Mes Aynak

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Seated Buddha Wood; Height: 20 cm5th-7th century CEThis seated figure of a Buddha is the only complete example in wood to have survived. The Buddha is seated in meditation posture on a lotus seat.

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The Mes Aynak site was first explored in 1963. G. Fussman and M. Le Berre referred to it in 1976 as a potentially important site. In 1977 T. Berthoux, R. Besenval, F. Cesbron and J. Liszak-Hours visited the site, looking for Afghanistan’s ancient mineral mines in. They published a useful evaluation of the extent of the copper mine which they dated to the Kushan period. In the late 1970’s, a soviet geologi-cal mission reported on some ruins at Mes Aynak. Trenches and galleries were dug at that time on the eastern slope of the main mountain. They came ac-ross ancient ones, vertically drilled to a depth of 120 metres along the copper vein. In 1980 J.C. Gardin and Bertille Lyonnet, on behalf of DAFA, collected potshards here during a survey. Mes Aynak is briefly mentioned in 1982 in the Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan published by W. Ball.

In 2004, following more recent significant looting of Mes Aynak and also the return of some illegally excavated artefacts, including Buddhist clay statues, to the National Museum, the National Institute of Archaeology had the opportunity to go on the site. When discussions between Afghan authorities and

The Buddhist monasteries and settlement at the Mes Aynak copper mine, Logar Provinceby Nicolas Engel, DAFA

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the Chinese Mining Company (MCC) started a few years later concerning the resumption of copper ex-traction, the National Institute of Archaeology was asked to make an archaeological survey of the area. The remains were then identified from the late Kus-

han period up to the late Shahi period (2nd – 9th century CE), and rescue excavations started in 2009, which are ongoing.

A thousand hectare siteThe site is about 1.5 Km long and 1.5 Km wide,

Top left: the stupas courtyard of Kafiriat Tepe monastery; in the backgraound the MCC camp. Above and below: the excavation site of Kafiriat Tepe monastery.

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stretching over more than a thousand hectares around the Baba Wali Mountain where copper ore is located. Only a small area has been uncovered to date, and no area has been completely excavated.

Monastic occupation of the site is cleared as two monasteries are currently under excavation: Gol Ha-mid and Kafiriat Tepe. Both are richly ornamented with unbaked clay sculptures and wall paintings. On the top of Shah Tepe there could be another stupa and near the main riverbed, it is likely that two other Buddhist complexes exist.

Kafiriat Tepe monasteryThe remains of the Kafiriat Tepe monastery would

have been the most impressive, even though they had been heavily looted.

A large rectangular enclosure wall (80m by 35m) surrounds the monastic complex with the monastery in the northern part and a stupas’ courtyard in the southern one. A round tower is located in each corner of the enclosure wall, which has been rebuilt many times. To the west, the towers are hollow and related to the earliest phase of the building. The access way to the stupas’ courtyard has not been found but the eastern part of the enclosure wall has been built with great care, suggesting here a monumental entrance (this could be the reason why this area has been so badly looted).

All the stupas are built in diaper masonry, eight small stupas surrounding the main one. All of them have been looted. On a few stupas, plaster was still in

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situ (on the main one especially). The main stupa has a square-shaped base, with a staircase on the eastern side. There is no evidence of the dome. All the small stupas have square bases. The masonry of stupa 5 is particularly well done with very thick schist lamellas. Elements of stone pilasters supporting the dome are still visible. A bronze coin has been discovered bet-ween two large stones of the floor of this stupa, da-ted to Vahraram IV (388-399 CE). Three unbaked clay stupas are located outside the enclosure wall, on the top of the monumental massif probably housing the monumental access to the stupas’ platform. Rectan-gular podiums topped by unbaked clay seated Bud-dhas have also been discovered in the courtyard, rela-

The Kafiriat Tepe stupas‘ courtyard

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ted to a later period. A stone relief has been found on the western side of stupa 6. Three more reliefs might have been ornamented on the other sides of this stu-pa, but they were looted. The Bodhisattva Sakyamu-ni, seated on a throne, is flanked by a monk offering lotus blossoms or palms. The aureole is topped by a Bodhi tree where two small figures appear. Such a throne is known by the sculpture found at Paitava and now at the Museum für Indische Kunst of Ber-lin. A similar Bodhi tree appears above a meditating Bodhisattva from Shotorak. Such elements also occur on reliefs from Shotorak as well as the ruban flowing from the head to the shoulders.

