Saving Mes Aynak: Special Film Showing and Interview with Brent Huffman

The extraordinary Silk Road archaeological site of Mes Aynak, 25 miles south-east of Kabul is one of the largest and most important in Afghanistan, and includes extensive remains of Buddhist art and architecture from the first millennium. But the vast copper deposits beneath the site, which contributed to its ancient prosperity, also represent a phenomenally valuable resource for a a modern country in need of investment, and in 2007 the site was leased to the China Metallurgical Group for £3 billion.

Following the rescue excavations that ensued and some of the personalities involved with the site, Brent E. Huffman’s multi-award-winning 2014 documentary, Saving Mes Aynak, focused international attention on the threat to the archaeology and the tensions surrounding it.

As part of our Gandhara Connections project, supported by the Bagri Foundation and the Neil Kreitman Foundation, the Classical Art Research Centre is delighted to announce a special Oxford screening of Saving Mes Aynak, followed by an interview with the director, which will highlight recent developments and probe some of the complexities of the site’s predicament.

Thursday 8th March 2018, 5-7pm, followed by a reception.

Ioannou Centre, 66 St Giles’, Oxford OX1 3LU.

All are welcome and the event is free, but please email us to book a place at carc@classics.ox.ac.uk