Author: Zhihang Du, ARCH volunteer

I learned about ARCH’s project in Mes Aynak when I started volunteering at ARCH this January. Mes Aynak is an ancient Silk Road city not far from Kabul, which sits atop a copper mine. There is an ongoing debate on whether to sacrifice the country’s cultural heritage for short term economic gains. ARCH is advocating for an approach that combines the newest mining technologies with an effort to save as much of this irreplaceable archeological site as possible. This question, as well as the political dynamics in the region, motivated me to write a paper for my “Ethics and Decision Making in International Development” class at Georgetown University.During my research, I found a very interesting article 文化遗产保护为何没有文化部门的声音? (Why Aren’t More Officials Speaking Out on behalf of Cultural Heritage Protection Abroad?) in which Chinese professor Dr Meitian Li argues for the protection and further archaeological excavation of Mes Aynak. In his article, he points out to his Chinese audience that international organizations such as ARCH are working hard to save Mes Aynak. Professor Li is an archaeologist at Renmin University, in his studies he focuses on Buddhist culture from the 7th to the 10th century.I reached out to him, and even though his article dates from 2015, he quickly got back to me. Soon after, I arranged a conversation between Prof. Li and the ARCH Team. Among other things, we talked about potential cooperation on further research on the site.This May, I went back to Beijing and met him in person. In his view, Mes Aynak is an extremely valuable treasure, containing comprehensive historical information related to the ancient Silk Road. It is a town, not just a single site. He told me, “Mes Aynak deserves more spotlight, even more than Bamiyan.”It is my personal wish that we will see a growing multilateral effort devoted to the promotion of Mes Aynak in the future.