The monastery consists of a large central room and small square-shaped rooms covered by domes on three sides. A corridor gives access to the central area where wooden pilasters have been found. A staircase suggests that there was a first floor. Wooden pieces were used for the door frames, the doors and for the stairs. Two large store-rooms are located on the

back. Arrowhead-shaped openings have been found in some rooms.

Wall paintings have been discovered in many parts of the building (mainly in the central room) and they all are of exceptional quality. Different styles can be observed but a few elements are similar from one painting to another: on the background, a black layer with white flowers suggesting the floor and a pink layer with white flowers upon it. One of them, un-covered in the main room of the monastery, is parti-cularly interesting: in the centre, a standing Buddha turns his head slightly towards a woman, who is a bit smaller, and her children. On the other side are a stupa and a man, of the same size as the woman. This could be a representation of the owner of the monastery and his family offering homage to Buddha.

More than one hundred unbaked clay statues have also been found in the monastery. Two chapels were particularly ornamented. In the first, the southern one, a 3m-long reclining Buddha is still visible, his head mis-sing, and there was a 7m-high standing Buddha of which only the feet are remaining. The second cha-pel, the northern one, contained a 5m-high standing

Top right: seated Buddha in the Kafiriat Tepe monastery. Opposite: the Kafiriat Tepe stupas‘ courtyard. Below: detail of Kafiriat Tepe stupa 1 with pilasters, corniches and arcatures made of thin schist lamelles.

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Buddha and Bodhisattvas still visible to height of 2m surrounding a reclining Buddha. A wooden sculpture of a seated Buddha has also been discovered here. In the central room, wooden pilasters were sometimes used as supports for monumental clay sculptures of Bodhisattvas. Two are lying on the floor. A third one

is still standing and an inscription has been uncovered on his left hand. It has not yet been read but it could be a significant indication of the identification of the Bodhisattva and hence, for the monastic school to which the Kafiriat Tepe monastery was linked.

If the major part of the paintings and the clay

sculptures could be attributed to the 5th to the 9th centuries, the different chronological stages of the building suggest an earlier occupation, probably from the 2nd or the 3rd century, as coins of Kanishka (127-153 CE) have been found.

A previous occupation of the stupas’ courtyard of Kafiriat Tepe is confirmed by architectural remains. Un-der the actual platform on which the stupas have been built, another structure can be seen through the looters’ galleries. It could be an earlier stupa. At Shewaki 7 and Kamari 2 in the south of Kabul, internal stupas have been found; they are smaller in size and totally covered by later ones. Here archaeological observations suggest that the previous structure had been reused, enlarged by a vaulted corridor, as the base of the platform.

Gol Hamid monasteryThe Gol Hamid monastery was the second to be

discovered. Only 10% of the site has been excavated. Part of the external walls, storerooms, monks’ cells

Central court of Kafiriat Tepe monastery. Above: the inscription on the left hand of one Bodhisattva (not diciphered).

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topped by domes, and a chapel has been uncovered. No stupa has been found so far.

The chapel is richly ornamented. Among the un-baked clay statues standing on a podium surrounding the room, a seated Buddha, with hands hidden in his robe, a sleeping Buddha and what appear to be Bodhi-sattvas and donors have been discovered. Painted re-presentations of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and donors also adorn the walls of the podium. In the centre, a small stupa is decorated with lion’s legs. Armoured warriors were standing on both sides of the door.

Potshards indicate that the last occupation of the building to be in the 13th century CE, but the Bud-dhist chapel was no longer in use at that period, the entrance being walled up with mud bricks.

