Mis Ainak

Mis Ainak مس عینک
Remains of a Buddhist monastery at Mis Ainak
Mis Ainak Mis Ainak
Coordinates: 34°24′N 69°22′E / 34.400°N 69.367°E / 34.400; 69.367Coordinates: 34°24′N 69°22′E / 34.400°N 69.367°E / 34.400; 69.367
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Logar Province
District	Mohammad Agha District
Elevation	2,120 m (6,958 ft)

Mis Ainak (Pashto/Persian: مس عينک, meaning "little source of copper"), also called Mes Aynak or Mis-e-Ainak, is a site 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Kabul, Afghanistan, located in a barren region of Logar Province. Mis Ainak 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 Hindu or Vedic Bronze Age site beneath the Buddhist level, including an ancient copper smelter.

The site of Mis Ainak 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 China and India. The wealth of Mis Ainak’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 word Mis Ainak (مس عينک) literally means "little source of copper"; mis (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 Mis Ainak 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. Mis Ainak 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.