Crossroads of the Ancient World

Soldiers, roadside devices, distraught victims are the first images that usually spring to mind in association with the mention of Afghanistan. However, the British Museum’s exhibition Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World is now offering a chance to rebuild perceptions of this country by showcasing rare artefacts from its prosperous and cultured past.

The exhibition is clearly laid out with the objects grouped into the four different excavation sites where they were found: Tepe Fullol, Ai Kanum, Begram and Tillya Tepe. The excavation site at Tepe Fullol has produced some of the earliest finds from Afghanistan, dating from as far back as 2200 BC while the other three have provided evidence of life in Hellenistic and first century AD Afghanistan.

One of the most striking features about the exhibition is the cultural diversity of the artefacts, which is the result of both Afghanistan’s ancient position as the centre of the ‘silk road’ (major trading routes between Asian and the Mediterranean) and the effect of Alexander the Great’s quest for domination of the east.

It was a visual feast to see a hemispherical Greek sundial side by side with ivory furniture legs carved in the shape of Indian goddess Ganga, Roman enamel beakers (made in Egypt, of course) decorated with harvesting and hunting scenes, and then next to that glass fish flasks that have no other parallel in the ancient world.

The grand finale to the exhibition is the gold on display from Tillya  Tepe (which aptly translates to ‘the hill of gold’). Uncovered at this site were the tombs of six nomads, one man and five women, who were buried with a multitude of intricately-cut gold jewellery, many pieces inlaid with turquoise.

It was pleasing to note the women had items such as clasps decorated with warriors and the ‘Mistress of animals’ pendant; it seemed to me to hint at a fierce side which would have been fitting for their nomadic lifestyle. My favourite piece from this section, though, had to be the gold crown composed of a design of trees covered in flowers, which is being used on the exhibition posters to lure viewers in.

I would not normally lose my heart to such an obvious item but what the posters do not tell you is that the crown can be dismantled. The absurd practicality of having a status item that can be flat packed, combined with the rogue thought that this crown was the upmarket forerunner to Ikea, brought a smile to my face.

As you leave the exhibition, a quote on the wall reads ‘A nation stays alive when its culture stays alive’. Certainly, the staggering beauty and cultural variety of the artefacts in this exhibition indicates that Afghanistan should hold its head high still.

Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World is showing until 3 July at:

British Museum
Great Russell Street
Bloomsbury
WC1B 3DG

Tel: 020 7323 8299

Image copyright of Thierry Ollivier / Musee Guimet