Mes Aynak - National Museum of Afghanistan

New excavations in Afganistan
Mes Aynak
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Seated Buddha
Wood; Height: 20 cm
5th-7th century CE
This 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 Buddhist monasteries and settlement at the
Mes Aynak copper mine, Logar Province
by Nicolas Engel, DAFA
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 geological 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 across 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.
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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 Chinese Mining Company (MCC) started a few
years later concerning the resumption of copper extraction, 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 site
The 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 Hamid 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 monastery
The remains of the Kafiriat Tepe monastery would
have been the most impressive, even though they had
been heavily looted.
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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
The Kafiriat Tepe stupas‘ courtyard
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 between two large stones of the floor of this stupa, dated 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. Rectangular podiums topped by unbaked clay seated Buddhas have also been discovered in the courtyard, rela1.
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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 stupa, but they were looted. The Bodhisattva Sakyamuni, 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 Berlin. 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
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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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, uncovered in the main room of the monastery, is particularly 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 missing, and there was a 7m-high standing Buddha of
which only the feet are remaining. The second chapel, the northern one, contained a 5m-high standing
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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
Central court of Kafiriat Tepe monastery. Above: the inscription on the left
hand of one Bodhisattva (not diciphered).
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 (127153 CE) have been found.
A previous occupation of the stupas’ courtyard of
Kafiriat Tepe is confirmed by architectural remains. Under 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 monastery
The 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
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Left: Buddha of the central room of the Kafiriat Tepe monastery. Above: detail of the sculpture surrounding the (looted) reclining Buddha
topped by domes, and a chapel has been uncovered.
No stupa has been found so far.
The chapel is richly ornamented. Among the unbaked 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 Bodhisattvas and donors have been discovered. Painted representations 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 Buddhist chapel was no longer in use at that period, the
entrance being walled up with mud bricks.
Mes Aynak contribution
The 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 ad1.
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Left: reclining Buddha, 3 m long, in the southern chapel of the Kafiriat Tepe monastery.
Right and following page: the northern chapel 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 northern 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 attested 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 towers 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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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)
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
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previously, the archaeological report and all the pictures
have been lost and even the location of the site is now
uncertain.
Copper mining
One of the most interesting aspects of Mes Aynak
is the apparent association of many monasteries with
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 derived 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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Above, right and following page: view of the Baba Wali excavation site.
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 characterized, as far as it has been uncovered, by a curved
wall surrounding small rooms. All of this area was probably 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 Jakata 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
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site, as a few coins of Kanishka and a make-up palette possibly depicting the Maya’s dream have been
discovered.
Conclusion
Concerning 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 looted. 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 abandoned. 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 abandonment 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 undertaken at Mes Aynak is only preliminary. Iconographic
studies, analysis of the chronological stages of the monastic 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 areas 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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Ceramics
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 vessels. 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, Hadda, 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 containers 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 settlements which have been uncovered or which are currently 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 CE
This averted rim pitcher is a good example
of the pots used for the everyday life at Mes
Aynak.
Top right: Cooking pot
Baked clay; Height: 10cm; Diameter: 10,5cm
1st-2nd century CE
This two handled pot with a coarse fabric
and traces of smoke may have been used as a
cooking pot.
Bottom left: Open mouth pot
Baked clay; Height: 9cm; Diameter: 14cm
1st-2nd century CE
Open-mouthed pot with holes at the bottom
and round base
Bottom right: Goblets
Baked clay; Height: 16cm
1st-2nd century CE
The shape of these goblets may have been
influenced by Greek prototypes. They are common during the Kushan and the later periods
in the Kabul area.
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Top left: Bowl
Baked clay; Height: 7.5cm; Diameter: 14cm
1st-2nd century CE
This pot with an averted thick rim is another
type of pottery used in Mes Aynak
Top right: Cooking pot
Baked clay; Height: 7.5cm; Diameter: 13cm
1st-2nd century CE
This 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: 14cm
1st-2nd century CE
This pot, wheel made, with an averted rim
may have been used to store food.
Bottom right: Glass shaped pot
Baked clay; Height: 10cm
1st-2nd century CE
This probably hand made pot is one example
of the type of pottery used in Mes Aynak.
Right: Jar
Baked clay; Height: 76cm
1st-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.
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Sculptures
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 influenced 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 Buddhas 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 Kharwar 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 iconographies 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 statues 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 followers of Buddha’s teaching.
Devil mask
Clay painted; Height: 8,5 cm
3rd-5th century CE
This 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.
Right: Head of Buddha
Clay painted; Height: 16 cm
3rd-7th century CE
This Buddha head has black peppercorn curls
locks hairs black coloured and as other heads
from this site, the face has pink pigments.
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Left: Head of Buddha
Clay painted; Height: 16,5 cm
4th-7th century CE
This head with peppercorn curls and black
coloured hairs, curved and black coloured
eyebrows, is probably belonging to a Buddha
statue.
Right: Head of Buddha
Clay painted; Height: 20,5 cm
4th-7th century CE
This 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.
