Looted Afghan Art Returned

A selection of some 2,000 Afghan artifacts smuggled out of the country during more than 30 years of conflict and civil war have been returned to their rightful home.

"We lost a lot of things from our museum and from illegal excavation in different parts of Afghanistan. This is very important," National Museum of Afghanistan director Omar Khan Massoudi told the AFP.

The artifacts, which include jugs, pots, dishes and coins, date back as far as 10,000 to 15,000 years. Half belong to the pre-Islamic period before the seventh century. In all, 2,098 pieces weighing 3.5 tons were recovered and returned earlier this year.

They could have been lost forever if customs officials hadn't stopped smugglers trying to take them through British airports.

A whopping 70 percent of the National Museum's 100,000-piece collection was looted by mujahideen fighters during the civil war of the 1990s, then the Taliban destroyed its pre-Islamic Buddha figures. The museum's collection was all the more valuable because of its diversity of items -- a testament to Afghanistan's location along the Silk Road trading route connecting Asia with the rest of the world.

Looting is widespread both during and after war.

Currently, UNESCO's list of missing artifacts numbers around 34,000. Once smuggled out of a country, it's difficult to get them back, but a "red list" of black market items helps. UNESCO is also pushing for better cataloging to better track items.

In the meantime, it's comforting to know that at least when it comes to its ancient art, Afghanistan has reclaimed a little piece of her rich cultural history.