Le site ruiné de Hadda
Résumé
The hills of Hadda, near Jalâlâbâd, were both the site of several Buddhist monasteries and the name of a major artistic centre famed for its stucco modelling of Hellenistic influence. Excavations from 1922 by DAFA yielded finds of paramount importance for the understanding of the junction of Greek and Indian influences in the region, and the historical and religious significance of the site. Afghan archaeologists carried on researching the sites of Tape Shotor and Tape Top-e Kalân where delicately sculpted clay statues from the second century AD with distinct Greco-buddhic features located inside the shrines, including the Vajrapani-Herakles. Restoration started and was to prepare a museum and protect the site.
Hadda was destroyed and scavenged during the war, inventoried sculptures and paintings were systematically looted on the site and in the Kabul Museum, and sold to private collections, clandestine excavations were going unchecked after 1922. Archaeologists and the international opinion remained broadly silent about the plunder and smuggling of pieces from Hadda and other sites. Specialist researchers who worked in Hadda must intervene.
Hadda was destroyed and scavenged during the war, inventoried sculptures and paintings were systematically looted on the site and in the Kabul Museum, and sold to private collections, clandestine excavations were going unchecked after 1922. Archaeologists and the international opinion remained broadly silent about the plunder and smuggling of pieces from Hadda and other sites. Specialist researchers who worked in Hadda must intervene.
En Afghanistan, le site de Hadda est connu aussi bien pour ses monastères bouddhiques que pour l'exceptionnelle productivité de stucs de ce centre artistique d'influence hellénistique. Les premières fouilles du site permirent de démontrer l'importance de Hadda pour la compréhension de la jonction des influences grecques et indiennes et la transmission de thèmes iconographiques.
Dès le début de la guerre, de nombreux sites archéologiques ont été pillés. Ainsi, les nombreuses restaurations entreprises avant guerre sur le site de Hadda par les archéologues afghans ont été détruites. Le site a été pillé et les objets revendus à des collectionneurs privés ou des antiquaires aussi bien afghans qu'étrangers.
Dès le début de la guerre, de nombreux sites archéologiques ont été pillés. Ainsi, les nombreuses restaurations entreprises avant guerre sur le site de Hadda par les archéologues afghans ont été détruites. Le site a été pillé et les objets revendus à des collectionneurs privés ou des antiquaires aussi bien afghans qu'étrangers.