Mes Aynak contributionThe study of these two monasteries enables us to

understand more about the Buddhist occupation of the Kabul area. Concerning the dating of the Mes Aynak site, all the potshards gathered from the different areas excavated are from the 3rd to the 9th century CE.

Mes Aynak belonged to a larger political unit ad-

Left: Buddha of the central room of the Kafiriat Tepe monastery. Above: detail of the sculpture surrounding the (looted) reclining Buddha

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Left: reclining Buddha, 3 m long, in the sou-thern chapel of the Kafiriat Tepe monastery.

Right and following page: the northern cha-pel of Kafiriat Tepe monastery.

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ministered first from Kapisa and after 650 CE from Kabul. The kingdom of the Turk Shahi was the most powerful in the region stretching all the way to nort-hern Pakisan. The Islamic sources describe the great wealth of the Shahi Kingdom which came from silver and copper mines and international trade. The site lies near the main trade route to India.and was part of the system of trade routes called the Silk Routes. In the 7th-8th centuries Turkic rulers from Kunduz to Ghazni were allied, perhaps even related to each other. The Turki Shahi were succeeded by the Hindu Shahi ca. 889/90 and were finally destroyed by the Ghaznavids ca. 1026 CE.

Monastic occupation of the Kabul area is well at-tested at that time and despite the fact that the study is still in progress, parallels can be drawn.

The main stupa shows similarity to that of Goldara, dated to the 5th century. A dome supported by stone pilasters, as on stupa 5, has been found at Tepe Narenj, south of Kabul. Coins from the Tepe Marenjan hoard could be compared to those found at Mes Aynak.

The layout of both monasteries is normal: round to-wers on the corners, consolidation walls all around the platform, two distinct parts, one for the monastery, and one for the stupas’ courtyard. A similar main room with pilasters has been found at Tepe Kalan in the Kuh-i Pahlavan, north of Kabul. The two hollow towers on the western side of Kafiriat Tepe are more unusual for a monastery.

Furthermore, the Mes Aynak discovery, with its huge quantity of artefacts and pot-shards, throws more light on the artistic production of the 3rd - 9th centuries in the Kabul area. A few parallels can be drawn with stone sculptures from Shotorak. Similar unbaked clay sculptures to those from Mes Aynak have been uncovered at Tepe Marenjan 1, sometimes associated with mural paintings with white flowers, and in the chapels 3 and 4 of Tepe Narenj in the southern

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suburbs of Kabul. Monumental clay sculptures were also mentioned at Tepe Kalan, near Kuh-e Pahlavan, as Joseph Hackin wrote in 1940 about the excavation led by Jean Carl: “Huge statues, circa 3.80m high, of unbaked clay, unfortunately very badly damaged, have been uncovered during the excavations”. But as said

previously, the archaeological report and all the pictures have been lost and even the location of the site is now uncertain.

Copper miningOne of the most interesting aspects of Mes Aynak

is the apparent association of many monasteries with

Above: wall painting with Buddha and donors. Central room of Kafiriat Tepe monastery.Opposite page: Restorers David Cueco and Francoise Joseph prepare the detachment of the wall painting. (Photo David Cueco)

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the economic activity of copper mining. There is no doubt that the wealthy decoration of the monasteries is linked to the wealth that people living nearby deri-ved from the mine. Monastic and secular settlements were clearly linked.

From what is visible in the Soviet trenches dug on the upper part of western slope of the Baba Wali

Mountain, is that this part was densely covered with buildings, either to organize the copper extraction by a system of terraces in successive stages or, to protect and control the extraction and processing of copper. The lower part of the slope is totally covered with slag from the extraction of copper during antiquity. In the 1970’s a C14 analysis gave as result a 1st millennium

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BC dating. The two test-pits dug mechanically indicate that this deposit can reach a depth of 12 metres, and that it covers another archaeological level.

The function of the buildings excavated close to Baba Wali village, in between the mountain and the Kafiriat Tepe monastery, is still unclear. Here also, there is slag covering and filling an archaeological level cha-racterized, as far as it has been uncovered, by a curved wall surrounding small rooms. All of this area was pro-bably secular with houses and a few public buildings built with great care and of a larger size. No workshop has been discovered until now.

