A narrative of the loyal men who, through the ups and downs of the past 40 years, have protected the Bactrian Gold treasure.
Some pieces of Bactrian gold treasure
The Bactrian Gold treasure, considered one of the world's most valuable gold treasures due to its historical significance, was last displayed in January 2021 at the Presidential Palace of Afghanistan for a limited number of government officials, media, and civil society activists. This treasure contains 485 artifacts with 21,145 pieces of gold, silver, turquoise, agate, and lapis lazuli, weighing approximately six kilograms.
A group of Afghan and Russian archaeologists, led by the famous Russian archaeologist Viktor Ivanovich Sarianidi, discovered the treasure in 1978 in the Tillya Tepe region of Sheberghan, northern Afghanistan. The treasure belongs to the Kushan and Parthian periods and is said to include necklaces, medallions, crowns, and coins from the graves of five women and one man, dating back to the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD.
Since its discovery in northern Afghanistan and transfer to Kabul, the preservation and care of this treasure have always been a serious concern for the Afghan people, leading to many rumors over time.
The devastating civil war in Kabul in the 1990s, the transformation of the National Museum of Afghanistan into a battlefield, the looting of the museum, the destruction of some historical artifacts, the Taliban’s first reign, and their destruction of statues and ancient relics caused years of uncertainty about the fate of the Bactrian Gold treasure.
One individual who worked at the National Museum of Afghanistan for nearly 40 years and closely monitored the story of the Bactrian Gold, playing a key role in its protection, shared details with me about the treasure.
This source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that over the past 44 years, many rumors have circulated about the Bactrian Gold treasure. It was often said that the Russians, the Taliban, the Mujahideen, or government officials had looted the treasure, but several former National Museum employees, through cleverness and persistence, were able to protect it for years.
According to the source, the last time they saw the Bactrian Gold was in 2021, ensuring its proper preservation. From 2008 to 2019, the treasure was sent to several countries, including Canada, the United States, France, China, and Australia, to generate revenue through exhibitions.
The last country to display the treasure was China. After it returned from China to Kabul, it was checked against the inventory and placed in a secure location designated for its protection.
In late 2020, amid rumors of the treasure's disappearance, the Afghan government held an exhibition at the Presidential Palace. Civil activists, journalists, government officials, and archaeologists were invited to this exhibition to address concerns about the alleged disappearance or theft of the artifacts.
After the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, new reports surfaced that the Bactrian Gold had been smuggled to Iran and sold on the black market. The Taliban have remained silent about the Bactrian Gold over the past two years.
The informed source, who last visited the treasure in January 2021, said: "Before the fall of Kabul, the Bactrian Gold was stored in a secure place, and all National Museum staff were confident in its safety. However, over the past two years, we have no information on its condition."
Although there is no concrete information about the status of the Bactrian Gold, the source says that due to the digitalization of the National Museum's archives, if one of the objects from this museum disappears, it can be traced.
The source added, "The National Museum's artifacts were digitized with the help of the University of Chicago, and each item has a tracking code. If an artifact is stolen or disappears, it can be found. This process also prevents the copying of National Museum items."
Silence: The Only Tool That Protected the Bactrian Gold for Years
After its discovery in 1978, the Bactrian Gold was transferred to Kabul and handed over to the National Museum of Afghanistan. In 1989, as the civil war intensified and the conflict between the Mujahideen factions and the Democratic Socialist Government of Afghanistan moved into urban areas, the museum authorities became concerned about the security of the treasure.
National Museum officials suggested to then-president Dr. Najibullah that the treasure be relocated from the museum building. Najibullah designated a room in the basement of the Central Bank of Afghanistan, adjacent to the Presidential Palace, for the storage of the Bactrian Gold. The artifacts, along with others from Bamiyan, Bagram, Ai Khanum, and Mundigak, were placed in safes and stored in this room.
The source added that after the Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan, some media outlets spread rumors that the Soviet government officials had looted the treasure. In 1991, Najibullah displayed the Bactrian Gold at a one-day exhibition at the Presidential Palace’s "Koti Baghcha" to dispel concerns.
