Bactrian Gold, the ancient treasure of Afghanistan, is in a safe place and is protected by the militants “Taliban” (a terrorist organization prohibited in the Russian Federation). This was reported in the Ministry of Information and Culture of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, the self-proclaimed tour of the Taliban), Khaama Press reports.
The terrorists did not disclose the exact location of the treasure. “These jewels are really in Kabul under the supervision of the” Taliban “and in complete safety,” said the Taliban Ministry of Culture. At the same time, the department denied reports that relics were exported from Afghanistan when the Taliban took the capital on August 15.
Bactrian Gold is one of the largest and most expensive artifacts of antiquity found by archaeologists. The collection includes about 20 thousand gold items. In 1978, it was discovered by the Soviet-Afghan expedition under the leadership of Viktor Ivanovich Sarianidi during the excavation of the burial of the Kushytsky kings.
Taliban could not find treasures when in 1996 captured Kabul. Only in 2004, when Afghanistan was formally exempt from terrorists by the international coalition, the artifacts opened in the presence of Sarianidi, who confirmed their authenticity.
Bactrian Gold exhibitions, which from 2006 to 2007 passed in Italy, the Netherlands, USA, Canada, Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Australia brought about three million dollars to the Afghan budget. However, a collection for security reasons has never been demonstrated in Afghanistan itself.
Earlier, the deputy head of the Ministry of Culture of the Temporary Government of IEA Zabilella Mujahid demanded from the ex-president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani to return money taken from the country. At the same time, the Taliban does not insist on issuing the most former head of the country.