In one of these buildings fragments of manuscript have been found. At a first glance, it seems that Brahmi script has been used, suggesting a dating of the 5th century CE. Close to them was a large stone relief depicting the Dipankara Jataka. Extremely rare, on the reverse is another painting depicting a Buddha and donors. The representation of the Dipankara Ja-kata is well attested at Shotorak, on a quite similar way, and schematic flames rising from the Buddha’s aureole occur also in one of the Shotorak reliefs. It could suggest an earlier dating of this part of the

Above, right and following page: view of the Baba Wali excavation site.

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site, as a few coins of Kanishka and a make-up pa-lette possibly depicting the Maya’s dream have been discovered.

ConclusionConcerning the overall dating of the Mes Aynak

site two points can be made. Circular shaped graves surrounded by stones have been observed between the monasteries of Gol Hamid and Kafiriat Tepe. Two of them have been excavated but they had been loo-ted. They could be dated to the same period as the monasteries and buildings already uncovered but an earlier dating is also possible, as a C14 analysis gave as result the 1st millennium BC. On the other hand, it is not yet known when the Buddhist site was aban-doned. Other monasteries in the Kabul region such as Tepe Narenj may have continued into the 9th century, but from the 8th century it is probable that there were settlements inhabited by Muslims. The final abandon-ment of Mes Aynak might have been during the 13th century, as early Islamic potshards have been collected in two places, in the Gol Hamid monastery and near the main riverbed.

This publication on the excavations so far under-taken at Mes Aynak is only preliminary. Iconographic studies, analysis of the chronological stages of the mo-nastic buildings already excavated, and excavations of the whole archaeological area have to be continued. The potential of the site is huge and should provide much data for the Kabul area. On a larger scale, the numbers of clay sculptures and wall paintings found at Mes Aynak puts this site in the same category as Hadda or Bamiyan, the two other large Buddhist are-as of that period in Afghanistan.

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This and following pages:A huge quantity of potshards has been found, illustrating the very homogenous way in the production of the 3rd to 9th centuries. Shards ornamented with stamps are of particular interest as they show various male and female crowned heads that could be compared with those on Kushan-Sassanian coins. They date to the 4th to 6th century CE.

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Clay pots play vital role in the studies of history, civilizations and their developments. The ancient site of Mes Aynak has yielded different shapes of clay ves-sels. Their ornamentation, if there is some, includes animal, geometric and vegetal motives in different styles, as well as crowned human heads. On some of the ewers there sometimes appear very fine stamped designs of lotus, decorative leaves and five petalled flowers. The ceramics of Mes Aynak bear similarity with those of Sorkh Kotal, Dilbarzhin, Bakhtar, Had-da, Lalma, Pachiragam, and Kham Zargar.

Some of these clay vessels used in daily life and others for religious purposes. Large earthenware jars were used for water and food storage. Other contai-ners are smooth bowls of a reddish colour that were used as food dishes. Traces of smoke on the surface indicate their use in cooking.

The Mes Aynak ceramic found so far is related to the period of the monasteries and secular settle-ments which have been uncovered or which are cur-rently under excavation, from the late Kushan period through the Hephtalite and up to the emergence of Islam, - hence from the 3rd to the 9th century CE.

Close to the Gol Hamid monastery potshards have been found which may be dated to the early Islamic period (before the 13th century). They are linked to the last occupation of the site before its abandonment.

Top left: Pitcher Baked clay; Height: 10cm 1st-2nd century CEThis averted rim pitcher is a good example of the pots used for the everyday life at Mes Aynak.

Top right: Cooking potBaked clay; Height: 10cm; Diameter: 10,5cm1st-2nd century CEThis two handled pot with a coarse fabric and traces of smoke may have been used as a cooking pot.

