Chinese mine in Afghanistan threatens ancient find

[Joanne98]

Source: AP

MES AYNAK, Afghanistan (AP) — It was another day on the rocky hillside, as archaeologists and laborers dug out statues of Buddha and excavated a sprawling 2,600-year-old Buddhist monastery. A Chinese woman in slacks, carrying an umbrella against the Afghan sun, politely inquired about their progress.

She had more than a passing interest. The woman represents a Chinese company eager to develop the world's second-biggest unexploited copper mine, lying beneath the ruins.

The mine is the centerpiece of China's drive to invest in Afghanistan, a country trying to get its economy off the ground while still mired in war. Beijing's $3.5 billion stake in the mine — the largest foreign investment in Afghanistan by far — gets its foot in the door for future deals to exploit Afghanistan's largely untapped mineral wealth, including iron, gold and cobalt. The Afghan government stands to reap a potential $1.2 billion a year in revenues from the mine, as well as the creation of much-needed jobs.

But Mes Aynak is caught between Afghanistan's hopes for the future and its history. Archaeologists are rushing to salvage what they can from a major seventh century B.C. religious site along the famed Silk Road connecting Asia and the Middle East. The ruins, including the monastery and domed shrines known as "stupas," will likely be largely destroyed once work at the mine begins.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jMJfGCsrBelf4tCQY7utO7VWDT_A?docId=061962a7b1d146a6992ad74c8b68a077

[earcandle]

1. Can't they lift it and move it somewhere off to the side? Come on folks, use your noodle.

[Roma]

2. Chinese. Noodle.

*snicker* I get it.

[Angry Dragon]

3. i wonder how the Chinese would feel if there were minerals

under their Great Wall??

[bluedigger]

4. Thanks for posting this one, Joanne98!

The problems and disputes over the development at Mes Aynak sound very familiar to anyone who has worked in the field of cultural resource management here in the US. Not enough time, labor, or money to do the job properly is a complaint that could come out of the mouth of any archaeologist or architectural historian working in historic preservation. Of course, they are almost always correct, too, as well funded projects with no time limits are the exception to the rule, if any such exist at all.

:rant:I hope the public spotlight presented by articles such as this will help temper the Chinese' rush to exploit these copper reserves, but I am not optimistic. For every positive media report on such activities, it seems another media outlet will decry the obstruction of backwards looking preservationists, and call for easing of regulations harmful to "needed development". Recently I have seen Ed Rendell repeatedly call for the gutting of environmental laws to provide "shovel ready" jobs for the construction industry, with the cheer leading of Chris Matthews. (As an archaeologist, I'm pretty sure I can instruct any construction folks in the proper use of a shovel, any time, any place.) Archaeology is only one component of the environmental review process, of course, and many others, such as wetlands biologists, soils scientists, hydrologists, etc... also provide invaluable perspective on the potential long term effects of development. Apparently all of these college educated professionals have no value to society in Rendell's and Matthew's minds, and are just a drag on the economy, which should be limited to construction, finance, and (maybe) health care... :rant:

I'm sorry for hijacking your thread, Joanne98, but there aren't many opportunities to get my rant out to the greater DU universe.:dilemma: :rofl:

[xchrom]

5. Recommend

[applegrove]

6. Is Buddhism 2600 years old? I thought it was much younger than that.

[daleo]

7. I thought it was around when Plato was alive

That really takes me back...

[applegrove]

8. Says on Wikipedia buddhism started between the "6th and 4th centuries BCE"

What does BCE mean? BC? Okay okay I guess they are right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

[karynnj]

11. Before Christian Era or the more PC Before common era

(though it is not clear what is common since then. Same as the old BC.

[glinda]

9. Am sure the Chinese would love to destroy the Buddhist history. Very sad indeed.

[newscott]

10. You would think

That for the short money it would cost the company, what $20? and the slight delay in beginning their operations they would be more than glad to fund the damn project.

Greedy bastards.

[StarsInHerHair]

12. you'd think Egypt as a blueprint for tourism, dangled in front

of Karzai or whatever warlord is 'in charge' of the area may give them pause, but with the endless war going on.............we'd spend money more wisely in Afghanistan if we plumbed the country, took rooted cuttings from UC Davis's large native Afghan plant conservatory, & made modern eco-oriented apartments, high speed trains, etc. The faster the modernization & benefits spread throughout the land, the weaker the religious' bigots would become, there & here.