Mes Aynak
|
Mes Aynak مس عینک |
|
|---|---|
Remains of a Buddhist monastery at Mes Aynak
|
|
 Mes Aynak
|
|
| Coordinates: 34°24′N 69°22′E / 34.400°N 69.367°ECoordinates: 34°24′N 69°22′E / 34.400°N 69.367°E | |
| Country | Afghanistan |
| Province | Logar Province |
| District | Mohammad Agha District |
| Elevation | 2,120 m (6,958 ft) |
Mes Aynak (Pashto: مس عينک, meaning "little source of copper") is a site 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Kabul, Afghanistan, located in a barren region of Logar Province. The site contains Afghanistan's largest copper deposit, as well as the remains of an ancient settlement with over 400 Buddha statues, stupas and a 40 ha (100 acres) monastery complex. It is also considered a major transit route for insurgents coming from Pakistan. Archaeologists are only beginning to find remnants of an older 5,000-year-old Bronze Age site beneath the Buddhist level, including an ancient copper smelter.
The site of Mes Aynak possesses a vast complex of Buddhist monasteries, homes, and market areas. The site contains artifacts recovered from the Bronze Age, and some of the artifacts recovered have dated back over three thousand years. The site's orientation on the Silk Road has yielded a mixture of elements from Iran, China and India. The wealth of Mes Aynak’s residents has been well represented in the site's far-reaching size and well guarded perimeter. Afghanistan’s eagerness to unearth the copper below the site is leading to the site's destruction rather than its preservation. Archaeologists have photographed the site and the relics excavated.
The Buddhist ruins were scheduled to be destroyed at the end of July 2012, but for several reasons, including political instability, this has been delayed.
The word Mes Aynak (مس عينک) literally means "little source of copper"; mes (مس) is "copper", while aynak (عينک) is a diminutive form of ayn (عين), which means "source".
As the name suggests, the presence of copper at Mes Aynak has been known about for some time, while the site's archaeological wealth has been known about since exploration by Russian and Afghan geologists in 1973-4. The earliest Buddhist remains date from the Kushan Gandhara era, although these gradually gave way to T'ang Chinese and Uyghur influences. Mes Aynak was at the peak of its prosperity between the fifth and seventh century AD. A period of slow decline began in the eighth century, and the settlement was finally abandoned 200 years later.
...
Wikipedia