Bottom left: Open mouth potBaked clay; Height: 9cm; Diameter: 14cm 1st-2nd century CEOpen-mouthed pot with holes at the bottom and round base

Bottom right: Goblets Baked clay; Height: 16cm1st-2nd century CEThe shape of these goblets may have been influenced by Greek prototypes. They are com-mon during the Kushan and the later periods in the Kabul area.

Ceramics

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Right: JarBaked clay; Height: 76cm1st-2nd century CE (?)This big jar is an example of vessels made and used for many purposes in the ancient site of Mes Aynak; this big jar has a ribbon shaped embossed decoration around the body.

Top left: Bowl Baked clay; Height: 7.5cm; Diameter: 14cm1st-2nd century CEThis pot with an averted thick rim is another type of pottery used in Mes Aynak

Top right: Cooking potBaked clay; Height: 7.5cm; Diameter: 13cm 1st-2nd century CEThis open mouthed pot has a round base, a coarse fabric, a wavy rim and traces of smoke. It may have been used as a cooking pot.

Bottom left: Pot Baked clay; Height: 14cm1st-2nd century CEThis pot, wheel made, with an averted rim may have been used to store food.

Bottom right: Glass shaped potBaked clay; Height: 10cm1st-2nd century CEThis probably hand made pot is one example of the type of pottery used in Mes Aynak.

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Right: Head of BuddhaClay painted; Height: 16 cm3rd-7th century CEThis Buddha head has black peppercorn curls locks hairs black coloured and as other heads from this site, the face has pink pigments.

In the Buddhist monasteries of Mes Aynak have been found numerous statues of different sizes ranging from 15 cm to 5 m in height. The materials used were stone, unbaked clay, plaster and wood. Many of them are of very high artistic quality. The decoration methods of Mes Aynak statues follow the Greco-Buddhist art of the Gandhara style and to some extent they are influ-enced by Indian art. Remains of polychromy, mostly red, white, black and blue, are still preserved. Some Buddha heads are gilded.

Stylistically the unbaked clay sculptures, mostly Bud-dhas and Bodhisattvas, can be compared to the work of artists in the Kabul area between the 4th and 9th century CE. They always consist of a skeleton made of wood or vegetal fibres bundled together. Such statues were found earlier at Tepe Narenj, Tepe Marenjan and Khwaja Safa in Kabul, at Tepe Shutur in Hadda, at Khar-war in Logar province and at Fundaqistan. The drapery of some Mes Aynak sculptures is similar to that of Tepe Narenj and Tepe Marenjan.

Mes Aynak stone sculpture and reliefs were carved, as in Gandhara, in schist. They display Buddhist ico-nographies and have similarities to those from Kham Zargar, Shuturak and Paitawah. Therefore, they may be from the 3rd or 4th century CE. Among the schist sta-tues excavated so far at Mes Aynak, a stele depicting Dipankara Buddha is very unique and deserves a special attention (pages 42/43).

These statues once decorated the monasteries and stupas and were worshiped and respected by follo-wers of Buddha’s teaching.

Devil mask Clay painted; Height: 8,5 cm3rd-5th century CEThis decorative head might be the mask of a devil; it is similar to the depictions of Gorgons in Hellenistic art. This representation can be compared with similar ones from Hadda.

Sculptures

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Right: Head of BuddhaClay painted; Height: 20,5 cm4th-7th century CEThis head belongs to a Buddha and has short peppercorn curls painted in black. The face has pink pigments and the embossed urna is visible between his eyebrows that are like a very thin line above his eyes.

Left: Head of BuddhaClay painted; Height: 16,5 cm4th-7th century CEThis head with peppercorn curls and black coloured hairs, curved and black coloured eyebrows, is probably belonging to a Buddha statue.

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Above and opposite page: Donor or DevoteeClay painted; Height: 82 cm5th to 7th century CEThe lady‘s hands are folded in front of her chest and may hold a present.

Left: Standing Buddha Clay painted; Height: 66 cm4th-7th century CEThis statue is a good example of the sculpture from Mes Aynak. It is wearing a long monas-tic robe. The head of this statue has black peppercorn curls and the pink colour pigment is visible in the face.