After the treasure was retrieved from the Central Bank's basement in 2003, reports circulated that the treasure's storage required seven keys, and only with all seven could it be opened. These keys were allegedly given to seven trusted individuals by Najibullah, preventing the Mujahideen and the Taliban from accessing it.
The source who spoke to me played a role in protecting the treasure during the Democratic Socialist Government, the Mujahideen era, and the Taliban’s reign. The source refuted the myth of the seven keys, saying: "There are many rumors and legends about the Bactrian Gold, and one of them is this false story of seven keys and seven individuals. This story is entirely a myth. A small group of National Museum officials who helped transfer the treasure to the Central Bank’s basement were able to protect it for years simply by staying silent about its location."
The source also mentioned that during the reign of Burhanuddin Rabbani and the first Taliban regime, they visited the treasure twice in the Central Bank's basement with other museum officials. On both occasions, they wrote letters to the Mujahideen and Taliban governments saying that some museum artifacts were stored in the Central Bank basement and that they needed to inspect them to ensure they had not been damaged by moisture. In both cases, they did not mention that the Bactrian Gold was stored there, successfully diverting the Mujahideen and Taliban officials' attention away from the treasure.
The source also noted that in 1989, when the treasure was transferred to the Central Bank basement, cash bundles were present in the room. However, during the subsequent visits during the Mujahideen and Taliban governments, the cash was no longer there, which may have further diverted attention from the treasure's location.
The Trust of Haji Zahir Panjsheri
In 1989, when a small group of National Museum officials decided to transfer the Bactrian Gold to the Central Bank basement, only a few people, including President Najibullah and Haji Zahir Panjsheri, the Central Bank's treasurer, were informed of this decision. Senior staff at the museum, the Central Bank, and the Presidential Office were unaware.
The source added that Haji Zahir Panjsheri, who held the keys to the safes storing the Bactrian Gold, protected the treasure with complete trust and silence.
After the fall of the Taliban and the establishment of the interim government, President Hamid Karzai ordered that the treasure be brought out from the Central Bank basement in the presence of Viktor Ivanovich Sarianidi, the treasure’s discoverer, Haji Zahir Panjsheri, and officials from the National Museum and Central Bank.
"The Treasure Is Safe and Secure"
Mohammad Fahim Rahimi, the former director of the National Museum of Afghanistan, who held this position in February 2023, told *Independent Persian* that after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, he personally inspected the treasure and was confident that all items were intact and securely stored.
Rahimi explained that the museum has special storage areas for valuable historical artifacts, including the Bactrian Gold, and that over the past two years of Taliban control, no threats have been posed to these storages.
A few months after the collapse of the Republic government and the Taliban’s return to power, reports surfaced in some media outlets that a 10-kilogram gold treasure had been smuggled from Afghanistan to Iran, possibly the Bactrian Gold. Rahimi said that after these rumors, he received photos of the gold that had entered Iran. After examining them, it was proven that none of the items had been stolen from the Bactrian Gold treasure.
Rahimi added that the Bactrian Gold, due to its unique intricacies, is unmatched globally, making it impossible to replicate. If any attempts to copy the treasure are made, it would be easily identified.
Mohammad Fahim Rahimi also noted that during the two years of Taliban rule, the museum held two exhibitions—one for International Museum Day and another to showcase artifacts from Mes Aynak. These exhibitions took place despite the fact that the Taliban, during their first reign, destroyed some statues in the National Museum and, under Mullah Omar's orders, demolished the Buddhas of Bamiyan with bombs and RPGs.
However, Rahimi believes that during the Taliban's rule, there have been no threats to Afghanistan's valuable historical treasures, including the Bactrian Gold. Although Taliban officials have remained silent about the treasure over the past two years, the former National Museum director is convinced that no theft has occurred, stating that "not a single item from the National Museum has been stolen since the fall of the Republic and the Taliban's return to power."
I wrote this article for Independent Persian
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