06-10-2006, 07:05 PM
There are confirmed reports that the greatest treasures of the Kabul museum were in a safe in the Afghan National Bank since the Sovjet days. The Taliban tried to obtain access, the man who had the key went there with several men with guns, who threatened to kill him if he would not open the door. He tried to open the door, but in vain. The taliban saw that the key did not move and decided to leave.
Years later, when Kabul was liberated, the man with the key returned to the vault, put the key into the lock, turned it counterclockwise (instead of the other way round, which is usual), and simply opened the safe.
So the museum objects were still there recently and the looting has started during the last couple of years.
It is perhaps interesting to know that many cuneiform tablets have come to the market of antiquities in Warsaw. They are assumed to be from a clandestine excavation in Babylon itself.
Years later, when Kabul was liberated, the man with the key returned to the vault, put the key into the lock, turned it counterclockwise (instead of the other way round, which is usual), and simply opened the safe.
So the museum objects were still there recently and the looting has started during the last couple of years.
It is perhaps interesting to know that many cuneiform tablets have come to the market of antiquities in Warsaw. They are assumed to be from a clandestine excavation in Babylon itself.