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Left: Head of Buddha Baked clay.; Height: 13 cm5th-7th century CE The hair is black coloured; the lips are made in such a way that they give the impression of a gentle smile. Red pigment is visible on the face.

Right: Head of BuddhaClay; Height: 19,5 cm5th-7th century CE This head shows the talent of the sculptors in Mes Aynak.The eyebrows are curved; the urna is in the centre of forehead that is unusual. The aspects of the face suggest a gentle meditation.

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Left: Standing Bodhisattva Schist stone; Height: 39 cm3rd-5th century CEThis standing figure shows the latest depiction of Bodhisattva Sakyamuni. This statue is car-ved elegantly, the jewelled turban and cloths are visible.

Right: Seated BodhisattvaSchist stone; Height: 28,5 cm3rd-5th century AD This figure of Bodhisattva is seated in the posture of Lalitasana on a round decorated stool and represent Sakyamuni under the Bodhi tree. This figure once decorated one stupa of Mes Aynak.

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Dipankara JakataSchist stone painted and gildedHeight: 41cm; Width: 25cm3rd-5th century ADThis stele represents a story from the previous life of the historical Buddha (Jataka) where Megha, who will after many rebirths become the Buddha Shakyamuni, meets the last of the Buddhas of the Past Dipankara.The statue was painted and gilded. The pain-tiung on the back is unique and so far not known from other archaeological findings. The painting is now incomplete, partly be-cause some of the layers of paint have stuck onto the surface of the clay that covered it. The conservation work of the painting on the backside revealed seated Buddha in dharma chakra mudra with two worshipers . Below may have been four more worshipers.

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Head (not identified)Clay painted; Height: 19 cm4th-7th century CEThis head that might be of a donor or a warrior with wavy hair is painted in black and shows similarity to the Hellenistic style.

Head of a DonorClay painted; Height: 7 cm4th-7th century CEThis head might have been of a donor. It is heavily damaged but we can still observe the quality of the sculpture and of its polychromy.

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Head of BuddhaPlaster; Height: 16 cm2nd-5th century CEThis head of Buddha is very similar to those found in Hadda. Hair of this head is wavy and of black colour. Some remains of pink pigment is visible on the face.

Head of BuddhaClay; Height: 6,5 cm5th-7th century CEThis very small head has wavy hair and is showing traces of red paint.

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Head of a DonorClay painted; Height: 10 cm4th-7th century CEThis head, a donor or Bodhisattva, has wavy hair, which lays on one side of the head. The blue colour was used in his eyes and pink pigments are visible in face.

HeadClay painted; Height: 7,5 cm4th-7th century CEThis head, probably of a Bodhisattva or Bud-dha, has big eyes and curved eyebrows. And has short peppercorn curls painted in black that is lost now.

Not identified Face Clay painted; Height: 31 cm4th-7th century CEThis male head has wavy hair coloured black. The blue colour is visible in the half open eyes and the face is painted in a reddish colour.

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Head of a BodhisattvaClay painted; Height: 8 cm4th-7th century CEThis Bodhisattva head with its jewelled turban is a good example of later sculptural art in the region. The face has reddish colour and the eyes blue painted.

Head Clay painted; Height: 7,5 cm4th-7th century CEThis head, which might have been of a warrior or a donor, is beautifully made. The hair, long and curled, was black coloured. A thick moustache is visible on his face which is painted with a reddish colour.

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Head Clay painted; Height: 18 cm4th-7th century CEThis head may be of a Boddisattvas.

Head Clay painted; Height: 26 cm4th-7th century CEThis Boddisattva, or a donor, head with jewelled turban is still showing traces of polychrome.

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Face Clay painted; Height: 7,5 cm cm4th-7th century CEThis face with big and half opened eyes might be of Buddha. The lips are beautifully formed and the engraved urna is visible in the centre of the forehead

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Head of BuddhaPlaster gilded; Height: 20 cm4th-7th century CEMes Aynak Buddha statues were sometimes gilded. This example can be compared with heads found at Fundaqistan. The eyebrows, which are curved, are visible at the top of his eyes.

