One of the returned artefacts Source: MoD
The British Armed Forces have returned 843 artefacts from the British Museum to the Afghan capital Kabul, almost 20 years after they were stolen and smuggled abroad.
The precious cargo, weighing just over two tonnes, left RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, on (12 July) after the British Museum and the Royal Air Force worked together to make the historic repatriation possible.
Travelling onboard a C17 transport aircraft, the material was first transported to CampBastion, the main military base in Helmand. After a short stop, it took off again on the second leg of the journey, on a C130 Hercules aircraft, to Kabul.
A spokesperson for the MoD disclosed that the artefacts, some of which went missing from the National Museum of Afghanistan during civil war in the country, and others from more recent illegal excavations of archaeological sites, had now all been safely returned and a selection would go on display in the near future.
Vigilance learnt the Prime Minister, David Cameron had confirmed their safe arrival during a press conference, alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai, recently.
The objects are said to include items made in three separate seizures by customs officials as they were being smuggled into the UK, as well as another group from other investigations by the Art and Antiques Unit of the Metropolitan Police. These objects were identified as originating in Afghanistan by the British Museum and were stored at the Museum for safekeeping and recording until their return to Kabul. Additional objects were saved by private individuals.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond MP said: “The transfer of these items is a vote of confidence and a step forward in Afghanistan’s journey towards normalisation. It is fitting that the British Armed Forces should play a role in their return, alongside the BritishMuseum and others.”
Hammond said: “For UK forces to be a part of the process is a symbol of how Britain stands squarely behind Afghanistan in its efforts to become a country capable of standing on its own two feet.”
It should be noted that this is the first time the military has assisted in the transportation of historic artefacts to Afghanistan – a task previously undertaken in 2009 by the International Red Cross. A memorandum of understanding between the British Museum and the National Museum of Afghanistan signed in 2011 now ensures that efforts will continue to identify and return further artefacts to Kabul.