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Above and opposite page: Donor or
Devotee
Clay painted; Height: 82 cm
5th to 7th century CE
The lady‘s hands are folded in front of her
chest and may hold a present.
Left: Standing Buddha
Clay painted; Height: 66 cm
4th-7th century CE
This statue is a good example of the sculpture
from Mes Aynak. It is wearing a long monastic 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 cm
5th-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 Buddha
Clay; Height: 19,5 cm
5th-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 cm
3rd-5th century CE
This standing figure shows the latest depiction
of Bodhisattva Sakyamuni. This statue is carved elegantly, the jewelled turban and cloths
are visible.
Right: Seated Bodhisattva
Schist stone; Height: 28,5 cm
3rd-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 Jakata
Schist stone painted and gilded
Height: 41cm; Width: 25cm
3rd-5th century AD
This 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 paintiung on the back is unique and so far not
known from other archaeological findings.
The painting is now incomplete, partly because 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 cm
4th-7th century CE
This head that might be of a donor or a
warrior with wavy hair is painted in black and
shows similarity to the Hellenistic style.
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Head of a Donor
Clay painted; Height: 7 cm
4th-7th century CE
This 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.
Head of Buddha
Clay; Height: 6,5 cm
5th-7th century CE
This very small head has wavy hair and is
showing traces of red paint.
Head of Buddha
Plaster; Height: 16 cm
2nd-5th century CE
This 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.
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Head of a Donor
Clay painted; Height: 10 cm
4th-7th century CE
This 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.
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Head
Clay painted; Height: 7,5 cm
4th-7th century CE
This head, probably of a Bodhisattva or Buddha, 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 cm
4th-7th century CE
This 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.
Head of a Bodhisattva
Clay painted; Height: 8 cm
4th-7th century CE
This 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 cm
4th-7th century CE
This 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: 26 cm
4th-7th century CE
This Boddisattva, or a donor, head with
jewelled turban is still showing traces of
polychrome.
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Head
Clay painted; Height: 18 cm
4th-7th century CE
This head may be of a Boddisattvas.
Face
Clay painted; Height: 7,5 cm cm
4th-7th century CE
This 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 Buddha
Plaster gilded; Height: 20 cm
4th-7th century CE
Mes 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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Head
Clay painted; Height: 20 cm
4th-7th century CE
This heaqd which is badly damagedis of oval
shape. Traces of paint still visible on the face.
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Four Donors
Clay painted; Height from left to right: 34 cm; 31 cm; 27,5 cm; 25,5 cm
4th-7th century CE
These 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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Coins
The archaeological site of Mes Aynak, located above 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 embossed 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 instruments 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 period. Another one was located in the province of Kapisa.
Coins discovered at Mes Aynak are related to Kushan 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 Hindukush.
Figures of kings are minted on obverse. The reverse shows picture of a divinity such as Buddha, Nana,
Shiva, Mao or Ardoksho or an altar flanked by two attendants.
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Opposite and below: Peroz III (350-360 CE)
Obverse: King standing to right and Nandi pada symbol
Reverse: Siva standing and bull Nandi
Weight: 7.8gr
Following pages: Vahram I (325-350 CE)
Obverse: King standing to right and Nandi pada symbol
Reverse: Siva standing and bull Nandi
Weight: 7.8gr
Vahram3 (325-350 CE)
Obverse: king standing to right
Reverse: Siva standing facing forward with bull Nandi
Weight: 7.7gr
Sapur II (309-379 CE)
Obverse: bust of king to left
Reverse: Alter with two attendant
Vahram IV (388-399 CE)
Obverse: bust of king to left
Reverse: Alter with two attendant
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Kanishka I (127-153 CE)
Obverse: King sacrificing at altar
Reverse: Buddha Maitraya seated
Weight: 16.2 g
Huvishka (153-191 CE)
Obverse: King riding elephant
Reverse: Lunar God Mao with crescent on
shoulder
Weight ; 15.9 g
Vasu Deva I (191-227 CE)
Obverse: King standing (left) wearing sword,
holding trident above altar and second
trident to right
Reverse: 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
Kawad
Obverse: bust of bearded helmeted king
Reverse: Altar
Khingila (430-490 CE)
Obverse: embossed bust of king
Reverse: incised bust of king
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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 Massoudi
Curators: Fahim Rahimi, Farhad Sediqy, Atiq Hamdard, Ajmal Yar, Rahimullah Amani, Shazia
Hamdard, Nasrin Belali
Scientific advisors: Deborah Klimburg-Salter, Philipp Marquis, Jean-Baptiste Houal
Project manager of the exhibition: Susanne Annen
Photography and design: Jaroslav Poncar
Printed in Germany by
asmuth druck + crossmedia gmbh & co. kg
Richard-Byrd-Straße 39
50829 Köln
The exhibition „Mes Aynak - Recent Discoveries Along the Silk Road“ in
the National Museum of Afghanistan and this publication have been made
possible by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the people of the United
States of America.
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