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HeadClay painted; Height: 20 cm4th-7th century CEThis heaqd which is badly damagedis of oval shape. Traces of paint still visible on the face.

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Four DonorsClay painted; Height from left to right: 34 cm; 31 cm; 27,5 cm; 25,5 cm4th-7th century CEThese statues were in the lower part of a chapel below a seated Buddha. All of them have different type of drapery that is characteristic for the region.

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The archaeological site of Mes Aynak, located abo-ve a great copper deposit, did not provide until now as many metal objects as was expected. Some coins have been found which may be helpful for the dating of the different archaeological levels of the site.

Before the invention of coins, around 7th century BCE, commodities were bartered. Starting from that time coins were in use. Whoever ruled a country em-bossed on coins his name and often his portrait. The examples found at Mes Aynak were minted in gold, silver and copper.

Investigations carried out by Russian, Japanese and American geologists at Mes Aynak revealed that long tunnels were dug during antiquity for the copper ore. Slag covering large parts of the site and small instru-ments used for melting copper and minting of coins have been found. There is no doubt that this was one of the best copper production sites of the Kushan peri-od. Another one was located in the province of Kapisa.

Coins discovered at Mes Aynak are related to Kus-han kings, local princes called Koshan-Sassanien and Hephtalid kings from the 2nd to the 6th century CE. As far as we know no coins have been found from earlier than the period of Kanishka the Great (127-153 CE) and the most resent one is dated to that of Kinghila (430-490 CE), an Hephtalite king ruling south of Hin-dukush.

Figures of kings are minted on obverse. The rever-se shows picture of a divinity such as Buddha, Nana, Shiva, Mao or Ardoksho or an altar flanked by two at-tendants.

Coins

Opposite and below: Peroz III (350-360 CE)Obverse: King standing to right and Nandi pada symbolReverse: Siva standing and bull NandiWeight: 7.8gr

Following pages: Vahram I (325-350 CE)Obverse: King standing to right and Nandi pada symbolReverse: Siva standing and bull NandiWeight: 7.8gr

Vahram3 (325-350 CE) Obverse: king standing to right Reverse: Siva standing facing forward with bull NandiWeight: 7.7gr Sapur II (309-379 CE)Obverse: bust of king to leftReverse: Alter with two attendant

Vahram IV (388-399 CE)Obverse: bust of king to leftReverse: Alter with two attendant

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Kanishka I (127-153 CE)Obverse: King sacrificing at altarReverse: Buddha Maitraya seatedWeight: 16.2 g

Huvishka (153-191 CE)Obverse: King riding elephantReverse: Lunar God Mao with crescent on shoulderWeight ; 15.9 g

Vasu Deva I (191-227 CE)Obverse: King standing (left) wearing sword, holding trident above altar and secondtrident to rightReverse: Shiva facing, holding diadem and trident; and the bull standing left

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Kanishka II (241-267 CE)Obverse: king standing in his r hand altar .Reverse: Ardoksho,(goddess), enthroned facing .Weight: 5.9 g

Khingila (430-490 CE)Obverse: embossed bust of king Reverse: incised bust of king

Kawad Obverse: bust of bearded helmeted king Reverse: Altar

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Published at the occassion of the exhibition„Mes Aynak - Recent Discoveries Along the Silk Road“at National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul, 2011

Director: Omara Khan MassoudiCurators: Fahim Rahimi, Farhad Sediqy, Atiq Hamdard, Ajmal Yar, Rahimullah Amani, Shazia Hamdard, Nasrin Belali

Scientific advisors: Deborah Klimburg-Salter, Philipp Marquis, Jean-Baptiste HoualProject manager of the exhibition: Susanne Annen

Photography and design: Jaroslav Poncar

Printed in Germany byasmuth druck + crossmedia gmbh & co. kgRichard-Byrd-Straße 3950829 Köln

The exhibition „Mes Aynak - Recent Discoveries Along the Silk Road“ inthe National Museum of Afghanistan and this publication have been madepossible by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the people of the UnitedStates of America.