Afghanistan: Archaeological sites 'bulldozed for looting' - BBC News

Satellite images show damage has continued under the Taliban, according to researchers at Chicago University.

16 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Balkh province is home to a wide range of archaeological sitesBy Kawoon KhamooshBBC World ServiceDozens of archaeological sites in Afghanistan have been bulldozed to allow systematic looting, according to researchers at the University of Chicago.

They say their analysis of satellite photos provides the first definitive photographic evidence that looting patterns that began under the previous government have continued since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Ancient settlements dating back to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age - some earlier than 1000BC - are among those they say have been damaged.

Most of the sites identified are in northern Afghanistan's Balkh region, which more than two millennia ago was the heartland of Bactria.

It was one of the richest and most populous regions of ancient Afghanistan under the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th Century BC.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68311913

---