Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley

The Bamiyan Valley lies at about 2,500 m in the Hindu Kush, on the Silk Road between the markets of China and the West. It was a Buddhist centre from the 2nd century under the Kushans. Monks lived in small caves cut into the valley's cliffs and decorated them with statues and brightly coloured murals, and two standing Buddhas, 55 m and 38 m high, were carved into the cliff. Their bodies were cut from the rock, with details modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated in stucco and painted.

Scientists who analysed fragments of the murals found drying oils in paintings from the middle of the 7th century, believed to be the oldest known oil paintings. The citadel of Shahr-i Zuhak, part of the site, was held from the 10th to the 13th century by the Islamic Ghaznavid and Ghorid dynasties. In 1221 the army of Genghis Khan killed most of the valley's population but left the Buddhas undamaged, and in the 17th century the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had artillery fired at them, causing some damage.

On 26 February 2001 the Taliban leader Mullah Omar ordered all statues in Afghanistan destroyed. Work on the Buddhas began on 2 March and went on for several weeks, and both were lost. After the destruction 50 more caves came to light, 12 of them with wall paintings. In 2003 the valley's cultural landscape and eight archaeological sites were inscribed as a World Heritage site and placed at once on the List of World Heritage in Danger.